The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a
cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope').
The term is most commonly us ...
system in eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
consisting of an expansive collection of
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
s,
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
s and
rolling hills, that runs roughly parallel to the
east coast of Australia and forms the
fifth-longest land-based mountain chain in the world, and the longest entirely within a single country. It is
mainland Australia's most substantial
topographic feature and serves as the definitive
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
for the
river systems in eastern Australia, hence the name.
The Great Dividing Range stretches more than from
Dauan Island in the
Torres Strait off the northern tip of
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, then turning west across
Victoria before finally fading into the
Wimmera plains as rolling hills west of the
Grampians region. The width of the Range varies from about to over .
[Shaw, John H., ''Collins Australian Encyclopedia'', William Collins Pty Ltd., Sydney, 1984, ] The
Greater Blue Mountains Area,
Gondwana Rainforests and
Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Areas are located in the Range. The highest place in Australia, the
Mount Kosciuszko, resides in the
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...
portion of southern Great Dividing Range.
Geography
The Dividing Range does not consist of a single continuous
mountain chain
A mountain chain is a row of high mountain summits, a linear sequence of interconnected or related mountains,Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p 87. . or a contiguous ridge of mountains within a larger ...
, but is rather a combined complex (
cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope').
The term is most commonly us ...
) of
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
s,
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
s,
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...
y
upland areas and
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...
s with an ancient and complex
geological history. The physiographic division name for the landmass is called the ''East Australian Cordillera''. In some places the terrain is relatively flat, consisting of very low hills.
Typically the highlands range from in height.
The mountains and plateaus, which consist of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
s,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
,
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
,
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
s and
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
, have been created by faulting and folding processes.
The
crests of the Great Dividing Range is defined by the
watershed boundary between the
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
s of
river systems east (the coastal or ''
rainward'' side) and west (the inland or ''
leeward'' side) of it. The higher and more rugged parts of the "range" do not necessarily form part of the crest of the range, but may be branches and offshoots from it. The term "Great Dividing Range" may refer specifically to the watershed crest of the range, or to the entire upland complex including all of the hills and mountains between the east coast of Australia and the central plains and lowlands. At some places it can be up to wide.
Notable ranges and other features which form part of the range complex have their own distinctive names.
As a
rule of thumb, rivers east/southeast of the Dividing Range drain directly eastward into the
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and the
Tasman Sea, or southward into the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Bo ...
. Rivers west of the Dividing Range drain in various westerly directions according to latitudes: the
Murray–Darling basin in southeastern Australia (
Darling Downs/eastern
South West Queensland, West/Central
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Northern Victoria and the
Murraylands/
Riverland region of southeastern
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
) drain southwestwards into the
Great Australian Bight via the coastal
Lake Alexandrina;
the eastern half of the
Lake Eyre basin in east central Australia (the
Cooper Creek
The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its ...
and
Warburton River
The Warburton River (or Warburton Creek) is a freshwater stream in the far north of South Australia that flows in a south westerly direction and discharges into the eastern side of Lake Eyre. It is one of the state's largest rivers, and is part ...
systems in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
/western
South West Queensland and eastern
Far North of South Australia) drain southwestwards into the
endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre; the numerous rivers of western
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
in northeastern Australia (
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
/
Far North Queensland) drain westwards or northwestwards directly into the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary i ...
.
Climate
The sharp rise between the coastal lowlands and the eastern uplands has affected
Australia's climate, mainly due to
orographic precipitation
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...
, and these areas of highest relief have revealed an impressive gorge country. Areas to the east of the mountain range in southern NSW usually experience a
Föhn effect
A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range.
It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of i ...
, which is a
dry wind originating from the Great Dividing Range that abruptly raises the air temperature in the lee of that mountain range and reduces atmospheric moisture. This dry wind, which elevates
fire danger in the warm months, occurs because of the partial
orographic obstruction of relatively damp low-level air and the subsiding of drier upper-level air in
leeward of the mountains. The drier air is then heated more because of the
adiabatic compression as it comes down the lee slopes, forming a
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...
.
In the cool season, the Great Dividing Range would shield much of the southeast (i.e.
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
,
Central Coast,
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...
,
Illawarra
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollong ...
, the
ACT, the
Monaro and
South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area.
Geographical
Australia
*South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney
* South Coast (Q ...
) from south-westerly
polar blasts that originate from the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...
