Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Australia

Geography

Australia consists of the mainland Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, numerous smaller offshore islands, and the remote offshore territories of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard and McDonald Islands, and Norfolk Island. Australia also claims about 42% of Antarctica as the Australian Antarctic Territory, but this claim is only recognised by four other countries.

Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south, and longitudes 112° and 154° east. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand.

History

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains, which have been dated to approximately 42,000 years ago.

Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth.

Economy

Australia's mixed-market economy is highly developed and rich in natural resources. It is the world's twelfth largest by nominal terms and the twenty-third largest by PPP. As of 2021, Australia has the second-highest amount of wealth per adult, after Luxembourg, and the thirteenth-highest financial assets per capita, as well as one of the highest per capita incomes globally. It has a labour force of some 14.6 million, with an unemployment rate of 4.2% as of December 2025. According to the Australian Council of Social Service, the poverty rate of Australia exceeds 13.6% of the population, encompassing over 3.2 million. It also estimated that there were 774,000 (17.7%) children under the age of 15 living in relative poverty.

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. Typically the highlands range from 300 to 1,600 metres (980 to 5,250 ft) in height. The mountains and plateaus, which consist of limestones, sandstone, quartzite, schists and dolomite, have been created by faulting and folding processes.

Climate

The sharp rise between the coastal lowlands and the eastern uplands has affected Australia's climate, mainly due to orographic precipitation, and these areas of highest relief have revealed an impressive gorge country. Areas to the east of the mountain range in southern NSW usually experience a Föhn effect, which is a dry wind originating from the Great Dividing Range that abruptly raises the air temperature in the lee of that mountain range and reduces atmospheric moisture. This dry wind, which elevates fire danger in the warm months, occurs because of the partial orographic obstruction of relatively damp low-level air and the subsiding of drier upper-level air in leeward of the mountains.

History

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. 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 Aboriginal Australian peoples. Evidence remains in some places of their traditional way of life including decorated caves, campsites and trails used to travel between the coastal and inland regions. Many descendants of these early inhabitants still exist today, and some remain the traditional owners and custodians of their lands.

After British colonisation in 1788, the ranges were an obstacle to exploration and settlement by European settlers.

Geology and geography

The Nullarbor Plain is a former shallow seabed, as indicated by the presence of bryozoans, foraminifera, echinoids and red algae calcareous skeletons that make up the limestone. The region is also the location of "Nullarbor limestone" and it has a reputation as a significant karst region with Oligocene and Miocene cave formations.

the Toolinna Limestone does not cover the whole Nullarbor and is extant only in the extreme east beside the Abrakurrie formation which lies in a depression.

One theory is that the whole area was uplifted by crustal movements in the Miocene, and since then, erosion by wind and rain has reduced its thickness. The plain has most likely never had any major defining topographic features, resulting in the extremely flat terrain across the plain today.

Climate

The Nullarbor includes desert and semi-arid climate zones. Using updated versions of the Köppen climate classifications, the plain most closely fits the Köppen BWk "cold desert" and BSk "cold semi-arid" taxons (rather than the BWh "hot desert" type found in central Australia). While summer days can be scorching hot, with daytime temperatures close to 50 °C (122 °F), in winter nights frequently drop well below freezing. Close to the coast, temperatures are more moderate and more rain falls in the winter months, compared to the most inland parts of Australia. The mean annual rainfall at Cook is 184.1 millimetres (7.25 in), with most rain falling between May and August.

History

Historically, the Nullarbor was seasonally occupied by Indigenous Australian people, the Mirning clans and Yinyila people. Traditionally, the area was called Oondiri, which is said to mean 'the waterless'.

The first Europeans known to have sighted and mapped the Nullarbor coast were Captain François Thijssen and Councillor of the Indies, Pieter Nuyts, on the Dutch East Indiaman 't Gulden Zeepaert (the Golden Seahorse). In 1626–1627, they charted a stretch of the southern Australian coast east of Cape Leeuwin and extending to longitude 133 30'E. While the interior remained little known to Europeans over the next two centuries, the stretch of coast adjoining the Great Australian Bight was named for Nuyts, and maps subsequent to 1627 bore the legend "Landt van P. Nuyts" or "Terre de Nuyts".

