Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia | Ecoregions | WWF x Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia At the northernmost tip of Queensland, Cape York Peninsula is a remote wilderness area, boasting outstanding species diversity and features that are globally, regionally, and nationally significant in respective of eight natural heritage criteria (Mackey et al. 2001). Mostly dominated by eucalyptus woodland, the region also contains notable rainforest, heathlands, grasslands, wetlands, and mangrove vegetation (Neldner and Clarkson 1995). Rainforest vegetation harbors Gondwanan and New Guinean floral elements, as well as exceptional orchid diversity. The Great Barrier Reef adjoins the ecoregion on its eastern seaboard, and supports a rich diversity of marine species. While pastoralism is the dominant land use, a significant area of land is contained in Aboriginal holdings, state land, and protected areas. As a result, this ecoregion has remained unmodified to a large degree, contains whole river systems of good quality, and key hydrological processes remain intact.

However, feral animals, weeds, and plans for economic development are threats (Neldner 1999). Scientific Code Description Location and General Description The Cape York Peninsula is separated from New Guinea to the north by Torres Strait, which is only 100 km wide at its narrowest point. The Cape York Peninsula Tropical Savannas ecoregion includes the offshore islands of the Torres Strait, the largest of which are the Princes of Wales, Horn, Moa, and Badu Islands. The Peninsula is mostly low-relief, with undulating plains comprising three quarters of the region. The highest point occurs in the Coen/Iron Range area, reaching only 800 m in elevation. Approximately 1 billion years ago, large deposits of fluviatile sediments covered much of the northern savannas of Australia, forming sandstone plateaus. On the western half of Cape York Peninsula, there are large amounts of red and yellow earths, as well as laterite soils with significant bauxite deposits (Biggs and Phillip 1995). Near the coast there are vast areas of alluvial soils (Tropical Savannas CRC undated).

The climate is strongly monsoonal, with most rain falling in the summer. The northern and eastern areas receive more rain than the south and southwest (Cape York Regional Advisory Group 1996). Dry season rainfall is normally associated with the influx of moist trade winds over the coast. Summers are hot and humid, and maximum temperatures reach 33? to 36?C in January. Rainfall varies greatly with proximity to the coast, with the north receiving an average of 2,400 mm of rain per annum, and falling to an average of 800 mm per year in the south. Winter, or dry season, temperatures in July fall to an average minimum of 21?C in the north and 15?C in the south (Tropical Savannas CRC undated). This remote, northernmost portion of Queensland harbors some of the most pristine wilderness in Australia, and certainly the largest wilderness area in eastern Australia. Intact eucalypt woodland, heathland, riparian, and coastal ecosystems are all found here.

Eucalypt woodlands comprise nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the ecoregion, while low open-woodlands dominated by Melaleuca spp. occupy nearly 15 percent of the region, followed by grasslands (6 percent), rainforest (5.6 percent), and heathland communities (3.3 percent) in order of abundance (Neldner and Clarkson 1995). An estimated 20 percent of the national extent of rainforest occurs on the Cape York Peninsula, concentrated on the east coast. These rainforests are in nearly pristine condition. Extensive mangroves line both coasts of the Peninsula, and contain 36 mangrove species (Cape York Regional Advisory Group 1996). Large areas of Cape York Peninsula are vegetated with eucalyptus woodland. Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) dominated communities cover 36.3 percent of the ecoregion. Other communities found in this ecoregion include Eucalyptus stockeri/E. tetrodonta woodlands (7.3 percent), bloodwood (Eucalyptus clarksoniana, E.

novoguinensis) woodlands (5.6 percent), box woodlands (E. chlorophylla, E. microtheca) (5.0 percent), and ironbark woodlands (E. cullenii, E. crebra) (4.0 percent). Community structure varies considerably, with canopy heights ranging from 10 m to 32 m in height depending on the site conditions. Scattered subcanopy trees and shrubs are usually present, and the conspicuous ground layer is dominated by a variety of grasses (Neldner and Clarkson 1995). Biodiversity Features The vascular flora of Cape York Peninsula comprises 3,338 species (Neldner and Clarkson 1995), which show a variety of influences. While Cape York Peninsula shares many widespread plant species with the northern Australian tropical savannas, it contains 39 unique vegetation types identifiable at the 1:1,000,000 map scale (Mackey et al. 2001).

The flora is a combination of relict Gondwanan species, autochthonous Australian plants that arose after the breakup of Gondwana and drying of Australia, Indo-Malay plants introduced 15 million years ago when Australia collided with the Sundaland plate, and New Guinean species which made their way across the Torres Strait. Over 100 Gondwanan species are found on the Cape York Peninsula, including members of the primitive angiosperm families Annonaceae and Lauraceae, as well as orchids of the Arthochilus, Corybas, and Calochilus genera, and members of the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae families. Gondwanan plants are largely concentrated in rainforest habitat, including the McIlwraith Range area. Much of the intrusive Indo-Malay element is also concentrated in rainforest, as are the species which recently migrated from New Guinea. However, endemism among plants extends to only three genera, Jedda (Thymelaeaceae), Normanbya (Arecaceae), and Wodyetia (Arecaceae).

