THE GREAT DIVIDING RANGE
The Great Dividing Range is the highest part of Australia. It is a series of hills, mountains and plateaux. These ranges include the New England Plateau, the Australian Alps, the Snowy Mountains , the Blue Mountains and the Grampian Mountains. Australia's tallest mountain is in the Great Dividing Range: Mount Kosciuszko in the Australian Alps( it stands at height of 2228 metres). This part of Australia contains extinct volcanoes, that have been eroded until only the strong volcanic rock remains. It divides the east coast from the inland and has a major influence on our climate, population spread and settlement patterns, economics and agriculture.
It is home to a variety of plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else on earth. It is the source of our longest rivers and
our highest mountains. The range covers an area of
2,456,547 km²
It is home to a variety of plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else on earth. It is the source of our longest rivers and
our highest mountains. The range covers an area of
2,456,547 km²
Climate
NSW has four distinct climate zones due to the influence of the Great Dividing Range: the high country, the coast, the western slopes of the range and the western plains. Temperature and rainfall vary greatly across these regions: for example, the higher elevations of the range are the coldest areas, while the north-west plains are the hottest; the east coast receives the most precipitation and the western areas of the state the least.
flora and fauna
There are many thousands of examples of native flora - much of it unique to the Great Dividing range, which can be found in the bushland, forests and wilderness areas. The area also abounds in colourful native birds and animals which even share closer settlement with human
inhabitants.
inhabitants.
The Snowy mountains is home to home to one of Australia's most threatened species the Corroboree frog. The endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum. The large animals that reside in the Australian Alps are The large, browsing and grazing marsupials such as the Common Wombat, Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby and Eastern Grey Kangaroo.
History
The Great Dividing range was formed 300 million years ago when the Tasman Sea formed, New-Zealand had crashed into Australia creating the up-warping inland. The range has been significantly eroded since. Before European settlement the Range was home to the Indigenous Australian tribes, there are remains of decorated caves, campsites and trails used to travel between the coastal and inland regions. After the settlement in 1788 the Great Divide was an obstacle for exploration. Even though the ranges were not particularly high some parts were very rugged. In 1813, a usable route was finally discovered directly westward from Sydney across the Blue Mountains to Bathurst by an expedition led by Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth. This began the development of agricultural areas. By the late 1830s the most fertile lands next to the mountains ranges had been explored and some settled. Various roads and railway routes were established afterwards although some areas remain remote for example, in eastern Victoria there is only one major road crossing the range from north to south.reamianaqcqcjdkbchwkbwbkwkbwooblishednfjckfhuewfhihewwweewards wwwdtrntydnmtmmtstmsmmmm,lu