Climate

Rainfall is low throughout the coast and, especially further north, is strongly seasonal. Areas near the Kimberley have an average rainfall that exceeds 300 mm (12 in), but can be patchy. Many dry years end with a monsoon cloud mass or a tropical cyclone. Like many of Australia's deserts, precipitation is high by desert standards, but with the driest regions recording total rainfall a little below 250 mm (9.8 in). The heat of Australia’s ground surface, in turn, creates a massive evaporation cycle, which partially explains the higher-than-normal desert rainfall. This region is one which gives rise to the heat lows, which help drive the NW monsoon. Almost all the rain regionally comes from monsoon thunderstorms, or the occasional tropical cyclone rain depression.

Economy

Indigenous art is a huge industry in central Australia. Mines, most importantly the Telfer gold mine and Nifty copper mine, and cattle stations are found in the far west. Telfer is one of the largest gold mines in Australia. The undeveloped Kintyre uranium deposit lies south of Telfer.

Geography

The area is from Port Roper on the Gulf of Carpentaria around the coast to the East Alligator River, where it adjoins Kakadu National Park. The major centres are Jabiru on the Kakadu National Park border, Maningrida at the Liverpool River mouth, and Nhulunbuy (also known as Gove) in the far north-east, on the Gove Peninsula. Gove is the site of large-scale bauxite mining with an associated alumina refinery. Its administrative centre is the town of Nhulunbuy, the fourth-largest population centre in the Northern Territory.

The climate of Arnhem Land is tropical monsoon with a wet and dry season.

History

The Yolŋu culture in East Arnhem Land is possibly one of the oldest living cultures on Earth; humans are known to have inhabited the region for about 60,000 years. DNA studies have confirmed that "Aboriginal Australians are one of the oldest living populations in the world, certainly the oldest outside of Africa"; their descendants left the African continent 75,000 years ago. They may have the oldest continuous culture on earth. Oral histories comprising complex narratives have been passed down through hundreds of generations, and the Aboriginal rock art, dated by modern techniques, shows continuity of their culture.

Arnhem Land is the location of the oldest-known (as of 2010) stone axe of its kind, which scholars believe to be 35,500 years old.

Economy

In 2013–14, the entire region contributed around A$1.3 billion or 7% to the Northern Territory's gross state product, mainly through bauxite mining.

In 2019, it was announced that NASA had chosen Arnhem Land as the location for a space launch facility. The Arnhem Space Centre was built near Nhulunbuy, employing mostly local labour, and on 27 June 2022, NASA launched the first rocket there, which was the first rocket launch from a commercial spaceport outside the US. Two further launches followed, the third on 11 July. The facility ceased operations in 2024.

Geography

Black soil plains cover much of the Barkly Tableland. Rainfall in this inland area is low (350mm per year) and subject to extreme seasonal fluctuations with rains occurring from November to March during the hot (up to 40 °C) summer. Winters are cool and frost may occur, especially in the southern section of the plain in Queensland.

The Barkly Tableland is a distinct physiographic province of the larger West Australian Shield division. It includes the Mueller Plateau and Sandover-Pituri Platform physiographic sections between the desert uplands in the west and Mount Isa, Queensland in the east.

Ecology

The dominant flora of the Tableland is semi-arid savanna of Mitchell grass. The grasslands are mostly used for cattle grazing and are home to some threatened species of plants and animals.

Mitchell grass is hardy with long roots so is well adapted to dry soils and periods of drought. The grasslands support other distinctive plants alongside the grasses but there are no areas of thick woodland, only acacia trees scattered across the plain, and red river gum along watercourses.

The habitat of the Mitchell Grass Downs is mostly a uniform cover of grassland and therefore does not support a great variety of wildlife.

History

William Landsborough was the first non-Indigenous Australian person to explore the tableland, and named it after Sir Henry Barkly, then governor of Victoria.

In 1877 the overlander, Nathaniel Buchanan and Sam Croker crossed the Barkly Tableland and rode on to the Overland Telegraph Line opening new land for settlement. It was not until the introduction of generous leasing arrangements on the Barkly in the late 1870s that the region became more settled.

Climate

Rainfall in the Gibson Desert ranges from 200 to 250 millimetres (7.9 to 9.8 in) annually, while evaporation rates are in the range of 3,600 millimetres (140 in) per year. The climate is generally hot; summer maximum temperatures rise above 40 °C (104 °F) whilst in winter the maximum may fall to 18 °C (64 °F) and minimum winter temperatures dip to 6 °C (43 °F).

