The Great Dividing Range runs in a north-south direction through this section. Mount Bartle Frere. Most of Queensland's rivers flow south and west from the Great Dividing Range. Cooper Creek and the Diamantina River flow southwest to Lake Eyre in central Australia. Rivers flowing east from the mountains have fertile lowlands.
Dense forests cover the state's coastal ranges, and mangrove thickets occur along the coast.
Farther south, the Warrego and Condamine rivers flow southward and join the Darling River in New South Wales. Central and western Queensland have vast grazing areas. Forests, including subtropical rain forests, grow on the mountain slopes of southern Queensland. The state is rich in bauxite, coal, copper, natural gas, petroleum, silver, and tin. Queensland has a population of 2,978,617, including 48,000 Aborigines.