In total, 264 plants are endemic to Cape York Peninsula, with an additional 40 to 100 undescribed taxa that are also likely to be endemic (Abrahams et al. 1995). Australia and New Guinea have been connected for a large part of the last 1 million years, although the largely dry climate of the northern Cape York Peninsula has limited the flow of species from New Guinea, which are mostly rainforest- or wet-adapted species. The New Guinean plants, birds, and mammals found in Cape York Peninsula are all rainforest inhabitants, including Bennett’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus) and the spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus). In contrast, the herpetofauna shared between New Guinea and Australia are not rainforest species, and are often concentrated in heathlands habitat (Abrahams et al. 1995). Due to the variety of vegetation types, the well preserved and natural landscapes, the region’s proximity with New Guinea, and the wide variety of substrates found here, the Cape York Peninsula is known for its rich, diverse, and endemic biota.

There are 509 terrestrial vertebrates on the Peninsula, including one quarter of Australia’s frogs, one quarter of its reptiles, a third of all mammals, and half of its birds (Cape York Regional Advisory Group 1996). Richness in orchids has also been documented, with areas of greatest orchid diversity largely overlapping with rainforest communities. Orchid diversity is greatest at the genus level, with 62 genera recorded in the Cape York Peninsula, and the McIlwraith Range supporting over 16 percent of the entire Australian orchid flora. While there has been no systematic Peninsula-wide survey of invertebrates, nearly 60 percent of all Australian butterflies (223 species) occur on Cape York Peninsula, including the spectacular Cape York birdwing (Troides priamus pronomus). According to regional endangered species lists, nine fauna and ten flora species occurring on Cape York Peninsula are listed as endangered, 27 and 44 respectively as vulnerable, and 53 and 165 respectively as rare (Neldner 1999).

Restricted range and globally threatened birds present in Cape York Peninsula include the buff-breasted buttonquail (Turnix olivii EN), golden-shouldered parrot (Psephotus chrysopterygius EN), lovely fairywren (Malurus amabilis), white-streaked honeyeater (Trichodere cockerelli), and yellow-spotted honeyeater (Meliphaga notata). Two subspecies of widespread Australian birds have been identified as threatened, the Cape York Peninsula form of rufous owl (Ninox rufa meesi) and the white-bellied form of crimson finch (Neochmia phaeton evangelinae). The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius VU) is found here in rainforest habitat; its distribution extends to New Guinea and other regions of Australia (Hilton-Taylor 2000, Stattersfield et al. 1998). Endangered mammals present include the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis EN), which may be declining as a result of cane toad (Bufo marinus) expansion.

The critically endangered Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola) is known only from a vegetated cay located 50 km from New Guinea. It is thought to be closely related to the endemic melomys (Melomys capensis) (Strahan 1998). Three species of endangered marine turtle are found on Cape York Peninsula (Neldner 1999). Riparian corridors often harbor a different fauna than the dry eucalypt woodlands they cross. These strips of vegetation connect the extensive east coast rainforests to smaller rainforests on the west coast. The spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus), white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus), frugivorous birds, and the palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) all utilize these corridors (Abrahams et al. 1995). The Cape York Peninsula is an important area for bird migration due to the large areas of pristine habitat. The Peninsula and the Torres Strait are a major avian migration route for landbirds leaving and returning to Northern Australia (Stattersfield et al. 1998).

Waterbirds also migrate within the Peninsula as smaller seasonal wetlands dry out and they return to larger wetlands elsewhere on the Peninsula. Whole river catchments of good quality are very rare on Australia, especially in the densely populated east. But Cape York Peninsula contains 16 complete drainage basins, including several large river systems in essentially natural condition: the Jardine, Jackson, Olive, and Holroyd systems. These rivers also hold exceptionally rich fish fauna, with the Wenlock River containing the richest freshwater fish fauna of any river in Australia. The Olive River also contains significant fish diversity for a river of its size (Abrahams et al. 1995). Current Status Cape York Peninsula is sparsely populated, with 12 urban centers containing a population of 8,700, and the rest of the population (roughly 9,000 people) spread out in smaller towns, settlements, and cattle properties. The earliest recorded contact between Aborigines and European explorers in Australia took place on Cape York Peninsula in 1606.

European business interests were not established until the 1800s, first concentrating on marine harvesting of beche-de-mer, trochus, and pearls, then shifting to pastoralism and mining. Mining initially concentrated on gold extraction, but today bauxite, silica, and kaolin are the major mineral products. Pastoralism remains the biggest land use, with roughly 60 percent of Cape York Peninsula held as cattle properties. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander holdings comprise approximately 20,000 km2, and more than 60 percent of Cape York Peninsula’s population belong to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands groups. The arrival of Europeans had profound consequences for Aboriginal communities and Torres Strait Islanders. Some Torres Strait Islanders relocated to the mainland, while Aboriginal groups on the mainland were often displaced by the pastoral industry. This ecoregion has long been recognized as one of Australia’s largest and most important wilderness areas. Very little clearing has occurred with 99 percent of the area covered in remnant vegetation (Accad et al. 2001).

Approximately 10 percent of the Peninsula is contained in a protected areas system including a number of large national parks: Lakefield (5,370 km2), Mungkan Kandju (4,570 km2), and Jardine River National Parks (2,530 km2). The vast, high-quality areas of wilderness mean that there have been no documented plant or vertebrate extinctions in this ecoregion after European settlement. The region actually serves as a refuge for several birds that were originally widely distributed across Australia in low numbers, such as the pied oyster catcher (Haemotopus longirostris) (Abrahams et al. 1995). Types and Severity of Threats This region is very remote and retains its wilderness character, but inappropriate fire regimes associated with grazing management and invasive species are serious concerns (Neldner et al. 1997). The northern tropical savannas have experienced considerable degradation over the last 50 years as a result of extensive cattle raising (Mott and Tothill 1994). Exotic species are a serious concern, including invasive weeds, feral pigs (Sus scrofa), and the cane toad.

