The Desert Uplands is an interim Australian bioregion 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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and central western

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 , established_ ...

which straddles the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

between

Blackall Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Blackall had a population of 1,416 people. The town is the service centre for the Blackall-Tambo Region. The dominant industry ...

and Pentland.

Geography

The bioregion contains

Lake Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

Lake Dunn Lake Dunn is a freshwater lake in the locality of Upland in Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. Also known as ''Pajingo Bola'', meaning "Big Fella Waterhole," the lake is the only wetland area in Central West Queensland and is consequent ...

and Lake Buchanan. The climate is semi-arid with highly variable rainfall. Much of the area is used for cattle grazing and is part of the

Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much ...

, lying within both the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

and

Eromanga Basin The Eromanga Basin is a large Mesozoic sedimentary basin in central and northern Australia. It covers parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales, and is a major component of the Great Artesian Basin. The E ...

s. The Brigalow Belt North and

Brigalow Belt South The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland, Australia. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides the Bri ...

are to the east of the bioregion, and the

Einasleigh Uplands The Einasleigh Uplands is an interim Australian bioregion, with vegetation consisting of savanna and woodland located on a large plateau in inland Queensland, Australia. It corresponds to the Einasleigh Uplands savanna ecoregion, as identified ...

are located to the north.

Waterways

The main rivers in the bioregion are Belyando,

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Campaspe Campaspe (; Greek: Καμπάσπη, ''Kampaspē''), or Pancaste (; Greek: Πανκάστη, ''Pankastē''; also ''Pakate''), was a supposed mistress of Alexander the Great and a prominent citizen of Larissa in Thessaly. No Campaspe appears in ...

, Barcoo and Alice River and Aramac and Torrens Creeks. Wetlands at shallow

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

and Lake Buchanan are listed on the

Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA) is a list of wetlands of national importance to Australia published by the governmental agency Environment Australia. Intended to augment the list of wetlands of international importance under t ...

Subregions

Tbe Desert Uplands bioregion has four subregions: * Prairie-Torrens Creeks Alluvials (DEU01) – * Alice Tableland (DEU02) – * Cape-Campaspe Plains (DEU03) – * Jericho (DEU04) –

Flora

Spinifex grass Spinifex grass is a name which has been applied to two genera of grasses: * ''Spinifex'' (coastal grass), a genus of grass which is indigenous to the coastal areas of Australasia and Indonesia * ''Triodia'' (plant), a hummock grass of arid Austra ...

is common. More than 80 weeds have been identified in the bioregion. In 2003, it was estimated that 13 million trees per year were being destroyed in the Desert Uplands. This placed the percentage of land cleared at 6.8%, the third highest for any Queensland bioregion.

Settlements

The two main settlements in the area are at Barcaldine and Aramac.

Protected areas

Protected areas in the Desert Uplands bioregion include:Department of Environment and Science, Queensland (2013) Desert Uplands (DEU) bioregion — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website, accessed 28 May 2022. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/bioregion-desert-uplands-deu/ * Cudmore National Park * Forest Den National Park *

Great Basalt Wall National Park Great Basalt Wall is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1124 km northwest of Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oc ...

Moorrinya National Park } Moorrinya is a national park in North Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane. See also * Protected areas of Queensland Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate protected areas. In 2020 ...

White Mountains National Park White Mountains is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1156 km northwest of Brisbane, and 140 km south-west of Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by r ...

* Cudmore Resources Reserve * White Mountains Resources Reserve * Bellview Nature Refuge * Bimblebox Nature Refuge * Bygana West Nature Refuge * Doongmabulla Mound Springs Nature Refuge * Edgbaston Nature Refuge * Strathtay Nature Refuge * Toomba Nature Refuge * Ulcanbah Nature Refuge

References

{{coord missing, Queensland Biogeography of Queensland IBRA regions Lake Eyre basin North Queensland Central West Queensland