The Bylong Valley is a winding but relatively flat valley that crosses the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

between the

Goulburn River National Park The Goulburn River National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, northwest of Sydney and it is south-west of Merriwa. The Goulburn River National Park is located in the Hunter Valley region and covers approximately ...

and

Wollemi National Park The Wollemi National Park () is a protected national park and wilderness area that is located in the Central West and Hunter region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park, the second largest national park in New South Wales, conta ...

, west of the upper

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The picturesque countryside was the site of Aboriginal and early European settlements. Traveling in this scenic valley reveals its cultural heritage as well as sightings of

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

and kangaroos.! The valley is split by a short ridge roughly one third of the way from its western end. The headwaters start in the

to the north-west on Nullo Mountain. The Bylong Valley carries the Sandy Hollow-Gulgong cross-country railway line, which passes under Cox's Gap with a tunnel, and the

Bylong Valley Way Bylong Valley Way is a New South Wales regional road linking Golden Highway near Sandy Hollow, New South Wales, Sandy Hollow to Castlereagh Highway near Ilford, New South Wales, Ilford. It is named after the Bylong Valley, through which the road ...

, which climbs over the ridge through the gap. The path across this ridge is steep and winding. The boundary between Muswellbrook Shire Council and the

Mid-Western Regional Council The Mid-Western Regional Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Castlereagh Highway that passe ...

area is on the crest of Cox's Gap.

References

Hunter Region Valleys of Australia {{HunterRegion-geo-stub

See also

References