The Galilee Basin is a large inland geological basin in the western

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

region of Australia. The Galilee Basin is part of a larger

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

to Mid-Triassic basin system that contains the

Cooper Basin The Cooper Basin is a Permian-Triassic sedimentary geological basin in Australia. The intracratonic rift basin is located mainly in the southwestern part of Queensland and extends into northeastern South Australia. It is named after the Coop ...

, situated towards the south-west of the Galilee Basin, and the Bowen Basin to the east.Phillips, L., Esterle, J. & Sliwa, R., 2015, Rationalising the Late Permian coal seam stratigraphy of the Koburra Trough, Galilee Basin. Bowen Basin Symposium 2015, p219 – 226. The Galilee Basin covers a total area of approximately .Scott, S.G., Beeston, J,W., Carr, A.F., 1995, Galilee Basin. In: Ward CR, Harrington HJ, Mallett CW and Beeston JW (eds) Geology of Australian Coal Basins. Geological Society of Australia – Coal Geology Group. 1, 341–353. The basin is underlain by the

Drummond Basin and overlain by the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

–

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

Eromanga Basin. The

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

and younger

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s of the Galilee Basin form the basal sequence of the Great Artesian Basin drainage basin. Location of Galilee Basin

Physical geography

The Galilee Basin spans elements of the upper Lake Eyre drainage catchment, Bulloo river basin and

Murray–Darling Basin The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...

and the adjacent eastern highlands.Bioregional Assessment for the Galilee Basin, Australian Government, viewed 22 November 2016, http://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/assessments/galilee-subregion The basin also extends into the upper coastward Burdekin river basin and Fitzroy river basin to the north-east and east and the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

to the north-west. This geographic complexity ensures that the Galilee Basin spans a number of physiographic regions with a relatively complex pattern in the eastern highlands and headwaters. Lake Buchanan and Lake Galilee within the Galilee Basin are classified as inland

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, with Lake Buchanan described as both a seasonal/intermittent saline lake and a seasonal saline marsh and Lake Galilee also as a seasonal/intermittent saline lake and as a seasonal/intermittent freshwater

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

and

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

. The climate of the Galilee Basin is generally hot and dry throughout, becoming more extreme towards the west. Monthly mean temperatures show daytime summer temperatures are mostly in the mid-30s °C with winter overnight temperatures most commonly between 5 and 12 °C. The temperature records from the past 36 years shows values ranging from −2 °C to 44 °C.Adani Carmichael coal mine and rail project Environmental Impact Study, Chapter 3 ‘Climate, Natural Hazards and Climate Change’under mine chapters, viewed 24 November 2016, http://www.adaniaustralia.com/wps/portal/businesses/carmichael-coal-mine-and-rail-project/!ut/p/z1/hY7NDoIwEISfhQPX7uIveqsJwSgxejBiL6aYWjCFklLg9W3Um6Jz251vJgMMUmAV7wrJbaErrtx9ZrPLepTEGISY4CoKkB5H8eIQ7YJ4O4HTP4A5GwdE0eXZExlo2IfzN_CjYwNMKp295tIqG4cSmBE3YYQhrXHv3Nq6WfroY9_3RGotlSBXXRLe-vgtlevGQvoBQ12meJ-qLqGe9wAOQ3MO/#environTab2 ‘Hot days’, with temperatures exceeding 35 °C, can be expected up to 74 to 101 days per year. ‘Frost days’ with screen temperatures below 2 °C can be expected up to 1.4 to 10.4 days per year. Relative humidity is highest in the mornings and during February, while the lowest is in the mid to late spring mornings and afternoons. The annual rainfall within the Galilee Basin ranges between 150 mm and 1,477 mm, with an average rainfall of between 492 mm and 610 mm depending on location. Rainfall in December through March accounts for approximately 65 per cent of annual mean rainfall. The wettest month on average is January and the driest month is May.

Human geography

The Galilee Basin covers 14 local government areas; Barcaldine; Barcoo; Blackall-Tambo; Central Highlands;

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

; Diamantina; Flinders; Longreach; Maranoa; McKinlay; Murweh;

Quilpie Quilpie ( ) is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Quilpie had a population of 530 people. The town is the administrative cent ...

;

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

& Winton, with none entirely included within the Galilee Basin. The basin spans parts of nine planning regions and five natural resource management regions. The Galilee Basin overlies the mining districts of

; Dalby;

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

;

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

;

& Winton. The Galilee Basin overlies all three Queensland Mining Regions "northern, central and southern". Pastoral grazing is by far the most frequent land use (greater than 95%) and conservation reserves occupy around 3%.

Wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s of national significance occupy 0.3% of the area of the Galilee subregion, and riverine

floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudie, ...

that are also potentially water dependent occupy a further 15.5% of the area. Most of the Galilee Basin is within the Desert Channels natural resource management (NRM) region. In the 2011

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

there were less than 20,000 residents in the Galilee Basin region (<12 people per 1 km²). The estimated residential population of the Galilee Basin region has decreased by −0.7% from 2001 to 2015. Rural towns and their respective populations within the Galilee Basin is provided Table 1. The indigenous

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

of the Galilee Basin is complex, with at least 12 Indigenous tribal or

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

groups in four separate language regions—Eyre, Gulf, Northeast and Riverine. There are

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty to that land by another colonising state. The requirements of proof for the recognition of ab ...

claims covering large portions of the basin and a number of Indigenous Land Use Agreements in place. The major

economic activities Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyse ...

in the Galilee Basin are

primary production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

(mostly rangeland grazing), government services,

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

-related activities. The dominant occupation (32.5%) is in the

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

category. With limited

restricted to the south-eastern corner and no coastal connection for fishery, this category is dominated by

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

production. The second highest occupation is government services, which includes

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

and health and social service care (19.8%). This is followed by five categories including retail trade; construction; education and training (schools mostly);

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

, postal and warehousing; and accommodation and

food services The foodservice (US English) or catering (British and Commonwealth English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school and hospital cafeteri ...

, which all provide significant employment (5 to 8%) in the Galilee Basin. Currently

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

is a low-level occupation category within the subregion at 1.3% but this may increase during the constructional and/or operational phases of projected coal mining and coal seam gas extraction developments, with possible impacts on other employment categories.

Ecology

The Galilee Basin has a diversity of ecological communities and species as a consequence of the interactions between its large area, several biologically significant climatic gradients, the biogeographic effects of eight river basins, and the importance of landscape form driving water and soil redistribution in semi-arid environments of inland Australia. This diversity is expressed through the presence of 31 subregions of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia and 46 major vegetation subgroups of the National Vegetation Information System. The most common

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

NVIS subgroups are (i)

Mitchell grass ''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass aft ...

(Astrebla) tussock

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

, (ii)

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

open

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s with a grassy understorey, and (iii) cleared, non-native vegetation. Other vegetation subgroups occur with lower frequency and form a complex mosaic that gradually changes from north-east to south-west across the Galilee Basin. The woody components of these vegetation types have been subject to clearance over 16% of the Galilee Basin, mainly to the east, with the aim of improving

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

productivity. The annual rate of clearance has declined since 2005. Pasture components are reported to have stable condition, except for a recent decline in the north-east corner. As rivers and streams are all intermittent, the durations of flow and non-flow periods, and the depth of water, together determine the number of

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

locally per unit area and degree of species sharing amongst rivers and residual waterholes. The ecology of rockholes (shallow depressions that collect local rainwater) and outcrop springs (springs of water that has percolated through rock layers in the immediately surrounding area) is poorly studied, as is the

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

of the species that occur within aquifers below ground level (stygobiota). However, discharge springs (springs of water that had percolated through rock layers over long distances and from which water emanates under pressure) are better studied, and numerous locally endemic species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

and

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

have been identified. The

of both discharge springs and stygobiota is understood to depend on relatively stable water regimes, compared with the highly intermittent character of other

aquatic Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

habitats In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

in the region. As a result of water drawdown for

, discharge springs have been subject to significant degradation over the last

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

. Only 36% of the 300 springs complexes (local clusters of springs) identified in the Great Artesian Basin in 1900 are still active. There are no data on impacts of agricultural drawdown on stygobiota. Discharge springs have also been subject to invasion by exotic plants and disturbance by

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

and

donkeys The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

. Riverbanks and waterholes are generally assessed to be in better condition.

Surface water and groundwater

The Galilee Basin straddles 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 ...

and encompasses the headwaters of seven major river basins. The Thompson river and Barcoo river of the Cooper Creek system, the

Diamantina River The Diamantina River is a major river in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia. The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Qu ...

