South Eastern Queensland is an interim Australian bioregion located in south-eastern

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 ...

and north-eastern

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 ...

. It has an area of . It is one of the most biodiverse bioregions in Australia. The bioregion is home to

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forests and woodlands, with rainforests on mountain slopes and in stream valleys and wallum heaths near the coast.EHP. 2016. A Biodiversity Planning Assessment Southeast Queensland Bioregion v4.1. Flora Expert Panel Report: Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government. South Eastern Queensland bioregion is the northernmost part of the

Eastern Australian temperate forests The Eastern Australian temperate forests, or the Eastern Australian temperate and subtropical forests, is a broad ecoregion of open forest on uplands (typically on the Great Dividing Range) starting from the east coast of New South Wales in th ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Geography

South Eastern Queensland bioregion extends along the eastern coast of Australia in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. It is bounded on the west by 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 on the east by the Tasman Sea. It is bounded on the north by the dry coastal region between Gladstone and Rockhampton, where the

Brigalow Belt The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Aus ...

savannas extend to the coast. The Brigalow Belt also bounds the bioregion to the west, beyond the Great Dividing Range. The bioregion encompasses

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

, the most densely populated region in Queensland and home to over 70% of the state's population.

Subregions

South Eastern Queensland consists of 14 subregions: * Burnett-Curtis Hills and Ranges (SEQ01) – * Moreton Basin (SEQ02) – * Burringbar-Conondale Ranges (SEQ03) – * Sunshine Coast-Gold Coast Lowlands (SEQ04) – * Brisbane-Barambah Volcanics (SEQ05) – *

South Burnett The South Burnett is a peanut growing and wine-producing area on the Great Dividing Range, north of the Darling Downs, in Queensland. It is with the basin of the Burnett River. The area is within two local government areas, South Burnett Region ...

(SEQ06) – * Gympie Block (SEQ07) – * Burnett-Curtis Coastal Lowlands (SEQ08) – * Great Sandy (SEQ09) – *

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 Sce ...

(SEQ10) – * Woodenbong (SEQ11) – * Clarence Sandstones (SEQ12) – * Clarence Lowlands (SEQ13) – * Southern Great Barrier Reef (SEQ14) –

Climate

South Eastern Queensland has a humid subtropical climate, with warm rainy summers and mild winters.

Protected areas

The bioregion includes the

Gondwana Rainforests The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate res ...

and

Fraser Island K'gari ( , ), also known by its former name Fraser Island, is a World Heritage-listed sand island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The island lies approximately north of the state capi ...

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 ...

s. Other protected areas include: *

Arakwal National Park Arakwal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 624 km north of Sydney and immediately south of Cape Byron, the most easterly point of mainland Australia. The park protects an area of Wallum country, of coastal clay ...

Border Ranges National Park The Border Ranges National Park is a state park, 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 situ ...

Broadwater National Park Broadwater is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 577 km northeast of Sydney. A wide range of various vegetation, coastal rainforests, swamps, open eucalyptus forests are a great refuge for many species of migratory birds. Broa ...

Broken Head Nature Reserve The Broken Head Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the promontory of Broken Head which lies approximately 9 km south of Cape Byron, the easternmost poin ...

Bundjalung National Park The Bundjalung National Park is a national park located on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, north-east of Sydney. It protects an area of coastal plain, heathland and solitary beaches between the towns of Iluka and Evans Head. ...

* Cape Byron State Conservation Area *

Gibraltar Range National Park Gibraltar Range is a national park located in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. It is situated 79 kilometres (49 mi) northeast of Glen Innes and north of Sydney. The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area, which is ...

* Iluka Nature Reserve * Koreelah National Park * Mebbin National Park * Moore Park Nature Reserve *

Nightcap National Park The Nightcap National Park is a national park situated within the Nightcap Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in April 1983 and is situated north of . The park was established following cam ...

* Richmond Range National Park *

Tooloom National Park The Tooloom National Park is a protected national park located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The part is situated approximately north of Sydney and from the border town of . The park is part of the Focal Peak ...

* Toonumbar National Park * Tweed Heads Historic Site * Tyagarah Nature Reserve *

Victoria Park Nature Reserve The Victoria Park Nature Reserve is a state park, protected nature reserve that is located in the Northern Rivers region in the state of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The sub-tropical jungle remnant is located an undulating high rainfal ...

* Washpool National Park * Yuraygir National Park

References

{{Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) Biogeography of Queensland Biogeography of New South Wales IBRA regions Eastern Australian temperate forests