The Berserker Range is a mountainous region located on the eastern and northeastern boundary of the city of
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite.
The Scottish- ...
in
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...
, Australia. Within it lies
Mount Archer National Park. It has been designated the ''Berserker Range Environmental Protection Area'' by the
Rockhampton Regional Council
The Rockhampton Region is a local government area (LGA) in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Queenslan ...
. The southernmost part of the range reaches the
Fitzroy River at Broadmount, east of Rockhampton.
Geology
The range is composed of a diverse group of mostly
igneous rock
Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
The magma can be derived from partial ...
s dating from the
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
to
Early Triassic
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which ...
Periods. It has its origins in the
Early Permian 01 or 01 may refer to:
* The year 2001, or any year ending with 01
* The month of January
* 1 (number)
Music
* '01 (Richard Müller album), ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001
* 01 (Urban Zakapa album), ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011
* ''01011 ...
period around 275 million years ago, when the original segment of
continental crust
Continental crust is the layer of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that forms the geological continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as '' continental shelves''. This layer is sometimes called '' si ...
stretched and subsequently sagged, leading to the development of two
faults and subsequent volcanic activity. Much of the rocky outcrops and peaks of elevated areas are composed of masses of
rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...
and
dacite
Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...
and known as ''Elliott Rhyolite''. These masses then erode, with the deposits forming a dark grey material known as ''Sleipner Member''. Not all the elevated areas are rhyolite; Mount Dick and Mount MacDonald, are mainly composed of
breccia
Breccia ( , ; ) is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or Rock (geology), rocks cementation (geology), cemented together by a fine-grained matrix (geology), matrix.
The word has its origins in the Italian language ...
.
History
Historically, the region was home to the Raki-warra clan of the local
Darumbal indigenous people.
It was named by Rockhampton pioneer pastoralist
Charles Archer after the
Norse warrior "
Baresark", who fought without armour in the
Norwegian sagas.
Although born in Scotland, the Archer family lived for many years in
Larvik
Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and members of the family moved between Queensland and Norway throughout their lives.
A small amount of gold mining took place in the 19th century, and grazing leases were issued in 1900. The area was declared a timber reserve in 1940 and logged, with ironbark, white mahogany and lemon-scented gum being the main trees harvested. Grazing ended in 1974 with the conclusion of the last lease, and logging ceased in 1985.
See also
*
List of mountains in Australia
This is a list of mountains in Australia.
Highest points by state and territory
List of mountains in Australia by topographic prominence
This is a list of the top 50 mountains in Australia ranked by topographic prominence. Most of these ...
References
{{reflist
Rockhampton
Mountain ranges of Queensland