Natural wonder Australia and Oceania
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range is a long line of high land in eastern Australia. Rivers flow away from it on both sides.
The Great Dividing Range runs through Australia's Eastern Highlands, which stretch along most of the east coast. It divides rivers that flow inland from rivers that flow to the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait.
The Great Dividing Range separates rivers flowing to central Australia or the Murray-Darling Basin from those flowing to the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait. Because the Eastern Highlands are largely plateau-like, the divide itself is not very pronounced in most places (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Photo: David Iliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range is in eastern Australia. Rivers on one side flow inland. Rivers on the other side flow to the sea.
In this photo, orange cliffs rise above a deep green valley in the Blue Mountains.
Australia's Eastern Highlands stretch along most of the east coast. The Great Dividing Range runs through them. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says it separates rivers flowing to central Australia or the Murray-Darling Basin from rivers flowing to the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait.
This photo by David Iliff, taken on 27 November 2008, shows the Jamison Valley in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales: orange sandstone cliffs, a deep forested valley and flat-topped ridges far away.
The Eastern Highlands stretch along most of Australia's east coast; through them runs the Great Dividing Range, the divide between rivers flowing to central Australia or the Murray-Darling Basin and those flowing to the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait (ABS, Year Book Australia 2009-10). In places such as the northern Snowy Mountains and the Brindabella Ranges, the highest ranges do not coincide with the divide.
The photo (David Iliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, 27 November 2008, a three-frame panorama) shows the Jamison Valley in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
- Runs through
- the Eastern Highlands of Australia
- Divides rivers flowing to
- inland Australia from the Pacific and Bass Strait
- Highest land
- over 1,800 m, in the Snowy Mountains and Victorian Alps
Plateaus, an escarpment and uplift
Long ago, the land in eastern Australia was pushed up high.
On the side facing the sea there is a steep wall of rock. Inland, the land slopes down gently.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says most of the Eastern Highlands were lifted up in Tertiary times, after Australia separated from Antarctica, and a few parts were still rising as recently as one million years ago. Volcanoes erupted in eastern Australia during this time too.
Over much of their length the highlands have a steep escarpment on the coast side, a series of high plateaus, and gentler slopes inland. Because the land is so plateau-like, the divide is not a sharp ridge in most places.
The main separation of Australia from Antarctica took place 100 to 80 million years ago; in the following Tertiary, most of the Eastern Highlands were uplifted, though a few parts were still rising as recently as one million years ago. Throughout the Tertiary, volcanoes erupted in eastern Australia (ABS).
Over much of their length the highlands have a steep coastal escarpment, a series of high plateaus and gentler inland slopes. The highest land (over 1,800 m) is in the Snowy Mountains and Victorian Alps; many New South Wales plateaus exceed 1,000 m, while in Queensland 1,000 m is reached in only a few places. In Victoria the old plateau has been eroded into separate ranges and high plains.
Waterfalls over the escarpment
Where rivers tip over the steep rock wall, they make waterfalls.
Some of Australia's highest waterfalls are here.
The coastal escarpment is especially clear along much of the New South Wales and southern Queensland coast. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says Australia's highest waterfalls are where rivers flow over this escarpment.
They include Wollombi Falls on the Macleay River, Wallaman Falls, Barron Falls near Cairns and Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
The coastal escarpment is particularly marked along much of the New South Wales and southern Queensland coast, and in isolated ranges further north, such as those around Cairns. Australia's highest waterfalls (Wollombi on the Macleay, Wallaman Falls on a tributary of the Herbert, Barron Falls near Cairns and Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains) occur where rivers flow over it (ABS).
Between the escarpment and the sea lies a coastal strip, rarely more than 100 km wide.
Eucalypt forests of the Blue Mountains
Gum trees, also called eucalypts, cover the Blue Mountains.
Platypuses and echidnas live there too.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area, a World Heritage Site, is a deeply cut sandstone tableland covered in eucalypt forest, with cliffs 300 meters high. UNESCO says more than 90 kinds of eucalypts grow there, about 13 percent of all the world's eucalypts.
It is also home to the Wollemi pine, a rare plant from an ancient line. About one third of Australia's bird species have been found there, and platypuses and echidnas live there too.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area (World Heritage, 2000) is a deeply incised sandstone tableland of 1.03 million ha, with 300 m cliffs, slot canyons and waterfalls. It holds c. 1,500 plant species in 152 families, including more than 90 eucalypt species (13% of the global total) and relicts with Gondwanan affinities such as the highly restricted Wollemi pine (UNESCO).