Infrastructure development such as a proposed gas pipeline and bauxite mining as well as piecemeal decision making are threats to the natural heritage values of Cape York Peninsula (Mackey et al. 2001). In 1990, Queensland and Commonwealth Governments jointly funded a major study on the land use and management of this region, the Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy (CYPLUS). This strategy aims to ensure that natural resources are safeguarded as plans for economic development are implemented. The Cape York Peninsula represents one of the last opportunities in Australia, and on Earth, to fully implement precautionary principles in planning new development in a tropical savannas environment (Mackey et al. 2001). Justification of Ecoregion Delineation The Cape York Peninsula Tropical Savannas ecoregion encompasses one IBRA, ‘Cape York Peninsula’ (Thackway and Cresswell 1995) and the ‘Cape York’ Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1998). References Accad, A., V.J., Neldner, B.A. Wilson, and R.E. Niehus. 2001.

Remnant Vegetation in Queensland: Analysis and information on the extent and status of regional ecosystems. Queensland Herbarium, Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, Australia. Abrahams, H., M. Mulvaney, D. Glasco, and A. Bugg. 1995. Areas of Conservation Significance on Cape York Peninsula. Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy. Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra, Australia. . Viewed on September 25, 2001. Biggs, A.J.W. and S.R.Philip 1995. Soils of Cape York Peninsula. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Resource Management Publication No. QV95001, Mareeba, Australia. Cape York Regional Advisory Group. 1996. Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy Draft 2 Stage Report: a strategy for sustainable land use and economic and social development. Department of Local Government and Planning, Cairns, and Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories, Canberra, Australia. Hilton-Taylor, C. 2000. 1998. The IUCN 2000 Red List of Threatened Species.

IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, United Kingdom. Mackey, B.G., H. Nix, and P. Hitchcock. 2001. The Natural Heritage Significance of Cape York Peninsula. Prepared for the Queensland government by ANUTECH Pty. Ltd. Mott, J.J. and J.C. Tothill. 1994. Degradation of savanna woodlands in Australia. Pages 115-130 in C. Moritz and J. Kikkawa, editors. Conservation Biology in Australia and Oceania. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia. Neldner, V.J. 1999. Cape York Peninsula. Pages 3/1-3/85 in P.S. Sattler and R.D. Williams, editors. The Conservation Status of Queensland’s Bioregional Ecosystems. Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, Australia. Neldner, V.J. and J.R. Clarkson. 1995. Vegetation Survey and Mapping of Cape York Peninsula.

Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy, Office of the Co-ordinator General and Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane, Australia. Neldner, V.J., R.J. Fensham, J.R. Clarkson, and J.P. Stanton. 1997. The natural grasslands of Cape York Peninsula. Description, distribution and conservation status. Biological Conservation 81: 121-136 Tropical Savannas CRC. undated. Savanna Explorer. Northern Territory University, Darwin, Australia. . viewed on September 25, 2001. Stattersfield, A.J., M.J. Crosby, A.J. Long, and D.C. Wedge. 1998. Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series No. 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Thackway, R. and I.D. Cresswell, editors. 1995. An Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia: a framework for establishing the national system of reserves, Version 4.0. Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.

Prepared by: Miranda Mockrin Cape York Peninsula Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com 5 References Geography and geology The Cape York Peninsula region covers an area of about 137,000 km² north of 16°S latitude . [3] From the tip of the peninsula, Cape York , it is about 160 kilometres (99 mi) to New Guinea across the island and coral reefs of Torres Strait . The west coast is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast by the Coral Sea . There is no clear border to the south, but the boundary in the Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act 2007 of Queensland follows the 16°S latitude. [4] At the peninsula’s widest point, it is 430 km from the Bloomfield River , on the east coast, to the Aboriginal community of Kowanyama on the west coast. It is some 660 km from the southern border, to the tip of Cape York. The largest islands in the Torres Strait include Prince of Wales Island , Horn Island , Moa , and Badu Island . Cape York is the northern most point on the Australian continent .

It was named by Lieutenant James Cook on 21 August, 1770, after Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany . The Duke was a brother of King George III of the United Kingdom , and died from illness in 1767 when he was only 20 years old: "The point of the Main, which forms one side of the Passage before mentioned, and which is the Northern Promontory of this Country, I have named York Cape, in honour of his late Royal Highness, the Duke of York." [5] The tropical landscapes are among the most stable in the world. [2] There has been no tectonic activity for millions of years. The peninsula is an extremely eroded , almost level, low plain with mighty meandering rivers and vast floodplains . There are some very low hills, about 800m above sea level in the McIlwraith Range on the eastern side around Coen . Part of Australia’s Great Dividing Range , the Peninsula Ridge, is like a backbone along the peninsula. This mountain range is made up of ancient (1,500 million year-old) Precambrian and Palaeozoic rocks.

[2] [3] To the east and west of the Peninsula Ridge lie the Carpentaria and Laura Basins, themselves made up of ancient Mesozoic sediments . [3] There are several important landforms on the peninsula: the large area of undisturbed sand dunes on the east coast around Shelburne Bay and Cape Bedford-Cape Flattery; the huge piles of black granite boulders at Black Mountain National Park and Cape Melville ; and the limestone karsts around Palmerston in the south. [2] The soils are poor, even compared to other areas of Australia. They are ancient and weathered, not suitable for ploughing and do not respond to fertilizers . Because of the poor soil, the region is thinly settled. Attempts to grow commercial crops have usually failed. The climate on Cape York Peninsula is tropical and monsoonal . The heavy monsoon season is from November to April, during which time the forest becomes almost inhabitable. The dry season is from May to October. The temperature is warm to hot, with a cooler climate in higher areas. The mean annual temperatures range from 18 °C at higher elevations to 27 °C on the lowlands in the drier southwest.