Location and description

The Gibson Desert is between the saline Kumpupintil Lake and Lake Macdonald along the Tropic of Capricorn, south of the Great Sandy Desert, east of the Little Sandy Desert, and north of the Great Victoria Desert. The altitude rises to just above 500 metres (1,600 ft) in places. As noted by early Australian explorers such as Ernest Giles, large portions of the desert are characterized by gravel-covered terrains covered in thin desert grasses, and it also contains extensive areas of undulating red sand plains and dunefields, low rocky/gravelly ridges and substantial upland portions with a high degree of laterite formation. The sandy soil of the lateritic buckshot plains is rich in iron.

History

In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cross the desert. He named the desert after the then-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. In 1891, David Lindsey's expedition travelled across this area from north to south. Frank Hann was looking for gold in this area between 1903 and 1908. Len Beadell explored the area in the 1960s.

Location and description

The Great Victoria is the largest desert in Australia, and consists of many small sandhills, grassland plains, areas with a closely packed surface of pebbles (called desert pavement or gibber plains), and salt lakes. It is over 700 km (430 mi) wide (from west to east) and covers an area of 348,750 km2 (134,650 sq mi) from the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia to the Gawler Ranges in South Australia. The Western Australian mulga shrublands ecoregion lies to the west, the Little Sandy Desert to the northwest, the Gibson Desert and the Central Ranges xeric shrublands to the north, the Tirari-Sturt stony desert to the east, and the Nullarbor Plain to the south separates it from the Southern Ocean.

Geography

The desert covers 80,250 km2 making it Australia's seventh largest desert. The Dingo Fence, Birdsville Track, the Strzelecki Track, the Diamantina River, Cooper Creek and the Strzelecki Creek all pass through the Desert. The desert is characterised by extensive dune fields and is home to three wilderness areas.

Much of the desert is preserved within the Strzelecki Regional Reserve in South Australia. Parts of the eastern sections of the desert are protected by the Sturt National Park in New South Wales. A population of the endangered Dusky Hopping Mouse lives in the desert.

Geography

The highest peaks are Mount Zeil with an elevation of 1,531 metres (5,023 ft) AHD, Mount Edward at 1,423 metres (4,669 ft), Mount Giles at 1,389 metres (4,557 ft) Mount Sonder at 1,380 metres (4,530 ft) AHD and Mount Liebig at 1,249 metres (4,098 ft) AHD, the five highest mountains in the Northern Territory. The headwaters of the Todd, Finke and Sandover rivers form in the MacDonnell Ranges. The range is crossed by the Australian Overland Telegraph Line, the Stuart Highway and the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor at the Heavitree Gap, a water gap created by the Todd River, at the southern entrance to Alice Springs.

Geology

Some 300-350 million years ago a mountain building event created the MacDonnell Ranges. Since that time, folding, faulting and erosion have shaped the range and created numerous gaps and gorges. The ranges are composed of many rock types, but are most famous for their red quartzite peaks and gorges. Other rock types include granite, limestone, sandstone and siltstone. Some of the valleys of the range contain fossil evidence of the inland sea that once covered central Australia.

Ecology

Part of the Central Ranges xeric scrub ecoregion of dry scrubby grassland, the ranges are home to a large number of endemic species that includes the centralian tree frog Litoria gilleni. This is mostly due to the micro climates that are found around the cold rock pools.

Geology

The Darling Scarp originated as the local expression, in the Perth area, of the extensive Darling Fault, a major and ancient geological discontinuity separating the Archaean Yilgarn craton in the east from the younger Pinjarra Orogen and overlying Phanerozoic Perth Basin to the west. The Darling Fault is exposed for over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), from the area east of Shark Bay, to the southern coast of Western Australia east of Albany. The location of the scarp must once have coincided with the location of the fault, but the scarp has since eroded about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) eastwards. The original location of the scarp is indicated in places by an unusual landform known as the Ridge Hill Shelf.

The Darling Plateau is covered by lateritic materials that cover the underlying geology.

History

The feature was first recorded as General Darling Range by Charles Fraser, Government Botanist with Captain James Stirling aboard HMS Success in March 1827.

Maps from the 1830s show the scarp labelled General Darlings Range; this later became Darling Range, a name by which the formation was still commonly known in the late 20th century despite common understanding of it being an escarpment. There is also a tendency to identify the locations on or to the east of the scarp as being in the Perth Hills (or simply The Hills), despite extending over hundreds of kilometers.

The earliest traverses by British settlers in the Swan River Colony occurred in the 1830s.