, the

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes o ...

in the north-west, the

Bulloo River The Bulloo River is an isolated drainage system in western Queensland, central Australia. Its floodplain, which extends into northern New South Wales, is an important area for waterbirds when inundated. It comprises most of the Bulloo-Banc ...

in the south, and the

Warrego River The Warrego River is an intermittent river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, which is located in South West Queensland and in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Warrego River is the north ...

in the south-east. The subregion also extends across the

to the east and north-east into the headwaters of the Fitzroy river basin and Burdekin river basin. It also includes two nationally important wetlands, Lake Buchanan and Lake Galilee. The Galilee Basin includes aquifers that are a part of the Great Artesian Basin. These large

aquifers An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

are utilised as a water supply across much the Galilee subregion and importantly form a significant part of the recharge zone. Some

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

may also discharge to surface as springs or where hydrogeological conditions are favourable, discharge to major rivers. Water extraction and water budgets are detailed in the Great Artesian Water Resource Plan (2006), covering most of the Galilee subregion. This plan is unique in that it only applies to

artesian water An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of impermeable roc ...

and connected sub-artesian water of the Great Artesian Basin, and does not include management plans for surface water.

Geology

There are numerous suggestions of the origin of the Galilee Basin. Vine (1976) proposed downwarping, however Evans (1980) have suggested pull-apart basin related to shearing. Jackson et al. (1981) has suggested the basin was created from the reactivation of basement faults and downwarping. De Caritat & Braun (1982) proposed

Late Carboniferous Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * Late (The 77s album), ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudo ...

compressional

upthrust Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is the force exerted by a fluid opposing the weight of a partially or fully immersed object (which may be also be a parcel of fluid). In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of t ...

of the Anakie Inlier, creating a flexural

topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...

depression, followed in the

Late Permian Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...

– Mid-Triassic by

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second p ...

of the

oceanic plate Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramafic ...

to the east, which initiated the later development of the basin. Waschbusch et al. (2009) suggested the basin formed as a response to platform tilting caused by mantle corner flow. A review from Stewart (2011)Stewart, A.J., 2011, Galilee Basin, Australian Government Geoscience Australia. Viewed 18 November 2016 http://www.ga.gov.au/provexplorer/provinceDetails.do?eno=550790 This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under an Attribution 4.0 International license. identified an additional theory that the Galilee Basin began when crustal extension (Jericho and Denison events) during 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 ...

reactivated older faults from underlying basins. According to I'Anson et al. (2017), total subsidence of ~2 km from the Carboniferous to the Late Cretaceous in the Galilee Basin was punctuated by two major exhumation events in the Triassic and Cretaceous.

Sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

was initially restricted to

fluvial A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, but later expanded to other depocentres during deposition of

and

lacustrine A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

Tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

and volcanolithic

were deposited during the

(Jochmus Fm), and was followed by east–west contraction (Cattle Creek Event) that produced the Mid-Permian

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

across the basin.

Thermal subsidence In geology and geophysics, thermal subsidence is a mechanism of subsidence in which conductive cooling of the mantle thickens the lithosphere and causes it to decrease in elevation. This is because of thermal expansion: as mantle material cools ...

(Aldebaran and Bellata events) in the

–

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 ...

generated widespread

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

al siliciclastics with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

and some marine

across the basin. Subsequent uplift (Clematis Event) produced a wide spread

Lower Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic Period (geology), Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively kno ...

and was followed by

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

-rich

, then

and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility. Although its permeabil ...

, and

comprising the basal sequence of the Great Artesian Basin.

ended during the Mid Triassic Hunter-Bowen Orogeny (Showgrounds and Goondiwindi events). Compression during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

–

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

formed antiforms over faults in the basin.

Geological structures & depocentres

The Nebine Ridge and Springsure Shelf are structural highs that separate the Galilee Basin from the Bowen Basin to the south east. The Canaway Ridge separates the Galilee Basin from the

to the south west. The Galilee Basin contains up to 3000m of siliciclastics,

diamictite Diamictite (; from Ancient Greek (): 'through' and (): 'mixed') is a type of lithified sedimentary rock that consists of nonsorted to poorly sorted terrigenous sediment containing particles that range in size from clay to boulders, suspended ...

and

tuffaceous Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

units. The basin has three main depocentres: Lovelle Depression (>730 m of

–

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic period (geology), period or the middle of three series (stratigraphy), series in which the Triassic system (stratigraphy), system is di ...

) in NW; Koburra Trough (>2800 m of

– Middle Triassic

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

) in NE; and Powell Depression (>1700 m of Early Permian – Middle Triassic strata) in the south.