Temperatures over 40 °C and below 5 °C are rare. Annual rainfall is high, ranging from over 2000 mm. in the Iron Range and north of Weipa to about 700 mm. at the southern border. Most of this rain falls between November and April. Only on the eastern slopes of the Iron Range is the median rainfall between June and September above 5mm (0.2 inches). Between January and March, however, the median monthly rainfall ranges from about 170mm (6.5 inches) in the south to over 500mm (20 inches) in the north and on the Iron Range. Rivers The Peninsula Ridge forms the drainage divide between the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea. To the west, large, winding river systems including the Mitchell , Coleman, Holroyd, Archer, Watson, Wenlock, Ducie and Jardine flow into the Gulf of Carpentaria. During the Dry season , those rivers become a series of waterholes and sandy beds.

Yet, with the heavy rains in the Wet season , they become mighty waterways, spreading across huge floodplains and coastal wetlands and giving life to many freshwater and wetland species. [3] On the Eastern slopes, the shorter, faster-flowing Jacky Jacky Creek, Olive, Pascoe, Lockhart, Stewart, Jeannie and Endeavour Rivers flow towards the Coral Sea. These provide important freshwater and nutrients to the healthiest section of the Great Barrier Reef . Along their banks, those wild, undisturbed rivers are lined with dense rainforests, sand dunes or mangroves . [3] The floodplains of the Laura Basin are now protected in the Lakefield and Jack River National Parks. The plains are crossed by the Morehead, Hann, North Kennedy, Laura, Jack and Normanby Rivers. The Peninsula’s rivers are famous for their hydrological integrity. This means that they are still in their natural state, with water flows and vegetation unchanged. Cape York Peninsula is one of the few places where tropical water cycles remain unchanged. [2] Cape York Peninsula has as much as a quarter of Australia's surface runoff .

With less than 3% of Australia's land area it produces more run-off than all of Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn . The peninsula’s rivers are also important as they put water back into central Australia’s Great Artesian Basin . [2] The Queensland Government is planning to protect 13 of Cape York Peninsula’s wild rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005. [6] Geological history Around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana . As it crashed into the Pacific Plate on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea were made around 5 million years ago. [3] Protected from this collision zone, the ancient rocks of what is now Cape York Peninsula were did not move. During the Pleistocene epoch Australia and New Guinea have been land-linked and separated by water a number of times. During the ice ages with their low sea levels , Cape York Peninsula was a low-lying land bridge .

[2] Another link existed between Arnhem Land and New Guinea , at times making a big freshwater lake, Lake Carpentaria, in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria . [7] In this way, Australia and New Guinea were joined until the shallow Torres Strait was last flooded around 8,000 years ago. [1] Ecology Plants Sand dunes around Cape Flattery Cape York Peninsula has a range of intact tropical rainforests , tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands, tropical savannahs, heath lands , wetlands , wild rivers and mangrove swamps. [2] These are home to about 3300 species of flowering plants . [8] Almost all of the Cape York Peninsula (99.6%) still has its native vegetation. [8] Cape York Peninsula also contains one of the highest rates of endemism in Australia, with more than 260 endemic plant species found so far. [2] [9] [10] Because of this, parts of the Peninsula have been noted for their very high wilderness quality.

[9] The plants of the peninsula includes original Gondwanan species, plants that have developed since the breakup of Gondwana and species from Indo-Malaya and from across the Torres Strait in New Guinea. Most variety is in the rainforest areas. Most of the Cape York Peninsula is drier than New Guinea which stops the rainforest plants of that island from moving across to Australia. [11] Most of the Cape York Peninsula is covered in grass and woodlands. These have a tall, thick grass layer and scattered trees, mostly eucalypts . The most common tree is the Darwin stringybark . [7] Although common and complete on the peninsula, tropical savannahs are now rare and in poor condition in other parts of the world. [2] Tropical rainforests cover an area of 748,000 ha, or 5.6 percent of the total land area of Cape York Peninsula. [12] Rainforests need some rainfall during the long Dry season . These conditions are mostly on the eastern slopes of the Cape’s coastal ranges. These are old-growth forests and support a huge range of plants. These rainforests are of high conservation significance.

[9] The largest rainforest area on the Cape is in the McIllwraith Range- Iron Range area. [7] The Gondwanan plants of this area includes Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae conifers and Arthrochilus , Corybas , and Calochilus orchids. This rainforest has at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species , and 16% of Australia's orchid species. On poor, dry soils there are tropical heathlands . Northeast Cape York Peninsula has Australia’s largest areas of this highly diverse ecosystem. [7] The big wetlands on Cape York Peninsula are “among the largest, richest and most diverse in Australia”. [9] 19 wetlands of national significance have been identified, mostly on the large floodplains and in coastal areas. Important wetlands include the Jardine River National Park , Lakefield National Park and the estuaries of the great rivers of the western plains. [9] Many of these wetland only happen during the Wet season and have rare or uncommon plant types.