Geology

The Flinders Ranges are composed largely of folded and faulted sediments of the Adelaide Geosyncline. This very thick sequence was deposited in a large basin during the Neoproterozoic on the passive margin of the ancient continent of Rodinia. During the Cambrian (about 540 million years ago) the area underwent the Delamerian orogeny, when this sequence of rocks was folded and faulted into a large mountain range. The area has undergone subsequent erosion resulting in the relatively low ranges today.

Most of the high ground and ridgetops are sequences of quartzites that outcrop along strike. The high walls of Wilpena Pound are formed by the outcropping beds of the eponymous Pound Quartzite in a synclinal structure.

Climate

The region has a semi-arid climate with hot dry summers and cool winters. Summer temperatures usually exceed 38 °C (100 °F), while winters have highs around 13–16 °C (55–61 °F), depending on the elevation. Although rainfall is erratic, most of the precipitation falls in winter. There are also some monsoonal showers and storms that move in from the north during the summer. The area gets around 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain annually, with the highest at Wilpena Pound, at 350 mm (14 in). Frost is common on winter mornings and temperatures have dropped as low as −8 °C (18 °F). Snow has even been recorded in the Wilpena Pound and at Blinman. As of 2013, the last significant snowfall was in 1995.

History

The first humans to inhabit the Flinders Ranges were the Adnyamathanha people (meaning "hill people" or "rock people") whose descendants still reside in the area, and the Ngadjuri (Ndajurri) people, They inhabited the range for tens of thousands of years before being dispersed by European settlement after colonisation. Cave paintings, rock engravings and other cultural artefacts indicate that the Adnyamathana and Ndajurri lived in the Flinders Ranges for tens of thousands of years. Occupation of the Warratyi rock shelter dates back approximately 49,000 years.

The first European explorers were an exploration party from Matthew Flinders' seagoing visit to upper Spencer Gulf aboard HMS Investigator. They climbed Mount Brown in March 1802.

Geology

Unlike the high mountain ranges found in places like the Rockies (highest peak 4,401 m (14,439 ft)), the European Alps (highest peak 4,808 m (15,774 ft)) or the Himalayas (highest peak 8,848 m (29,029 ft)), the Australian Alps were not formed by two continental plates colliding and pushing up the Earth's rocky mantle to form jagged, rocky peaks. Instead, the Australian Alps consist of a high plateau, with significantly softer rolling hills spread across a long, wide plateau that was lifted thousands of feet up by the movement of magma when Gondwana began to break up between 130 and 160 million years ago. The highest peak in the Australian Alps is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres (7,310 ft)).

Ecology

The Australian Alps are important for conservation, recreation, and as a water drainage basin, with much of the range's eastern slopes having its runoff diverted artificially into the Murray River and its tributary the Murrumbidgee River through the civil engineering project of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

The range's natural ecology is protected by large national parks, in particular the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and the adjoining Alpine National Park in Victoria. These are managed cooperatively as the Australian Alps National Parks by agencies of the Australian government and the state governments of this region.

The Australian Alps also contain the only skiing areas of mainland Australia.

History

The southern section of Eighty Mile Beach is part of the traditional territory of the Nyangumarta people, who maintain a strong connection to the area with many songs, stories and ceremonies associated with sites along and in the vicinity of the beach. In June 2009 the Federal Court of Australia determined that the Nyangumarta People were the valid native title holders of that section of the beach. The judgement of the Court was delivered on country at Nyiyamarri Pukurl, a site adjacent to the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park.

Traditional ownership of the northern part of Eighty Mile Beach, within the vicinity of the Anna Plains pastoral lease, is shared between the Nyangumarta People and the Karajarri (or Garadjari) People.

Description

Eighty Mile Beach lies in the Shire of Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, in the Dampierland bioregion. It extends south-west from Cape Missiessy 19°03′S 121°31′E in a shallow curve to Cape Keraudren 19°58′S 119°46′E, with its midpoint at 19°37′S 120°59′E. The beach is about 100 m wide and has a gentle gradient. It consists of sand with a high proportion of shelly material, and experiences a very large tidal range with an amplitude of up to 9 m. The adjoining tidal mudflats vary from 1 to 5 km in width. On the landward side it is bordered by dunes, a narrow floodplain and, further inland, by a strip of pindan woodland or shrubland.

Tourism and access

Eighty Mile Beach is subject to a relatively low but increasing amount of tourism. A caravan park has been established on Wallal Downs at one of the access points to the beach, 250 km north of Port Hedland and 365 km south of Broome. It is used for fishing, seashell collecting and other beach-based recreation.