, which bring
freezing rain,
sleet and snowfall in the
upwind side of the ranges, such as in the
Central Tablelands,
South West Slopes and
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...
regions – All which have wetter winters. Being on the exposed western edge of the Great Dividing Range, places like
Crookwell
Crookwell is a small town located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Lachlan Shire. At the , Crookwell had a population of 2,641. The town is at a relatively high altitude of 887 metres and there are several sn ...
,
Bright
Bright may refer to:
Common meanings
*Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness
*Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence
People
* Bright (surname)
*Bright (given name)
*Bright, the stage nam ...
,
Khancoban,
Myrtleford
Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia, 280 km (170 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 46 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 2016 the town had a p ...
,
Batlow,
Tumut and those in West Gippsland (namely the
Latrobe Valley and
Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria.
South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nea ...
) receive significant precipitation in the winter and are therefore
windward; whereas
Cooma,
Goulburn,
Omeo,
Bowral,
Bombala,
Nimmitabel, and
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
on the eastern edge of the Great Dividing Range are relatively warmer and drier, particularly in the cool season, therefore making them on the leeward side, in addition to being sheltered from both easterly flows and western frontal systems due to their sandwiched positions.
Moreover,
Oberon,
Delegate,
Lithgow,
Shooters Hill and
Sunny Corner are on the crest of the ranges and thus exposed from all directions, hence their evenly spread rainfall. The main ski resorts in New South Wales, such as
Thredbo Village,
Perisher and
Charlotte Pass, lie transitionally between the leeward and windward side (the former town being more leeward and the latter more windward). Although they receive substantial precipitation from over the crest of the ranges, they lack the persistent cloud cover which characterises truly windward locations on the western face, which are;
Cabramurra,
Kiandra,
Mount Buller
Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter du ...
,
Falls Creek,
Mount Hotham and
Mount Buffalo
Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery.
The summit of the high ...
.
Precipitation
With leeward areas, precipitation is predominantly derived from the
Tasman Sea to the east, since the Great Dividing Range blocks westerly cold fronts from the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...
(which tend to arrive between winter and early spring). Therefore, winters in leeward zones are drier (due to the foehn effect) with the summers being relatively wet. When it comes to windward areas, little or no precipitation is received from the
Tasman Sea to the east due to the large distances and the Great Dividing Range; instead, precipitation derives from the
South Indian Ocean and the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...
, advancing eastwards or northeastwards across Victoria. Winters in windward areas are generally wet and summers tend to be (relatively) dry. Transitional areas can be exposed to both westerly fronts and easterly flows, where they feature fairly uniform rainfall.
History
The Great Dividing Range was formed during the
Carboniferous period
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonif ...
—over 300 million years ago—when Australia collided with what are now parts of South America and New Zealand. The range has experienced significant erosion since. (See
Geology of Australia.)
For tens of thousands of years prior to British colonisation the ranges were home to various
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
nations and clans. Evidence remains in some places of their traditional way of life including decorated caves, campsites and trails used to travel between the coastal and inland regions. Many descendants of these nations still exist today, and some remain the traditional owners and custodians of their lands.
After British colonisation in 1788, the ranges were an obstacle to exploration and settlement by the British settlers. Although not high, parts of the highlands were very rugged. Crossing the
Blue Mountains was particularly challenging due to the mistaken idea that the creeks should be followed rather than the ridges, and almost impenetrable, labyrinthine, sandstone mountains.
Although the most daunting obstacle to western expansion of the colony, the Blue Mountains actually lie to the east of the watershed that divides the
Hawkesbury-
Nepean system and the
Murray-Darling system, the true Great Dividing Range. The watershed in this area lies to the west of
Lithgow, passing near the locality of Mt Lambie and village of
Capertee. There, as in some other places in New South Wales, the Great Divide is only a slight rise in the surrounding topography.
Knowing that local Aboriginal people had already established routes crossing the range and by making use of Aboriginal walking trails, a usable ridge-top route was finally discovered by Europeans directly westward from Sydney across the Blue Mountains to
Bathurst by an
expedition jointly led by
Gregory Blaxland,
William Lawson and
William Charles Wentworth.
Towns in the Blue Mountains were later named after each of these men. This was the start of the development of the agricultural districts of inland
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. A road was built to
Blaxland by convicts within six months. Easier routes to inland New South Wales were discovered towards
Goulburn to the southwest, and westwards from
Newcastle.