[12] The Peninsula’s coastal areas and river estuaries are lined with mangrove forests of kwila and other trees. Australia’s largest mangrove forest is at Newcastle Bay. Animals The Cape has lots of animals, with more than 700 vertebrate land animal species . Of these, 40 live only here. Because of its geological history, the plants and animals "of Cape York Peninsula are a complex mixture of Gondwanan relics, Australian isolationists and Asian or New Guinean invaders” (p. 41). [3] Birds include Buff-breasted Buttonquail (Turnix olivii), Golden-shouldered Parrot (Psephotus chrysopterygius), Lovely Fairywren (Malurus amabilis), White-streaked Honeyeater (Trichodere cockerelli), and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater (Meliphaga notata). Some, such as Pied Oystercatcher , live in other parts of Australia but have important populations on the peninsula. The Cape is also home to the Eastern brown snake , one of the world's most venomous snakes .

Mammals include the endangered rodent Bramble Cay Melomys , which lives only on Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait. The rainforests of the Iron Range have species that also live in New Guinea , including the Eclectus Parrot and Southern Common Cuscus . Other rainforest animals includes 200 species of butterfly including 11 endemic butterflies one of which is the huge Green Birdwing , the Green Tree Python and the Northern Quoll . Number of this forest marsupial have dropped because they have tried to eat the introduced poisonous cane toads . The riverbanks of the lowlands are home to specific wildlife of their own. The rivers including the Jardine, Jackson , Olive, Holroyd and the Wenlock are rich in fish. The wetlands and coastal mangroves are noted for their importance as a fish nursery and crocodile habitat, providing important drought refuge. [7] [9] The Great Barrier Reef is off the east coast and is an important marine habitat. Threats and preservation Cattle farms use about 57% of the total area, mostly in central and eastern Cape York Peninsula. About 20% is indigenous land, with the entire West coast being held under Native title .

The remainder is mostly National Park and managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service . Land uses include broad acre pastoralism, bauxite and silica sand mining, nature reserves, tourism and fishing. There are big deposits of bauxite along the west or Gulf of Carpentaria coast. Weipa is the centre for mining. [13] [14] Much has been damaged by overgrazing, mining, fires, wild pigs, cane toads , weeds, and other introduced species. [15] [16] But Cape York Peninsula remains fairly unspoilt with intact and healthy river systems and no recorded plant or animal extinction since European settlement. The "Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy" study, by the Australian government in 1990, created plans to protect the wilderness. A nomination for World Natural Heritage is currently being looked at by the Queensland and Australian Federal governments. [17] Major national parks include the Jardine River National Park in the far north, Mungkan Kandju National Park near Aurukun , and Lakefield National Park in the southeast of the bioregion.

People and culture The first known contact between Europeans and Aborigines took place on the west coast of the peninsula in 1606. It was not settled by Europeans until the 19th century when fishing communities, then cattle ranches and later mining towns were started. European settlement led to the displacement of Aboriginal communities and the arrival of Torres Strait Islanders on the mainland. Today the peninsula has about 18,000 people. About 60% of them are Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders . [7] [18] The administrative and commercial centre for much of Cape York Peninsula is Cooktown , in its far southeastern corner. The peninsula’s largest settlement is the mining town Weipa on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Most of the Peninsula has few people, with half the people living in very small settlements and cattle ranches. Along the Peninsula Developmental Road, there are small service centres at Lakeland , Laura and Coen . At the tip of Cape York, there is a sizeable service centre on nearby Thursday Island .

Aboriginal communities are at Hopevale , Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama , Aurukun , Lockhart River , Napranum, Mapoon, Injinoo , New Mapoon and Umagico . Torres Strait Islander communities on the mainland are at Bamaga and Seisia . [2] [18] A completely sealed inland road links Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to Lakeland Downs and Cooktown . The road north of Lakeland Downs to the tip of the Peninsula is sometimes cut after heavy rains during the wet season (roughly December to May). The Peninsula is a popular with tourists in the Dry Season for camping, hiking, birdwatching and fishing. Many people make the adventurous, but rewarding, drive to the tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. Some of the world's most extensive and ancient Aboriginal rock painting galleries surround the town of Laura , some of which are available for public viewing. There is also a new Interpretive Centre from which information on the rock art and local culture is available and tours can be arranged. Solar eclipse As weather permits, the next total eclipse of the sun should be visible from Cape York, Australia, as well as some northern islands of New Zealand.

This eclipse will occur on November 13, 2012. References ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, S.C. ↑ Valentine, Peter S. (2006). Compiling a case for World Heritage on Cape York Peninsula. Retrieved February 7, 2008, from . ↑ 18.0 18.1 Cape York Peninsula Development Association. Homepage. Accessed April 23, 2008, . Further references Hough, Richard. 1994. Captain James Cook: a biography. Hodder and Stroughton, London. ISBN 0-340-58598-6 . Pike, Glenville. 1979. Queen of the North: A Pictorial History of Cooktown and Cape York Peninsula. G. Pike. ISBN 0-9598960-5-8 . Moon, Ron & Viv. 2003. Cape York: An Adventurer's Guide. 9th edition.

Moon Adventure Publications, Pearcedale, Victoria. ISBN 0-9578766-4-5 Moore, David R. 1979. Islanders and Aborigines at Cape York: An ethnographic reconstruction based on the 1848-1850 ' Rattlesnake ' Journals of O. W. Brierly and information he obtained from Barbara Thompson. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. Canberra. ISBN 0-85575-076-6 (hbk); 0-85575-082-0 (pbk). USA edition ISBN 0-391-00946-X (hbk); 0-391-00948-6 (pbk). Pohlner, Peter. 1986. gangaurru. Hopevale Mission Board, Milton, Queensland. ISBN 1-86252-311-8 Trezise, P.J. 1969. Quinkan Country: Adventures in Search of Aboriginal Cave Paintings in Cape York. A.H. & A.W. Reed, Sydney. Trezise, Percy.