History

The Atherton Tableland has a long history of Indigenous occupation. Aspects of traditional Aboriginal land use and culture have been documented from the period of first contact to present. Aboriginal people with ties to the region seek to maintain their culture today, despite a long period of forced removal from their lands following European occupation in the late 19th-early 20th century.

Yidinji (also known as Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) is a local Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale, and the Mulgrave River, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi.

Geography

The peninsula is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about 2,100 square kilometres (811 sq mi), and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five family outstations, but without any notable settlement or village.

It is separated from Croker Island in the east by Bowen Strait, which is 2.5 kilometres (1.3 nmi; 1.6 mi) wide in the south and up to 7 kilometres (3.8 nmi; 4.3 mi) in the north, and 8.5 kilometres (4.6 nmi; 5.3 mi) long. In the west, it is separated from Melville Island by Dundas Strait. From Cape Don, the western point of the peninsula, to Soldier Point in the east of Melville Island, the distance is 28 kilometres (17 mi). In the north is the Arafura Sea, and in the south the Van Diemen Gulf.

History

The Cobourg Peninsula has been the country of the Iwaidja and the associated Marrgu, Garig and Wurrugu Indigenous Australian people for at least 40,000 years.

European interest in the region began in the 1636 when the Dutch explorer Pieter Pieterszoon sailed along the peninsula's coastline, while Abel Tasman also surveyed the area in 1644. Dutch interest lapsed until 1705 when the Dutch East India Company ordered Captain Maarten van Delft to prepare a fleet of three vessels to make a closer inspection of the region. He remained for three months at the Tiwi Islands before surveying part of the peninsula. He named Maarten Van Delft Bay after himself, which is now known as Port Essington.

Geography

The delineation of the Riverina region varies by government agency or body. Common official boundaries include the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Statistical Area Level 4 Riverina region, Australian Electoral Commission's Federal Election Boundary called Riverina, Natural Resource Management Regions Riverina region, Regional Development Australia's Riverina region and Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia's Riverina region.

In common usage the Riverina generally comprises the agricultural and pastoral areas of New South Wales, west of the Great Dividing Range and in the drainage basin of the snow-fed Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. The northern boundary beyond the Riverina is determined by the Lachlan River catchment area and is referred to as the Central West.

History

Aboriginal people are thought to have inhabited the Riverina for at least 40,000 years. The Wiradjuri people were the original inhabitants of much of south western New South Wales including much of the Riverina region along the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers. Other groups living along the Murrumbidgee included the Nari-Nari on the western plains where the town of Hay, the Muthi-Muthi along the Lowbidgee, Gurendji and the Yida-Yida of Oxley. Along both sides of the Murray River lived the Yorta Yorta people inhabiting the area of the Riverina as far east as the present day city of Albury and as far north as the Finley and Deniliquin districts. The Murray was also home to other groups such as the Bangerang, Baraba-Baraba, Wemba-Wemba, Wadi-Wadi, Dadi-Dadi and Paarkantji communities.

Geography and wildlife

Coastal features include expansive intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches and sheltered coves interrupted by prominent headlands and plunging granite cliffs in the south, backed by coastal dunes and swamps. The promontory is surrounded by a scatter of small granite islands which, collectively, form the Wilsons Promontory Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for breeding seabirds.

Tidal River is the main river in Wilsons Promontory. The river runs into Norman Bay and swells with the tide. The river is a very fascinating colour, a purple-yellow. This is due to the large number of tea trees in the location, which stain the water with tannin, giving it a tea-like appearance.

Climate

Wilsons Promontory has an Oceanic climate (Cfb) heavily influenced by the Roaring Forties, bringing summer temperatures far below what is the norm on mainland Australia at sea level. Winters and springs are dominated by low-pressure systems and high rainfall.

Human history

The promontory was first occupied by indigenous Koori people at least 6,500 years prior to European arrival. Middens along the western coast indicate that the inhabitants subsisted on a seafood diet.

The promontory is mentioned in dreamtime stories, including the Bollum-Baukan, Loo-errn and Tiddalik myths. It is considered the home of the spirit ancestor of the Brataualung clan - Loo-errn. The area remains highly significant to the Gunai/Kurnai and the Boon wurrung people, who consider the promontory to be their traditional country/land.

The first European to see the promontory was George Bass in January 1798. He initially referred to it as "Furneaux's Land" in his diary, believing it to be what Captain Furneaux had previously seen.

