The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and

Babinda Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,253 people. Geography Babinda is located south of Cairns. The town is noted for its proximity to Queensl ...

. The whole of the range falls within the

Wet Tropics World Heritage Area The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...

and is covered in richly diverse

world heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

listed wet tropical forests, including species of flora and fauna endemic to the range. The range also forms part of the

Wooroonooran Important Bird Area The Wooroonooran Important Bird Area comprises some 5125 km2 of mainly forested land in the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site, of Far North Queensland, Australia. Description The site encompasses the largest block of tropical r ...

, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics. Most of the range is also a gazetted protected area named

Wooroonooran National Park Wooroonooran National Park (Aboriginal for "Black Rock") is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,367 km northwest of Brisbane, between Innisfail and Cairns. The park is one of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area series of national p ...

. Queensland's two highest mountains,

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and ...

(1622 m) and

Mount Bellenden Ker Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns near Babinda, Queensland, Babinda, it is adj ...

(1593 m) form part of this range, and Walshs Pyramid (922 m) (one of the highest free-standing natural pyramids in the world) is located at the range's northern end .

History

The mountains were sighted by Lieutenant James Cook but weren't given the name "Bellenden Ker Range" before Lieutenant

Phillip Parker King Rear Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Ann ...

named them, on 22 June 1819, whilst aboard the . Lieutenant Phillip King named the range after the English botanist

John Bellenden Ker Gawler John Bellenden Ker, originally John Gawler, was an English botanist born about 1764 in Ramridge, Andover, Hampshire and died in June 1842 in the same town. On 5 November 1804 he changed his name to Ker Bellenden, but continued to sign his name a ...

, following the suggestion made to him by his ships own botanist, Allan Cunningham.

Archibald Meston Archibald Meston (26 March 1851 – 11 March 1924) was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer. Personal life Archibald Meston was born at Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Meston. Mes ...

was an early explorer of the range.

Rivers

The

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locatio ...

rises on the southwestern slopes of the range and then flows north around the northern end and then turns south flowing parallel to the eastern side. Russell River drains the southeast parts of the range. A number of waterfalls cascade off the range including

Kearneys Falls The Kearneys Falls is a cascade waterfall on a tributary of the Mulgrave River, in the Wooroonooran National Park, in the Goldsborough Valley of Far North region of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Aust ...

, Fishery Falls, Josephine Falls,

Tchupala Falls The Tchupala Falls, a segmented waterfall on the Henrietta Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics in the Far North region of Queensland, Australia. Location and features The Tchupala Falls are situated in the Palme ...

, Wallicher Falls, Nandroya Falls, Silver Creek Falls, Whites Falls, and Clamshell Falls.

References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Queensland Important Bird Areas of Queensland Landforms of Far North Queensland

History

Rivers

See also

References