Subsequent explorations were made across and around the ranges by
Allan Cunningham,
John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828)
was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...
,
Hamilton Hume,
Paul Edmund Strzelecki
Paul may refer to:
* Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...
and
Thomas Mitchell. These explorers were mainly concerned with finding and appropriating good agricultural land.
By the late 1830s the most fertile rangelands adjacent to the mountain ranges had been explored, appropriated from the traditional inhabitants and some settled. These included the
Gippsland and
Riverina regions in the south, up to the
Liverpool Plains and the
Darling Downs in the north.
Various road and railway routes were subsequently established through many parts of the ranges, although many areas remain remote to this day. For example, in eastern Victoria there is only one major road crossing the highlands from north to south, the
Great Alpine Road.
Natural components
Parts of the highlands consisting of relatively flat and, by Australian standards, well-watered land were developed for agricultural and pastoral uses. Such areas include the
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
and
Darling Downs in Queensland, and the
Northern Tablelands,
Southern Highlands and
Southern Tablelands in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. Other parts of the highlands are too rugged for agriculture and have been used for forestry. Many parts of the highlands which were not developed are now included in
National Parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
.
All of
mainland Australia's alpine areas, including its highest mountain,
Mount Kosciuszko (
AHD), are part of this range, called the
Main Range.
The highest areas in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria are known as the
Australian Alps.
The central core of the Great Dividing Range is dotted with hundreds of peaks and is surrounded by many smaller mountain ranges or spurs,
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...
s,
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
s and plains of regional significance. Some of the major plains include the
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions:
* High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains
*High Plains (Australia)
The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...
of South-Eastern Australia, the Southern Highlands, the
Central Highlands and
Bogong High Plains of Victoria. Other tablelands considered part of the Great Dividing Range are the
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
,
Canberra wine region and the
Southern Tablelands.
The
Dandenong Ranges,
Barrington Tops
Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone.
In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature".
Part of the area has ...
,
Bunya Mountains,
Blue Mountains,
Liverpool Range,
McPherson Ranges and the
Moonbi Range
The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
The range is located roughly north east of the city of Tamworth situated at the bottom of the Wen ...
are some of the smaller spurs and ranges that make up the greater dividing range. Other notable ranges and tablelands which form part of the Great Dividing Range include the
Liverpool Range,
Mount Royal Range and the
Monaro District. Whilst some of the peaks of the highlands reach respectable heights of a little over , the age of the range and its erosion mean that most of the mountains are not very steep, and virtually all peaks can be reached without mountaineering equipment.
In some areas, such as the
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...
,
Victorian Alps, the
Scenic Rim
The Scenic Rim is a group of forested mountain ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located south of Brisbane agglomeration, straddling the border between south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. In 2021, the ...
and the eastern escarpments of the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
region, the highlands form a significant barrier. The eastern escarpment is the site of many spectacular waterfalls which were formed by rivers plunging off the tablelands. In other areas the slopes are gentle and in places the range is barely perceptible.
Well known passes on the range include
Coxs Gap,
Cunninghams Gap
Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between Warwick and Brisbane ...
,
Dead Horse Gap,
Nowlands Gap
Nowlands Gap, also known as Nowlands Pass and Murrurundi Gap, is a pass over the Liverpool Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, that provides access between the Northern Tablelands and Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia.
Locatio ...
, and
Spicers Gap
Spicers Gap is a mountain pass that is located west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and was the original route over the Great Dividing Range in the area around Brisbane. Today it is included in Main Range National Park and is a popular des ...
.
Major cities located on the upland areas of the range include
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
,
Toowoomba and the outer suburbs of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
,
Gold Coast and
Cairns in north Queensland. Many towns and cities are located on the range, and also in lowland areas and foothills adjacent to the highlands. There is a strong natural history and cultural attachment to the Dividing Range region in towns and on many, sometimes remote, landholdings.
Some of the towns/cities located on the range include:
*
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
- ACT
*
Albury
Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – t ...