1973. Last Days of a Wilderness. William Collins (Aust) Ltd., Brisbane. ISBN 0-00-211434-8 . Trezise, P.J. 1993. Dream Road: A Journey of Discovery. Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, Sydney. Haviland, John B. with Hart, Roger. 1998. Old Man Fog and the Last Aborigines of Barrow Point. Crawford House Publishing, Bathurst. Premier's Department (prepared by Connell Wagner). 1989. Cape York Peninsula Resource Analysis. Cairns. (1989). ISBN 0-7242-7008-6 . Roth, W.E. 1897. The Queensland Aborigines. 3 Vols. Reprint: Facsimilie Edition, Hesperian Press, Victoria Park, W.A., 1984. ISBN 0-85905-054-8 Ryan, Michelle and Burwell, Colin, eds. 2000. Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland: Cooktown to Mackay. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.

ISBN 0-85905-045-9 (set of 3 vols). Scarth-Johnson, Vera. 2000. National Treasures: Flowering plants of Cooktown and Northern Australia. Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery Association, Cooktown. ISBN 0-646-39726-5 (pbk); ISBN 0-646-39725-7 Limited Edition - Leather Bound. Sutton, Peter (ed). Languages of Cape York: Papers presented to a Symposium organised by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. (1976). ISBN 0-85575-046-4 Wallace, Lennie. 2000. Nomads of the 19th Century Queensland Goldfields. Central Queensland University Press, Rockhampton. ISBN 1-875998-89-6 Wallace, Lennie. 2003. Cape York Peninsula: A History of Unlauded Heroes 1845-2003. Central Queensland University Press, Rockhampton.

ISBN 1-876780-43-6 Wynter, Jo and Hill, John. 1991. Cape York Peninsula: Pathways to Community Economic Development. The Final Report of The Community Economic Development Projects Cook Shire. Cook Shire Council. Cape York Peninsula C Cape York Peninsula This article is about the peninsula located in the Australian state of Queensland ; it should not be confused with either Yorke Peninsula in South Australia , or Cape York, Greenland. 10°41″S 142°32″E Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia . This remote peninsula contains some of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth, though about half of the land area is used for grazing cattle and much has been damaged by feral pigs, weeds, and other introduced species. Its relatively undisturbed tropical rainforests and savannas are now recognized for their global environmental significance. A nomination for World Natural Heritage is currently being considered by the Queensland and Australian Federal governments. The Cape York Peninsula region encompasses an area of approximately 137,000 km² north of 16°S latitude.

It has a population of only about 18,000, of which a large percentage (~60 %) are Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. At the tip of the peninsula lies Cape York, the northernmost point on the Australian continent . It was named by Lieutenant James Cook on 21st August, 1770 in honour of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, who was a brother of King George III of the United Kingdom, and died from illness in 1767 when he was only 20 years old: "The point of the Main, which forms one side of the Passage before mentioned, and which is the Northern Promontory of this Country, I have named York Cape, in honour of his late Royal Highness, the Duke of York." From the tip of the peninsula, it is about 160 kilometres (99 mi) to New Guinea across the island-studded Torres Strait . The west coast borders the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast borders the Coral Sea . Geography and geology As a peninsula, Cape York is bordered on three sides (north, east and west) by water. There is no clear demarcation to the south.

The official boundary of the Cape York Peninsula Region as referred to in the Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act 2007 of Queensland runs along approximately 16°S latitude. The entire region covers an area of approximately 137,000 km². At the peninsula’s widest points, it is 430 km from the Bloomfield River, in the southeast, across to the west coast (just south of Kowanyama), and some 660 km from the southern border of Cook Shire, to the tip of Cape York. Geological history Around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. As it collided with the Pacific Plate on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea emerged around 5 million years ago. In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York peninsula remained largely undisturbed. Throughout the Pleistocene epoch Australia and New Guinea have been alternately land-linked and separated by water on a number of occasions. During periods of glaciation and resulting low sea levels, Cape York Peninsula provided a low-lying land link.

Another link existed between Arnhem Land and New Guinea, at times enclosing an enormous freshwater lake (Lake Carpentaria) in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria. In this way, Australia and New Guinea remained connected until the shallow Torres Strait was last flooded around 8,000 years ago. Landforms The tropical landscapes of Cape York are among the most stable in the world. Long undisturbed by tectonic activity, Cape York is an extremely eroded, almost level plain, with some very low hills on the eastern side. The backbone of Cape York is the Peninsula Ridge, part of Australia’s Great Dividing Range . This mountain range is made up of ancient (1,500 million year-old) Precambrian and Palaeozoic rocks and rises to some 800m elevation in the McIlwraith Range around Coen. To the East and West of the Peninsula Ridge lie the Carpentaria and Laura Basins, themselves made up of ancient Mesozoic sediments. Those lowlands are dominated by mighty meandering rivers and vast floodplains .

There are also several outstanding landforms on the Cape York Peninsula: the large expanses of undisturbed dunefields at the eastern coast around Shelburne Bay and Cape Bedford-Cape Flattery; the huge piles of black granite boulders at Black Mountain National Park and Cape Melville; and the limestone karsts around Palmerston in the Cape’s far south. Rivers The Peninsula Ridge forms the drainage divide between the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea. To the west, a series of large, winding river systems including the Mitchell, Coleman, Holroyd, Archer, Watson, Wenlock, Ducie and Jardine catchments empty their waters into the Gulf of Carpentaria. During the Dry season , those rivers are reduced to a series of waterholes and sandy beds. Yet, with the arrival of torrential rains in the Wet season, they swell to mighty waterways, spreading across extensive floodplains and coastal wetlands and giving life to a vast array of freshwater and wetland species.