Geography

The range runs from the Fortescue River in the northeast, 460 kilometres (290 mi) to the south. The range contains Western Australia's highest point, Mount Meharry, which reaches approximately 1,249 metres (4,098 ft) AHD. There are many extensively eroded gorges, such as Wittenoom Gorge. The twenty highest peaks in Western Australia are in the Hamersley Range. Peaks in the range include Mount Bruce (1,234 metres (4,049 ft)), Mount Nameless/Jarndunmunha (1,115 metres (3,658 ft)), Mount Reeder Nichols (1,109 metres (3,638 ft)), Mount Samson (1,107 metres (3,632 ft)), Mount Truchanas (1,148 metres (3,766 ft)) and Mount Tom Price (775 metres (2,543 ft)).

Karijini National Park (formerly Hamersley National Park), one of Australia's largest national parks, is centred in the range.

History

The traditional Aboriginal owners of the area that the range runs through are the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples.

In 1999 a small range within the Hamersley was named the Hancock Range after the Hancock family, who were pioneers in the area. The Hancock range is east of Karijini National Park in a region of broad valleys and peaks that rise to almost 1,200 metres (3,937 ft). The Hancock Range is close to Mulga Downs Station, a property owned by the Hancock family and where Lang Hancock is buried.

Geography

The largest city and commercial centre of the Darling Downs is Toowoomba about 132 kilometres (82 mi) west of Brisbane. Other towns situated on what is now called The Downs include Dalby, Warwick, Stanthorpe, Wallangarra, Goondiwindi, Oakey, Miles, Pittsworth, Allora, Clifton, Cecil Plains, Drayton, Millmerran, Nobby, and Chinchilla. The New England Highway, Gore Highway and the Warrego Highway traverse the region. The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing has been constructed so that heavy traffic can avoid passing through Toowoomba. Coolmunda Dam, Leslie Dam, Cooby Dam, Perseverance Dam, Cressbrook Dam, Storm King Dam and the Glenlyon Dam are some of the major water storage facilities in the area. West of Toowoomba is the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport.

History

Baranggum (also known as Barrunggam, Barunggam Parrungoom, Murrumgama) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Baranggum people. The Baranggum language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Western Downs Regional Council, particularly Dalby, Tara, Jandowae and west towards Chinchilla.

Originally, the Darling Downs was covered with a wealth of indigenous grasses which created an ideal verdure for stock eight months of the year. The Darling Downs Aboriginals had an annual burning season at the time when the indigenous grasses were ripe and dry. The annual fires gave the local Aboriginals of the Darling Downs the name "or "Fire Blacks" – "goonnee" being a name for fire and "burra" a generic word the Moreton Bay area.

Climate

The area has an extremely hot, dry desert climate. Rainfall is minimal, averaging only about 150 mm per year and falling mainly in summer. The average summer temperature in the desert is 28 degrees Celsius and it can go as high as 50 degrees. Large sand storms are common. Winters are generally cool, but heatwaves even in the middle of July are not unheard of.

Some of the heaviest rain in decades occurred during 2009–2010, and caused the Simpson Desert to burst into life and colour. In early March 2010, Birdsville recorded more rain in 24 hours than is usual in a whole year. Rain inundated Queensland's north-west and Gulf regions. In total, 17 million megalitres of water entered the State's western river systems, leading to Lake Eyre.

Ecology

The Simpson Desert is also a large part of the World Wildlife Fund ecoregion of the same name, which consists of the Channel Country and the Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields bioregions of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA).

The flora of the Simpson Desert ecoregion is limited to drought-resistant shrubs and grasses, especially Zygochloa paradoxa grass that holds the dunes together and the spinifex and other tough grasses of side slopes and sandy desert floor between the dunes. The Channel Country section of the ecoregion lies to the northeast of the desert proper around the towns of Bedourie and Windorah in Queensland, and consists of low hills covered with Mitchell grass cut through with rivers lined with coolabah trees.

History

Aboriginal peoples have lived in the Simpson Desert for at least 5000 years and continue to do so today. However, when Europeans came to the area in the late 19th century, they thought that it was an uninhabitable desert that wasn't suitable for human life. The Lower Southern Arrernte and Eastern Arrernte communities inhabited the western regions, while the Karangura and Wanggamala resided in the east. The Wangkangurru people lived in the Simpson Desert using hand-dug wells called mikiri from long before European colonization until the Federation Drought. The diet of the Aboriginal peoples in the Simpson Desert before colonization consisted of breads and seed patties made out of Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) and Pigweed (Aizoon quadrifidum) seeds.