- NSW
*
Queanbeyan - NSW
*
Goulburn - NSW
*
Cooma - NSW
*
Jindabyne - NSW
*
Katoomba - NSW
*
Lithgow - NSW
*
Oberon - NSW
*
Bowral - NSW
*
Yass - NSW
*
Cowra - NSW
*
Bathurst - NSW
*
Orange - NSW
*
Mudgee - NSW
*
Cessnock - NSW
*
Inverell - NSW
*
Glen Innes - NSW
*
Gunnedah - NSW
*
Singleton - NSW
*
Armidale - NSW
*
Tamworth - NSW
*
Narrabri
Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. ...
- NSW
*
Coonabarabran
Coonabarabran
is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, the town had a population of 2,537, Material was copied from this ...
- NSW
*
Scone - NSW
*
Dorrigo - NSW
*
Walcha - NSW
*
Guyra - NSW
*
Tenterfield - NSW
*
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
- Qld
*
Gatton - Qld
*
Dalby - Qld
*
Beaudesert - Qld
*
Toowoomba - Qld
*
Stanthorpe - Qld
*
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
- Qld
*
Kingaroy - Qld
*
Biloela
Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...
- Qld
*
Emerald - Qld
*
Moranbah
Moranbah is a coal mining town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 8,735 people.
In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has a large fly-in fly-out popul ...
- Qld
*
Clermont - Qld
*
Charters Towers - Qld
*
Atherton - Qld
*
Mareeba - Qld
*
Omeo - Vic
*
Healesville - Vic
*
Gisborne - Vic
*
Ballarat - Vic
*
Bendigo - Vic
*
Ararat - Vic
*
Stawell - Vic
*
Benalla - Vic
*
Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean:
* Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia
** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club
** Castlemaine railway station
* Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland
* Castlemaine Brewery, Western ...
- Vic
*
Kyneton - Vic
*
Maryborough - Vic
*
Shepparton - Vic
*
Wodonga - Vic
*
Wangaratta - Vic
Water catchments
The lower reaches are used for forestry, an activity that causes friction with conservationists. The range is also the source of virtually all of eastern Australia's water supply, both through runoff caught in dams, and throughout much of Queensland, through the
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of ...
.
Valleys along the chain of mountains have yielded a water source for important reservoirs and water supply projects such as the
Upper Nepean Scheme,
Snowy Mountains Scheme and
Warragamba Dam.
The
Bradfield Scheme has been mooted as a way to transport water from the
Wet Tropics of Queensland in the coastal northeast of
Far North Queensland via a series of
Dams &
Tunnels, southwest to inland dryer regions, including a tunnel through the Great Dividing Range into the
Flinders River then a tunnel into the Torrens Creek in the
White Mountains National Park then flows south into
Thompson River /
Cooper Creek
The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its ...
, part of the
Eyre Basin. Many other variations have been proposed.
The Great Dividing Range creates the
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
s of the
Australian south-east coast drainage division and the
Australian north-east coast drainage division, whose water flows to
the east coast and into the Pacific Ocean,
Tasman Sea, and
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island states and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Bo ...
with the westerly
Murray–Darling basin which flow inland, away from the coast into the interior plains.
Some of the rivers which flow west of the ranges includes the
Condamine River,
Flinders River,
Herbert River,
Lachlan River,
Macdonald River,
Macintyre River and
Namoi River
The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia.
The Namoi River rises on the we ...
.
Rivers that flow north into the Murray–Darling Basin from Victoria include the
Goulburn,
Mitta Mitta,
Kiewa,
Ovens,
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
,
Loddon Loddon may refer to:
*Loddon, Norfolk in England, UK
*Shire of Loddon in Victoria, Australia (since 1995)
**Bridgewater On Loddon, Victoria in Australia
*River Loddon, flows into the River Thames near Reading
* Loddon River, flows north from south o ...
and
Campaspe rivers. Rivers that flow east into the Pacific Ocean include the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the ...
,
Burdekin River,
Burnett River,
Clarence River,
Fitzroy River,
Hastings River
Hastings River ( Birpai: ''Doongang''), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary, is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Hastings River r ...
,
Hawkesbury River,
Hunter River,
Karuah River,
Macleay River,
Mary River,
Richmond River and the
Shoalhaven River. Those that flow south, primarily through Victoria, include the
Snowy,
Cann
Cann may refer to:
*Cann (surname), a list of people with the name
*Cann River, a river of Victoria, Australia
*Cann, Dorset, a village in England
*Edward du Cann, British businessman and politician
*Claire and Antoinette Cann pianists, known as t ...
,
Tambo,
Mitchell
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territ ...