On the Eastern slopes, the shorter, faster-flowing Jacky Jacky Creek, Olive, Pascoe, Lockhart, Stewart, Jeannie and Endeavour Rivers flow towards the Coral Sea, providing important freshwater and nutrients to the healthiest section of the Great Barrier Reef . On their way, those wild, undisturbed rivers are lined with dense rainforests, sand dunes or mangroves. The floodplains of the Laura Basin, which are protected in the Lakefield and Jack River National Parks, are crossed by the Morehead, Hann, North Kennedy, Laura, Jack and Normanby Rivers. Cape York’s river catchments are noted for their exceptional hydrological integrity. With little disturbance on both water flows and vegetation cover throughout entire catchments, Cape York has been identified as one of the few places where tropical water cycles remain essentially intact. Cape York Peninsula contributes as much as a quarter of Australia's surface runoff. Indeed, with only about 2.7 percent of Australia's land area it produces more runoff than all of Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn . Tapping those heavy tropical rainfalls, Cape York’s rivers are also of particular importance for replenishing central Australia’s Great Artesian Basin.

The Queensland Government is currently poised to protect 13 of Cape York’s wild rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005. Soils The soils on Cape York are remarkably infertile even compared to other areas of Australia, being almost entirely laterised and in most cases so old and weathered that very little development is apparent today (classified in USDA soil taxonomy as Orthents). It is because of this extraordinary soil poverty that the region is so thinly settled: the soils are so unworkable and unresponsive to fertilisation that attempts to grow commercial crops have usually failed. Climate The climate on Cape York Peninsula is tropical and monsoonal , with a wet season extending from November to April and a dry season from May to October. The temperature across it is warm to hot, with a cooler climate in higher areas. The mean annual temperatures range from 18 °C at higher elevations to 27 °C on the lowlands in the far south-west. Temperatures over 40 °C and below 5 °C are rare. Annual rainfall is high, ranging from over 2000 mm. in the Iron Range and north of Weipa to about 700 mm. at the southern border.

Almost all this rain falls between November and April, and only on the eastern slopes of the Iron Range is the median rainfall between June and September above 5mm (0.2 inches). Between January and March, however, the median monthly rainfall ranges from about 170mm (6.5 inches) in the south to over 500mm (20 inches) in the north and on the Iron Range. Ecology and biology Ecosystems Cape York Peninsula supports a complex mosaic of intact tropical rainforests, tropical savannas, heathlands, wetlands, wild rivers and mangrove swamps. Almost the entire area of Cape York (99.6%) still retains its native vegetation and is little fragmented. Therefore, parts of the Peninsula have been noted for their exceptionally high wilderness quality. The majority of Cape York is covered in tropical savannas. On Cape York, this ecosystem consists typically of a tall dense grass layer and varying densities of trees (dominantly eucalypts ), making it a tropical savanna woodland. Although abundant and fully functioning on Cape York, tropical savannas are now rare and highly degraded in other parts of the world.

Cape York’s tropical rainforests cover an area of 748,000 ha, or 5.6 percent of the total land area. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout the long Dry season, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the Cape’s coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting a disproportionately high biodiversity, all those forests are of high conservation significance. The largest contiguous rainforest area on the Cape occurs in the McIllwraith Range-Iron Range area. This area contains at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species, supports 16% of Australia's orchid species and 200 species of butterfly including 11 endemic butterflies. On poor, dry soils tropical heathlands can be found. North-east Cape York supports Australia’s largest areas of this highly diverse ecosystem. The extensive wetlands on Cape York Peninsula are “among the largest, richest and most diverse in Australia”. 19 wetlands of national significance have been identified, mostly on the large floodplains and in coastal areas.

Important wetlands include the Jardine Complex, Lakefield, and the estuaries of the great rivers of the western plains. Many of these wetland come into existence only during the Wet season and support rare or uncommon plant communities, provide important fish habitat, crocodile habitat and drought refuge. Cape York’s coastal areas and river estuaries are lined with mangrove forests. Australia’s largest mangrove forest can be found at Newcastle Bay. They are noted for their importance as a fish nursery and crocodile habitat. Flora and fauna The Cape harbours an extraordinary biodiversity , with more than 700 vertebrate land animal species and about 3300 species of flowering plants. As a result from its geological history, “the flora and fauna of Cape York Peninsula are a complex mixture of Gondwanan relics, Australian isolationists and Asian or New Guinean invaders” (p.41). Cape York Peninsula also contains one of the highest rates of endemism in Australia, with more than 260 endemic plant species and 40 terrestrial vertebrate animal species found so far. >>Insert table with numbers for different biota elements (e.g.

plants, mammals, birds, fish, insects, etc.)--> The rainforests of the Iron Range support species that are also found in New Guinea, including the Eclectus Parrot and Southern Common Cuscus. >>insert info for key species (e.g. termites, saltwater crocodile, palm cockatoo)--> People and culture Aboriginal culture Some of the world's most extensive and ancient rock painting galleries surround the town of Laura, some of which are available for public viewing. There is also a new Interpretive Centre from which information on the rock art and local Aboriginal culture is available and tours can be arranged. Settlements The administrative centre for much of Cape York Peninsula is Cooktown, located in its far south-eastern corner. The Peninsula’s largest settlement is the mining town Weipa on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The remainder of the Cape is extremely sparsely populated. Along the Peninsula Developmental Road, there are small service centres at Lakeland, Laura and Coen. At the tip of Cape York, there is a sizeable service centre on nearby Thursday Island.