Stratigraphy

The geological units within the Galilee Basin are outlined below. A

stratigraphic section A stratigraphic section is a sequence of layers of rocks in the order they were deposited. It is based on the principle of original horizontality, which states that layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally under the action of ...

of the northern, eastern and southern regions of the Galilee Basin is provided within "the Hydrostratigraphic sequence of the Cenozoic, the Eromanga Basin and Galilee Basin". Coal seams Betts Creek Beds QLD

Economic geology

The Galilee Basin contains deposits of thermal coal and has been described as Australia's newest mining province. There are currently no operating coal mines in the Galilee Basin. Bravus Mining & Resources is expected to start production of thermal coal in late 2021. Exploration of

coal seam gas ''Coalbed methane'' (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, or coal seam gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Australia, and other co ...

conventional oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

and

tight oil Tight oil (also known as shale oil, shale-hosted oil or light tight oil, abbreviated LTO) is light crude oil contained in Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoir, unconventional petroleum-bearing formations of low Permeability (earth sciences), perme ...

and

shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and ...

resources is also being conducted. In 1981, the Queensland Department of Mines estimated that demonstrated resources reached 800 million tonnes near Alpha alone. In 2008, Waratah Coal announced the discovery of 4,400 million tonnes of coal in the basin. Geoscience Australia reports 15 mineral deposits within the Galilee Basin which include; Kevins Corner, Pentland, Alpha (Hancock), Alpha North, South Alpha, Galilee (Liberty), South Galilee, Carmichael, Pentland (United), Hughenden, White Mountain (Clyde Park), Yellow Jacket, South Pentland, Milray, Hyde Park Coal Project.

Unconventional gas

Exploration for coal seam gas is in early stages, and targets the thick coal seams of the Permian Betts Creek Beds, with a secondary target being the Aramac Coal Measures. Coal seam gas was generated by thermogenic processes when maximum burial depths of ~2 km were achieved in the Late Cretaceous as well as secondary biogenic gas generation following uplift. The challenges to a viable gas project in the Galilee Basin include low gas saturations, distance to market and large volumes of produced water.

Current mining

The Galilee Basin has 48 currently granted mining leases, comprising a total area of .MyMinesOnline Maps 3.6.0, Queensland Government, Latitude Geographics Group Ltd., 2015, viewed 21 November 2016, https://minesonlinemaps.business.qld.gov.au/SilverlightViewer/Viewer.html?Viewer=momapspublic All current mining leases within the basin are associated with small-scale mining operations for barite, bentonite, calcite, gypsum; limestone, opals; phosphate and potassium. The Galilee Basin has an active petroleum production lease ‘PL65’ held by Australian Gasfields Ltd. The Galilee Basin has 183 active quarry operations that have a combined area of 94 square kilometres.

Future mining

Large deposits of Permian thermal

(Betts Creek Beds & Colinlea Sandstone) outcrop on the eastern margin of the Galilee Basin. The coals are classified as high-volatile sub-bituminous to bituminous.Saul, G., Spargo, S., Skinner, M., Biggs, N., Hansen, H. and Coulls, R. 2015. The geology of the Hyde Park Coal Project, Bowen Basin Symposium 2015, p. 244. Currently there are no coal mines in production. Coal mining leases and coal mining lease applications within the Galilee Basin are included in Table 3. The proposed coal mining leases have a combined footprint of approximately 1.38% of the entire Galilee Basin, dominantly encompassing underground mining opportunities. Coal mining leases within the Galilee Basin have near term open-cut and long-term underground resources. The Galilee Basin also has some limited potential for future development of coal seam gas resources.

Coal mining leases

Coal mining leases and coal mining lease applications within the Galilee Basin

Carmichael coal mine

The most advanced proposal is Bravus Mining and Resource's

Carmichael coal mine The Carmichael coal mine is a coal mine in Queensland, Australia, owned by the Adani Group's Australian subsidiary Bravus Mining & Resources. It was approved by the government in 2014 and has been operational since December 2021. The mine was i ...

. In July 2014,

Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is an Australian former politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, repr ...

, the Australian Minister for Environment approved Adani's proposal for the

and its associated rail link to the coast. The A$16.5 billion project was expected initially to create the largest coal mine in Australia and one of the largest in the world, however was scaled back significantly to just 10mtpa. Financial analysts doubted the project was viable but the company self-financed the $2bn project in 2018. It struck first coal in June 2021 and is expected to start production at the end of the year.

Other projects

In May 2012, the Government of Queensland granted approval to Hancock Coal and GVK to construct the Alpha Coal Project. The mine is intended to export 30 million tonnes of thermal coal annually from 2015. One thousand employees will be needed once the mine is operational. Hancock is also hoping to develop the Kevin's Corner coal mine adjacent to the Alpha project.

Mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

, controlled by Clive Palmer, owns thermal coal deposits in the Galilee Basin, which he claims amounts to around 100 billion tonnes of coal. However, this amount of coal resource is not substantiated by official figures. Palmer's proposed China First mine which is owned by Waratah Coal, would result in the destruction of Bimblebox Nature Refuge, which is part of Australia's National Reserve System and is listed as a conservation area of State Significance in Queensland. The reserve is co-owned local landowner Paola Cassoni who is adamant the endangered

black-throated finch The black-throated finch (''Poephila cincta''), or parson finch, is a species of estrildid finch found in grassy woodlands throughout north-east Australia from Cape York Peninsula to central Queensland. The southern black-throated finch (''Poe ...

must be protected.In 2022 Queensland land court President Fleur Kingham ruled that the project should not go ahead because of its impact on climate change, its broader environmental effects, and its erosion of human rights. This was in response to a case brought by a First Nations-led group called Youth Verdict. The mine is expected to export 40 million tonnes of coal a year and according to Palmer will proceed even though one of the original supporters,

Vitol Vitol (Pronounced: Vee-Tol) is a Swiss-based Dutch multinational energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detiger. Though trading, logistics, and distribution are at the core of its b ...

, has left the project. China First Coal includes an open-cut, underground longwall mine, standard gauge railway and port facility.

Coal quality

Galilee Basin coal quality indicates a premium-quality low sulphur and low ash thermal washed product.AMCI website, viewed 22 November 2016 http://www.southgalilee.com.au/Default.aspx Further highlights of the coal quality include high ash fusion temperature, coupled with the low chlorine which reduces the slagging potential of the ash, whilst the excellent fuel ratios allows for efficient combustion and low carbon in ash. Galilee Basin coals are substantially lower in trace elements when compared to domestic and international averages. Analysis of the CO₂ emissions indicates a competitive product when compared against international benchmarks, producing 1.1 tonnes of CO₂ per Megawatt hour of electricity generated.Aurizon beyond 2020 sustainability report 2014 https://www.aurizon.com.au/~/media/aurizon/files/sustainability/sustainability%20reports/fy2014%20sustainability%20report.ashx This is on a par with some other high-

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

Australian and South African coals. Coal produced from the

is high quality thermal coal, with a weighted average value of 4,301–4,600 kcal/kg. It is more efficient than typical Indian or Indonesian coal. Its product specification is 5600Kcal and 11% ash. ''Note: ar – as received; ad – air dried; gar – gross as received''

Infrastructure

Galilee Basin State Development Area

Initiation of

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

within the Galilee Basin requires substantial capital expenditure on rail and port expansion. The Queensland Government declared the Galilee Basin State Development Area (SDA) in June 2014, supporting the development of the Galilee Basin in providing a robust statutory framework for development of linear infrastructure to the Port of Abbot Point.Galilee Basin State Development area, Department of State Development, Queensland, viewed on 22 November 2016. http://statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/coordinator-general/galilee-basin-state-development-area.html The Galilee Basin SDA will enable a coordinated approach to developing a multi-user common rail corridor whilst minimising impacts on landholders and the environment. The SDA supports development both to the central and southern Galilee Basin.

Abbot Point coal terminal

Port facilities at

Abbot Point The Port of Abbot Point is home to the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT), the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated approximately north-west of the town of Bowen, Queensland. Established in 1984, it consists of a ra ...

are expected to be the export point for coal sourced from the Galilee Basin. The Abbot Point Port includes the North Queensland Export Terminal, the most northerly deep-water coal port of Australia, situated approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-west of the township of Bowen (

). North Queensland Export Terminal has been operating for 35 years, safely, responsibly and efficiently exporting coal, however the port's location has been considered controversial as it is so close to the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

, a

UNESCO world heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Other infrastructure

A proposal for a coal-fired power station in the area has been placed on hold. Water supply for mines in the basin was once provided as a reason supporting the development of the Bradfield Scheme.

Paleontology

In the south-east of the basin lies the Rewan Formation. Small assemblages of the

tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...

species,

Lydekkerina ''Lydekkerina'' is an extinct genus of stereospondyl temnospondyl. It is the type genus of the family Lydekkerinidae. Fossils have been collected from Early Triassic deposits in South Africa and Australia. The type species is '' L. huxleyi'', f ...

from the Lootsbergian age, have been found.

References

{{coord, 22, 00, S, 146, 00, E, region:AU-QLD_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Geology of Queensland Coal mining in Queensland Sedimentary basins of Australia Coal mining regions in Australia Central West Queensland North West Queensland South West Queensland Energy in Queensland