,
Latrobe,
Thomson,
Yarra,
Werribee
Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census.
Werribee i ...
,
Hopkins
Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spe ...
and
Glenelg rivers.
Features
At some high hill passes the range provides cool sites appropriate for
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
s.
Railways
The engineers of early rail passages across the Great Dividing Range needed to find low sections of the range to cross, as well as suitable, "low" gradient paths up the mountains on either side. Rail passages include:
*
Townsville-Mt Isa
*
Rockhampton-Winton
*
Brisbane–Toowoomba (1867) (2.0% gradient)
*
Newcastle–Tamworth (c 1870), summit at
Ardglen Tunnel (2073' HASL)
*
Sandy Hollow-Gulgong railway line started in the 1930s to Maryvale (
Main Western railway line), completed the 1980s to
Gulgong, summit just west of
Ulan - (500M / 1640') The lowest, 4th & last crossing in NSW.
*
Sydney–Lithgow (1869), crossing the range via the
Blue Mountains (summit near
Bell 3507' HASL) (3.00% gradient)
*
Sydney–Goulburn (1869), though the divide is actually a few kilometres further west near the crossing with Parkesbourne Road near
Cullerin
Cullerin is a small township in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Old Hume Highway and Main South railway line in Upper Lachlan Shire. The Cullerin railway station opened in 1880 and closed in 1973. At the , ...
. The next 300 km descending to
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...
was originally fast, but regrading in the 1920s introduced many curves.
*
Melbourne–Seymour, crossing the range near
Heathcote Junction
Heathcote Junction is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located north of the state capital, Melbourne and from nearby Wandong. At the , Heathcote Junction and the surrounding area had a combined population of 839.
The town was affecte ...
(1872) (2.08% gradient)
*
Melbourne–Bendigo, crossing the range near
Woodend (1862) (1093' HASL)
*
Melbourne–Ararat (1875) via
Ballarat
Road transport
Many of Australia's highways such as the
Alpine Way,
Great Alpine Road,
Snowy Mountains Highway,
Hume Highway,
Illawarra Highway,
Northern Highway,
Melba Highway
Melba Highway connects the outer eastern suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the town of Yea, in Victoria's Upper Goulburn on the Goulburn Valley Highway. The road is named after Dame Nellie Melba, a famed Australian opera singer of th ...
,
Maroondah Highway,
Midland Highway,
Pyrenees Highway
Pyrenees Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson to Calder Highway in Elphinstone. It intersects with the region's major road freight route, Western Highway in Ararat, in addition ...
,
Sunraysia Highway
The Sunraysia Highway (route B220) is a arterial north-south route in western Victoria. The highway extends north a length of 331 km starting from the Western Freeway near Ballarat to the Calder Highway near Ouyen. It is the north-west ...
,
Monaro Highway,
Olympic Highway,
Newell Highway,
Lachlan Valley Way,
Barton Highway,
Federal Highway,
Kings Highway,
Great Western Highway,
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of the Mitchell Highway forms part ...
,
Mid-Western Highway,
Castlereagh Highway,
Mulligan Highway,
Capricorn Highway,
Cunningham Highway,
Gore Highway
The Gore Highway is a highway running between Toowoomba and Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. Together with Goulburn Valley Highway and Newell Highway, it is a part of the National Highway's Melbourne-Brisbane link. It is signed as Nationa ...
,
Flinders Highway,
Gregory Highway
The Gregory Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia that serves the major coal-mining centres of Central Queensland. The highway was named after Augustus Gregory, an early explorer.
Route description
The highway runs southward fro ...
,
Peak Downs Highway
The Peak Downs Highway links the towns of Mackay and Clermont in the Australian state of Queensland. It represents the main link between Queensland's Whitsunday Coast and the Central West region of the state. The highway runs for a total len ...
,
Dawson Highway
The Dawson Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for between Gladstone and Springsure where it terminates. From Gladstone to Rolleston it is signed as State Route 60, and then A7 onwards to Springsure. It continues we ...
,
New England Highway,
Golden Highway,
Bruxner Highway
Bruxner Highway, and its former alignment as Bruxner Way, are a state highway and rural road respectively, located in New South Wales, Australia. The route forms an east–west link from the Northern Rivers coast, across the Northern Tablelands ...
,
Gwydir Highway,
Oxley Highway
Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia, linking Nevertire, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, and Walcha to Port Macquarie, on the coast of the Tasman Sea. It was named to commemorate John Oxley, the first European t ...