Aboriginal communities are at Hopevale, Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama, Aurukun, Lockhart River, Napranum, Mapoon, Injinoo, New Mapoon and Umagico. Torres Strait Islander communities on the mainland are at Bamaga and Seisia. Economy Land tenure Pastoral land leases occupy about 57% of the total area, mostly located in central and eastern Cape York. Indigenous land comprises about 20%, with the entire West coast being held under Native title. The remainder is mostly declared as [National Park] and managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Land uses include broad acre pastoralism, bauxite and silica sand mining, nature reserves, tourism and fishing (Sattler & Williams, 1999). Infrastructure A completely sealed inland road links Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to Lakeland Downs and Cooktown. The road north of Lakeland Downs to the tip of the Peninsula is sometimes cut after heavy rains during the wet season (roughly December to May). Tourism The Peninsula is a popular destination in the Dry Season for camping, hiking, birdwatching and fishing enthusiasts.

Many people make the adventurous, but rewarding, drive to the tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. Major national parks include the Jardine River National Park in the far north, Mungkan Kandju National Park near Aurukun, and Lakefield National Park, in the southeast of the bioregion. Mining There are extensive deposits of bauxite along the west or Gulf of Carpentaria coast. Weipa is the centre for this mining activity. (Wikipedia) Cape York Peninsula | peninsula, Queensland, Australia | Britannica.com Cape York Peninsula Iberian Peninsula Cape York Peninsula, northernmost extremity of Australia , projecting into the Torres Strait between the Gulf of Carpentaria (west) and the Coral Sea (east). From its tip at Cape York it extends southward in Queensland for about 500 miles (800 km), widening to its base, which spans 400 miles (650 km) from Cairns (east) to the Gilbert River (west). The larger rivers, all emptying into the gulf, are the Wenlock, Archer, Holroyd, Mitchell, Staaten, and Gilbert.

Princess Charlotte Bay , in the northeast, is the deepest coastal indentation. Annual rainfall varies from about 30 inches (760 mm) in the south to 70 inches (1,800 mm) at the cape. The peninsula is sparsely populated, although there are Aboriginal reserves on both coasts. The raising of beef cattle is the chief occupation, but the rich bauxite deposits at Weipa are the main resource of the peninsula. Reached in 1606 by Willem Jansz, the peninsula was called Carpentaria Land by Abel Tasman , who charted the west coast in 1644. It was renamed by Captain James Cook in 1770. Cape York Peninsula and offshore islands in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. Frederick Ayer/Photo Researchers An expedition through the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, from Cairns to Weipa. © Fun Travel TV (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Learn More in these related articles: Torres Strait passage between the Coral Sea, on the east, and the Arafura Sea, in the western Pacific Ocean. To the north lies New Guinea and to the south Cape York Peninsula (Queensland, Australia).

It is about 80 mi (130 km) wide and has many reefs and shoals dangerous to navigation, and its larger islands are... Weipa Aboriginal community and mining town, northern Queensland, Australia, on the northwestern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It lies on Albatross Bay at the estuaries of the Hey, Embley, and Mission rivers, facing the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1802 the explorer Matthew Flinders noted the red cliffs that... Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources.

At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution! Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Article Title: Cape York Peninsula Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: October 29, 2015 URL: Access Date: January 16, 2017 Share Cape York Peninsula | The Wilderness Society What we're doing about it When significant parts of Cape York Peninsula are listed as a World Heritage Area in recognition of the region’s extensive natural and cultural values - we've reached our goal.

The Wilderness Society advocates a mixed World Heritage nomination of natural and cultural values, with a strong focus on cultural landscapes. One large encompassing area is optimal for protection and management across the natural values and ecological systems of the region. It is the Wilderness Society's policy that we will only support a World Heritage nomination that has the consent of Traditional Owners. The process to determine whether there is consent from the relevant Traditional Owners should be afforded the necessary support and resources from the federal and state governments, with reasonable timeframes set in which Government can be sure it has informed agreement of the Traditional Owners. Securing political and community support for Cape York World Heritage protection will mean that the federal government must be a strong national and international champion of our campaign outcomes. At a state level, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and the LNP must back the World Heritage program because of the Commonwealth resources that would be made available if traditional owners agree a World Heritage nomination. At the state and national level, strong community awareness and support for World Heritage, gives state and federal governments a mandate to act. The quintessential values of Cape York Peninsula are its rich biological and ecosystem diversity and its enduring Indigenous culture - both past and present.

What makes the Cape particularly special is its sheer size; the scale and vastness of these attributes are simply mind-boggling and an obvious global treasure. The boundary for a proposed World Heritage area should reflect the vast extent and integrity of these values across the Peninsula, and the need to safeguard them for the future. Swoffa - Saltwater Flyfishing Australia - Where to fish in Cape York Welcome to Far North Queensland and the Northern most point of mailnland Australia. The Cape York Peninsula stretches North from Cooktown up to Bamaga right at the tip. Flanked by the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea to the East, and the Gulf of Carpenatria to the West, the Cape provides access to possibly the largest variety of species and opportunities in Australia. The entire Peninsula encompasses an area of 137 000 sq km and if fishing remote places is your thing, then Cape York would make a perfect playground. Access into the remote Cape is via domestic flights which run from Cairns to Weipa and Bamaga, this being the chosen method of travel for most international anglers.

Question: In which Australian state is Cape York Peninsula?
Answer: QUEENSLAND