Great Dividing Range

The **Great Dividing Range**, or the **Eastern Highlands**, is Australia's largest mountain range. It is the fifth longest land-based range in the world. The range is  in length and runs along the whole east coast of Australia. In that north it starts from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland. In Victoria the range turns west and ends at the Grampians in western Victoria. The width of the range varies from about  to over .

The difference in height between the narrow coastal area and the eastern mountains has affected Australia's climate. This caused by the mountains causing lots of rain as clouds move over them. There are many gorges where the rise is tall.

## Description

The Great Dividing Range is not a single mountain range. There is a complex of mountain ranges, plateaus, upland areas and escarpments. In some places the land is nearly flat, with only very low hills.  The highlands range from  to  in height.

The Great Dividing Range is made of limestones, sandstone, quartzite, schists and metamorphic dolomite. Their shapes have been made by faulting and folding processes.

The crest of the range is the boundary between the drainage basins of rivers; those which drain east into the Pacific Ocean, or southward into Bass Strait; and those rivers which drain west and south into the Murray-Darling rivers. In the north, the rivers on the west side of the range drain towards the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The higher and more rugged parts of the "range" are not always part of the crest of the range. The term "Great Dividing Range" is used for both the watershed crest, and all of the hills and mountains between the east coast of Australia and the central plains and lowlands. At some places the Great Dividing Range can be up to  wide. Most of the ranges and other features have their own names.

## History

The Great Dividing Range was formed during the Carboniferous period, some 300 million years ago when the super continent Pangaea was forming. The range has eroded since then, and is now much lower than the more recent ranges such as the Alps and Himalayas. Its highest point is 	Mount Kosciuszko at 2,228 m (7,310 ft).

## Parks and protected areas

Much of the range lies in national parks and other protected areas. Most of the national parks are listed below. There are also many more state forests.

- Alpine National Park – VIC
- Bald Rock National Park – NSW
- Barrington Tops National Park – NSW
- Baw Baw National Park – VIC
- Blue Mountains National Park – NSW
- Border Ranges National Park – NSW
- Brindabella National Park – NSW
- Brisbane Ranges National Park – VIC
- Budawang National Park – NSW
- Bunya Mountains National Park – QLD
- Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park – VIC
- Cathedral Rock National Park – NSW
- Conondale National Park – QLD
- Cunnawarra National Park – NSW
- Dandenong Ranges National Park – VIC
- Deua National Park – NSW

- Dharug National Park – NSW
- Gibraltar Range National Park – NSW
- Girraween National Park – QLD/NSW
- Grampians National Park – VIC
- Guy Fawkes River National Park – NSW
- Heathcote-Graytown National Park
- Kanangra-Boyd National Park – NSW
- Kosciuszko National Park – NSW
- Lake Eildon National Park – VIC
- Lamington National Park – QLD
- Morton National Park – NSW
- Mount Buffalo National Park – VIC
- Mummel Gulf National Park – NSW
- Namadgi National Park – ACT
- Nattai National Park – NSW
- New England National Park – NSW

- Nowendoc National Park – NSW
- Oxley Wild Rivers National Park – NSW
- Snowy River National Park – VIC
- South East Forest National Park – NSW
- Springbrook National Park- QLD
- Sundown National Park – QLD
- Toonumbar National Park – NSW
- Wadbilliga National Park – NSW
- Washpool National Park – NSW
- Werrikimbe National Park – NSW
- Wollemi National Park – NSW
- Yarra Ranges National Park – VIC
- Yengo National Park – NSW

## Infobox (mountain range)

- **name**: Great Dividing Range
- **other name**: Eastern Highlands
Great Divide
- **photo**: The_great_dividing_range.jpg
- **country**: Australia
- **subdivision1 type**: States/Districts
- **period**: Carboniferous
- **length km**: 3500
- **length orientation**: North–South
- **highest**: Mount Kosciuszko
- **highest location**: Snowy Mountains
- **elevation m**: 2228