,
Warrego Highway,
Summerland Way
Summerland Way is a 199–kilometre state route, designated B91, in New South Wales. It runs generally north from Grafton to the state border with Queensland just west of Mount Lindesay, and continues from there into Queensland as Mount Linde ...
,
Waterfall Way,
Thunderbolts Way
Thunderbolts Way (and at its northern end as Bundarra Road) is a country road located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, linking Inverell via Bundarra, Uralla and Walcha to Gloucester The road is partially seal ...
, the
Calder Highway, the
Western Highway, and the
Murray Valley Highway traverse parts of the range.
Protected areas
Much of the range lies within a succession of
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
s and other
reserves. Most of the national parks are listed below, and there are almost double that amount of state forests.
*
Alpine National Park – Vic
*
Annan River National Park - Qld
*
Apudthama National Park - Qld
*
Bago Bluff National Park
Bago Bluff is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 410 km northeast of Sydney. It is situated south west of Wauchope and includes parts of the former Broken Bago State Forest and a part of Lorne State Forest. The ...
- NSW
*
Bald Rock National Park – NSW
*
Barrington Tops National Park
The Barrington Tops National Park is a protected national park located in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1969, the park is situated between Scone, Singleton, Dungog, Gloucester and East Gresford.
The park is par ...
– NSW
*
Baw Baw National Park – Vic
*
Bellinger River National Park
Bellinger River National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, about 410 km north of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Loc ...
- NSW
*
Blackbraes National Park
Blackbraes is a national park in Shire of Etheridge of Far North Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The park is 1265 km northwest of Brisbane, 170 km north of Hughenden, and 280 km west of Townsville. Two small sections are also l ...
- Qld
*
Blackdown Tableland National Park - Qld
*
Blue Mountains National Park
The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, and the park boundary is quit ...
– NSW
*
Border Ranges National Park
The Border Ranges National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. A small portion of the national park is also located in South East Queensland. The park is situated appro ...
– NSW
*
Brindabella National Park
Brindabella National Park is an national park in New South Wales, Australia, that is located approximately southwest of Sydney central business district in the Brindabella Range. Much of the eastern boundary of the national park forms part of ...
– NSW
*
Brisbane Ranges National Park
The Brisbane Ranges National Park is a national park in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne near the town of and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park covers part ...
– Vic
*
Budawang National Park
Budawang National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, located approximately southwest of Sydney and north of Batemans Bay. It contains part of the Budawang Mountain Range.
Budawang National Park is named after Mount B ...
– NSW
*
Budderoo National Park
The Budderoo National Park is a national park that is located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia; situated approximately south southwest of Sydney.
Location and features
The National Parks & Wildlife Servicemanaged park ...
- NSW
*
Bunya Mountains National Park
Bunya Mountains is a national park in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The park includes much of the mountain range called the Bunya Mountains. The park are encompasses the most westerly area of subtropical rainfore ...
– Qld
*
Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park – Vic
*
Cape Melville National Park
Cape Melville National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land) is a national park in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. The national park was previously named Cape Melville National Park until it was renamed on 28 November 2013.
Geog ...
- Qld
*
Carnarvon National Park – Qld
*
Cathedral Rock National Park
Cathedral Rock is a national park west of Waterfall Way in New South Wales, Australia, east of Armidale and about north of Sydney.
This park is lying between the Guy Fawkes River and Macleay Range, and is about six kilometres west of Ebo ...
– NSW
*
Conimbla National Park
The Conimbla National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central West region of New South Wales in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, northwest of and northeast of .
Featur ...
- NSW
*
Conondale National Park
Conondale National Park is 130 km north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland near the town of Conondale in the south east Queensland bioregion.NPRSR, R., 2013Conondale National Park Management Statement 2013 Retrieved 26 April 201 ...
– Qld
*
Cottan-Bimbang National Park
Cottan-Bimbang is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 443 km north of Sydney and 65 km south east of Walcha and was formerly a state forest. The Oxley Highway crosses the park south of Werrikimbe National Park. Myrtle Scru ...
- NSW
*
Cunnawarra National Park
Cunnawarra is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, east of Armidale, off the Waterfall Way and north of Sydney. The Styx River Forest Way runs from the Point Lookout Road through Cunnawarra National Park to the Kempsey ...
