Great Dividing Range

Coordinates: 25°S 147°E / 25°S 147°E / -25; 147
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Great Dividing Range
  • Eastern Highlands
  • Great Divide
Great Dividing Range
Highest point
PeakMount Kosciuszko, Snowy Mountains
Elevation2,228 m (7,310 ft)[1]
Coordinates36°27′21″S 148°15′49″E / 36.45583°S 148.26361°E / -36.45583; 148.26361
Dimensions
Length3,500 km (2,200 mi) North–South
Geography
The Great Dividing Range consists of a complex of mountain ranges, plateaus, upland areas and escarpments.
CountryAustralia
Victoria and Australian Capital Territory
Range coordinates25°S 147°E / 25°S 147°E / -25; 147
Geology
Age of rockCarboniferous

The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a

river systems
in eastern Australia, hence the name.

The Great Dividing Range stretches more than 3,500 kilometres (2,175 mi) from

World Heritage Areas are located in the Range. The highest place in Australia, the 2,228 m (7,310 ft) Mount Kosciuszko, resides in the Snowy Mountains
portion of southern Great Dividing Range.

Geography

The Dividing Range does not consist of a single continuous mountain chain, but is rather a combined complex (cordillera) of mountain ranges, plateaus, hilly upland areas and escarpments 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.[4] Typically the highlands range from 300 to 1,600 metres (980 to 5,250 ft) in height.[4] The mountains and plateaus, which consist of limestones, sandstone, quartzite, schists and dolomite, have been created by faulting and folding processes.[5]

The

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 400 km (249 mi) wide.[4]
Notable ranges and other features which form part of the range complex have their own distinctive names.

As a

Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre; the numerous rivers of western Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia (North/Far North Queensland) drain westwards or northwestwards directly into the Gulf of Carpentaria
.

Climate

The Monaro Plains (top right) are drier than the verdant western upslopes (bottom left) as they lie in a rain shadow. (View of the Snowy Mountains region)

The sharp rise between the coastal lowlands and the eastern uplands has affected

adiabatic compression as it comes down the lee slopes, forming a rain shadow.[8]

In the cool season, the Great Dividing Range would shield much of the southeast (i.e.

Bowral, Bombala, Nimmitabel, and Canberra, are warmer and drier relative to altitude.[10]

Moreover,

Mount Buller, Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, Mount Buffalo and Mount Baw Baw.[11]

History

Bungendore, New South Wales

The Great Dividing Range was formed during the Carboniferous period—over 300 million years ago—when Australia collided with what are now parts of South America and New Zealand.[12] 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

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.[13] Although the most daunting obstacle to the western expansion of civilisation, 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[14] and village of Capertee.[15]
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.[16][13] 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. 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

Paul Edmund Strzelecki, Ludwig Leichhardt 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

Mt Feathertop viewed from Smoko

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

National Parks
.

All of mainland Australia's alpine areas, including its highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres or 7,310 feet AHD), are part of this range, called the Main Range.[4] 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,

Canberra wine region and the Southern Tablelands
.

The

Monaro District
. Whilst some of the peaks of the highlands reach respectable heights of a little over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), 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

New England 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.[3]

Well known passes on the range include Coxs Gap, Cunninghams Gap, Dead Horse Gap, Nowlands Gap, and Spicers Gap.

Major cities located on the upland areas of the range include

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 or near the range include:

Water catchments

Some of the most spectacular waterfalls in Australia, such as Dangar Falls at Dorrigo, New South Wales, are located along the Great Dividing Range.

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.

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

Eyre Basin
. Many other variations have been proposed.

The Great Dividing Range creates the

the east coast and into the Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea, and Bass Strait 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.[2] Rivers that flow north into the Murray–Darling Basin from Victoria include the Goulburn, Mitta Mitta, Kiewa, Ovens, King, Loddon and Campaspe rivers. Rivers that flow east into the Pacific Ocean include the Annan River, Barron River, Brisbane River, Burdekin River, Burnett River, Clarence River, Daintree River, Fitzroy River, Hastings River, Hawkesbury River, Hunter River, Karuah River, Macleay River, Mary River, Pascoe River, Richmond River and the Shoalhaven River. Those that flow south, primarily through Victoria, include the Snowy, Cann, Tambo, Mitchell, Latrobe, Thomson, Yarra, Werribee, Hopkins and Glenelg rivers.[3]

Features

At some high hill passes the range provides cool sites appropriate for vineyards.[17]

Railways

A number of scenic railways, such as this one at Scenic World, Katoomba, climb various shorter routes along the range

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:

Road transport

Many of Australia's highways such as 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 parks and other reserves. Most of the national parks are listed below, and there are almost double that amount of state forests.[19][20]

Victoria
View from the peak of Mount Feathertop, facing north-east, showing the Fainters and other mountains

Awards

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location".[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kosciuszko National Park". Australian Alps National Parks. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b Australia.gov. "Australian Rocks and Mountains". Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-00-217315-8
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-521-76741-5
    .
  5. ISBN 0-7614-7289-4
    . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  6. ISBN 0-09-130460-1
    .
  7. S2CID 123497649
    .
  8. doi:10.1175/2010JAMC2219.1
    .
  9. ^ Rain Shadows Archived 22 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine by Don White. Australian Weather News. Willy Weather. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  10. ^ And the outlook for winter is … wet Archived 25 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine by Kate Doyle from The New Daily. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  11. doi:10.1002/qj.49711146709. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ISBN 978-1-4987-5609-9
    . Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Crossing the Great Dividing Range—surveying an ancient land". About Australia. Australian Government. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Big blue when it comes to the Great Dividing Range". Lithgow Mercury. 24 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Capertee - Lithgow Tourism". lithgow-tourism.com. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. ISSN 1833-7538. Archived
    from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  17. ISBN 0-15-100913-9
    . Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  18. ^ "NSW Railway Altitude Highs and Lows". www.nswrail.net. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  19. ^ Melway, Edition 35 2008, Touring Maps
  20. ^ Brisway, Edition 1, 2005
  21. ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.

External links

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