The Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a rainforest-covered

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 ...

located in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. The range is located approximately from the Coral Sea and west of the coastal city of

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

. The highest points are the summits of Mount William at about and

Mount Dalrymple Mount Dalrymple () is a mountain (3,600 m) between Mount Alf and Mount Goldthwait in the northern part of the Sentinel Range, Antarctica. It surmounts Sabazios Glacier to the north-northeast and Embree Glacier to the southeast. The mountai ...

at . The range is composed of granite rocks. The slopes of Clarke Range form the upper reaches of the

Pioneer River The Pioneer River is a river located in North Queensland, Australia. The long river flows through the city of . History Captain John Mackay and his party were the first Europeans to discover the river in 1860. Mackay named it Mackay River af ...

valley. Broken River also rises in the range, flowing west to join the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea a ...

. An exploration party led by John Mackay were the first Europeans to cross the range on 18 May 1860. The main road over the range winds sharply and steeply and is not suitable for caravans.

Birds

Some of the Clarke Range, encompassing the

Eungella National Park Eungella National Park ( ; meaning "Land of the clouds") is a protected area in Queensland, Australia. It is on the Clarke Range at the end of the Pioneer Valley 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. Eungel ...

, has been classified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports most of the population of the Eungella honeyeater, an isolated northern population of the

regent bowerbird The regent bowerbird (''Sericulus chrysocephalus'') is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black ...

, and large numbers of

bush stone-curlew The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee, also known as the Iben bird (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, whe ...

References

Important Bird Areas of Queensland North Queensland Great Dividing Range {{NorthQueensland-geo-stub

Birds

See also

References