– NSW
*
Daintree National Park
The Daintree rainforest is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane and northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988 it became a World Heritage Site. The pa ...
– Qld
*
Dandenong Ranges National Park
The Dandenong Ranges National Park is a national park located in the Greater Melbourne region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated from at its westernmost points at Ferntree Gully and Boronia to at it easternmost point at ...
– Vic
*
Deua National Park – NSW
*
Dharug National Park
The Dharug National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney central business district and west o ...
– NSW
*
Dipperu National Park
Dipperu is a scientific national park in Queensland, Australia, 754 km northwest of Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia an ...
- Qld
*
Forty Mile Scrub National Park
Forty Mile Scrub is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 224 km drive southwest of Cairns.
Ancient volcanic streams, grass forests, springs, streams, and a preserved isolated pocket of semi-evergreen vines are just some of the conten ...
– Qld
*
Gibraltar Range National Park
Gibraltar Range is a national park in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, north-east of Glen Innes and north of Sydney. The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Aust ...
– NSW
*
Girraween National Park
Girraween National Park is an area of the Granite Belt in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia reserved as a national park. Girraween is known for its spectacular flowers, dramatic landscapes and unique wildlife. Bushwalking and roc ...
– Qld/NSW
*
Girringun National Park - Qld
*
Goobang National Park
Goobang is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, northwest of Sydney. It protects the largest remnant forest and woodland in the central west region of the state, where interior and coastal New South Wales flora and fauna sp ...
- NSW
*
Goulburn River National Park - NSW
*
Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd.
The national park is situated be ...
– Vic
*
Greater Bendigo National Park
The Greater Bendigo National Park is a national park located in the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The national park was created in 2002 from the former Whipstick State Park, Kamarooka State Park, One Tree Hill Regional Park, Mand ...
- Vic
*
Guy Fawkes River National Park
Guy Fawkes River National Park, a national park comprising , is located on the eastern edge of the New England Tablelands and the western edge of the Dorrigo Plateau, in north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Access to the national park vi ...
– NSW
*
Hann Tableland National Park
Hann Tableland is a national park in Far North Queensland (Australia), 1,436 km northwest of Brisbane. It is located in the northern section of Paddys Green, a locality in the Tablelands Region local government area. It was first set asi ...
- Qld
*
Heathcote-Graytown National Park- Vic
*
Humboldt National Park
Humboldt is a national park in Queensland, Australia, approximately 110 km southeast of Emerald.
The park protects a wetland in the Comet River water catchment in the Brigalow Belt
The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded ...
- Qld
*
Kanangra-Boyd National Park
The Kanangra-Boyd National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions, in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated ap ...
– NSW
*
Kara Kara National Park - Vic
*
Koreelah National Park
Koreelah is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 631 km north of Sydney. The park is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of sever ...
- NSW
*
Kosciuszko National Park – NSW
*
Kroombit Tops National Park
Kroombit Tops is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia. It is between Monto and Calliope. It is two parts. The largest part is within the localities of Tablelands, Valentine Plains, Cania and Boyne Valley, while the smaller part i ...
- Qld
*
Kulla National Park – Qld
*
Kumbatine National Park - NSW
*
Kuranda National Park – Qld
*
Lake Eildon National Park
The Lake Eildon National Park is a national park in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is set in the northern foothills of the Central Highlands, approximately northeast of Melbourne and abuts the shores ...
– Vic
*
Lamington National Park – Qld
*
Lockyer National Park
Lockyer National Park is a national park in north of the Lockyer Valley Region in South East Queensland, Australia. The landscape is dominated by the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and features sandstone gorges and eucalypt forest. There ...
- Qld
*
Macalister Range National Park – Qld
*
Main Range National Park
The Main Range is a mountain range and national park in Queensland, Australia, located predominantly in Tregony, Southern Downs Region, southwest of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerl ...
– Qld
*
Morton National Park – NSW
*
Mount Buffalo National Park
The Mount Buffalo National Park is a national park in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located approximately northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps. Within the national park is Mount Buffalo, a moderately ...
– Vic
*
Mount Kaputar National Park
The Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located east of Narrabri and northwest o ...
- NSW
*
Mount Lewis National Park – Qld
*
Mowbray National Park
Mowbray is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1441 km northwest of Brisbane. The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bir ...
– Qld
*
Mummel Gulf National Park
Mummel Gulf is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, approximately by road north of Sydney. It is situated approximately southeast of Walcha on the unsealed Enfield Forest Road and south of the Oxley Highway.
The Mummel Ri ...
– NSW
*
Namadgi National Park – ACT
*
Nattai National Park
The Nattai National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Macarthur and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. It is situated approximately southwest of the Sydney central business distr ...
– NSW
*
New England National Park – NSW
*
Nowendoc National Park
Nowendoc National Park is a protected area on the southern end of the Northern Tablelands and west of Nowendoc, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 70 km south of Walcha and about 375 km north of Sydney.
The par ...
– NSW
*
Nymboida National Park
Nymboida is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 485 km north of Sydney.
Some of the possibilities are bird watching, camping, hiking, canoeing and swimming in the clear cold water of the Nimboida and Mann rivers. The average ...
- NSW
*
Oxley Wild Rivers National Park – NSW
*
Oyala Thumotang National Park
Oyala Thumotang, formerly Mungkan Kandju National Park (and prior to that Archer Bend National Park), is a national park in Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane.
History
The Oyala Thumotang National Park encompasses what was formerly ...
- Qld
*
Paluma Range National Park - Qld
*
Ravensbourne National Park
Ravensbourne is a national park in Ravensbourne and Buaraba in South East Queensland, Australia, 33 km west of Esk. It is a small scenic park on the Great Dividing Range within the Lockyer Creek water catchment area and overlooking the ...
- Qld
*
Snowy River National Park – Vic
*
South East Forests National Park – NSW
*
Springbrook National Park
The Springbrook National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The park is situated on the McPherson Range, near Springbrook, approximately south of Brisbane. The park is part ...
- Qld
*
Starcke National Park - Qld
*
Sundown National Park
Sundown is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 198 km south west of Brisbane. The park contains spectacular gorge country and a number of peaks higher than 1,000 m.
Landforms
It is the source of the Severn River, which is the s ...
– Qld
*
Tapin Tops National Park
Tapin Tops National Park ( kda, Dapin or ) is an national park that is located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
Location and features
The Tapin Tops National Park is situated approximately northeast of Sydney, with ...
- NSW
*
Towarri National Park - NSW
*
Toonumbar National Park
The Toonumbar National Park is a protected national park located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The park is situated approximately north of Sydney, near the town of .
The park is part of the Focal Peak Group W ...
– NSW
*
Ulidarra National Park - NSW
*
Undara Volcanic National Park – Qld
*
Wadbilliga National Park
Wadbilliga National Park is a national park that is located in high country spanning the Monaro and South Coast regions of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Location and features
Wadbilliga National Park is located southwest of Sydn ...
– NSW
*
Washpool National Park – NSW
*
Werrikimbe National Park – NSW
*
White Mountains National Park – Qld
*
Willi Willi National Park
The Willi Willi National Park is a protected national park located on the North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Gazetted in 1996, the park is situated northeast of Sydney and west of .
The park is part of the Hastings-Macleay ...
- NSW
*
Woko National Park - NSW
*
Wollemi National Park
The Wollemi National Park () is a protected national park and wilderness area that is located in the northern Blue Mountains and Lower Hunter regions of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park, the second largest national park in New ...
– NSW
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Wollumbin National Park
Wollumbin National Park (previously known as 'Mount Warning National Park') is a national park located in northern New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney near the border with the state of Queensland. It surrounds Mount Warning, part of a r ...
- NSW
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Woomargama National Park - NSW
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Wooroonooran National Park - Qld
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Yarra Ranges National Park – Vic
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Yengo National Park – NSW
Awards
In 2009 as part of the
Q150 celebrations, the Great Dividing Range was announced as one of the
Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location".
See also
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List of mountain ranges
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List of mountains in Australia
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Great Escarpment, Australia
The Great Escarpment in eastern Australia is an escarpment that runs east of the Great Dividing Range along most of the east of the continent. It was created due to formation of a new continental margin in the Mesozoic, followed by tectonic up ...
References
External links
Australian rocks and mountainsCrossing the Great Dividing RangeNorthern Rivers (NSW) Geology Blog – Great Dividing Range
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Mountain ranges of New South Wales
Mountain ranges of Queensland
Mountain ranges of Victoria (Australia)
Drainage divides
Mountains of Hume (region)