More than 400 vertebrate taxa occur there: some 52 mammals, 63 reptiles, over 30 frogs and about one third (265 species) of Australia's birds, including the platypus and echidna among its charismatic animals.
Exploring safely
Wear a hat and sunscreen when you go walking.
Stay with your grown-up and keep back from cliff edges.
Too much sun can harm your skin, even on cooler days. The CDC suggests a hat with a brim all the way around, long sleeves, sunglasses and broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
PlayOwl's advice: on cliff-top walks in places like the Blue Mountains, stay on the paths and behind lookout fences.
CDC sun safety: protect skin all year when the UV index is 3 or higher; wear a wide-brimmed hat, tightly woven clothing and UV-blocking sunglasses, and apply broad-spectrum SPF 15+ sunscreen before going outside.
PlayOwl's advice, built on the landscape described above (300 m cliffs, UNESCO): keep to marked tracks and behind lookout barriers.
Amazing facts
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Some of Australia's highest waterfalls pour off this high land.
Australia's highest waterfalls, including Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, are where rivers flow over the coastal escarpment.
Wollombi, Wallaman, Barron and Wentworth Falls, Australia's highest waterfalls, all occur where rivers cross the Eastern Highlands' coastal escarpment (ABS).
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A very rare tree called the Wollemi pine grows in the Blue Mountains.
The Wollemi pine, a rare relict plant, grows in the Greater Blue Mountains Area.
The highly restricted Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis) is a relict species with Gondwanan affinities (UNESCO).
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In some places, the highest mountains are not on the dividing line.
In the northern Snowy Mountains and the Brindabella Ranges, the highest ranges are not on the Great Dividing Range itself.
Near Canberra, the divide lies east of the city, and the highest ranges of the northern Snowy Mountains and Brindabellas do not coincide with it (ABS).
Words to know
- divide
- high ground that separates rivers flowing in different directions
- escarpment
- a long, steep slope or cliff at the edge of high land
- plateau
- a large area of high, fairly flat land
- uplift
- when part of the Earth's surface is slowly pushed higher
- eucalypt
- a gum tree, a tree of the kind that covers much of Australia
Discovery challenge
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What does the Great Dividing Range divide?
What does the Great Dividing Range separate?
According to the ABS, what does the Great Dividing Range separate?
- Rivers flowing in different directions
- Two oceans of salt water
- Day from night
Show the answer
Rivers flowing in different directions
Rivers: some flow inland, some flow to the sea.
Rivers flowing inland from rivers flowing to the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait.
Rivers to central Australia or the Murray-Darling Basin from those to the Pacific or Bass Strait.
-
In which country is the Great Dividing Range?
Along which country's east coast does the Great Dividing Range run?
The Eastern Highlands, crossed by the Great Dividing Range, are in which country?
- Australia
- Canada
- Brazil
Show the answer
Australia
Australia.
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What is on the side of the highlands facing the sea?
What lies on the coastal side of the Eastern Highlands over much of their length?
Which landform marks the coastal side of the Eastern Highlands over much of their length?
- A steep escarpment
- A sandy desert
- A glacier
Show the answer
A steep escarpment
A steep wall of rock.
A steep escarpment.
A steep escarpment (ABS).
-
Which trees cover the Blue Mountains?
Which trees dominate the Greater Blue Mountains Area, with more than 90 species?
Which plant group is represented by more than 90 species, 13% of the global total, in the Greater Blue Mountains?
- Eucalypts
- Palm trees
- Cacti
Show the answer
Eucalypts
Eucalypts, or gum trees.
Eucalypts.
Eucalypts (UNESCO).
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Where are Australia's highest waterfalls?
Where do Australia's highest waterfalls occur?
Where does the ABS place Australia's highest waterfalls?
- Where rivers flow over the coastal escarpment
- In the middle of the desert
- On the Great Barrier Reef
Show the answer
Where rivers flow over the coastal escarpment
Where rivers tip over the steep rock wall.
Where rivers flow over the coastal escarpment.
Where rivers flow over the Eastern Highlands' coastal escarpment (ABS).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the Great Dividing Range and the Eastern Highlands of Australia.
- Explain what a drainage divide is.
- Describe the escarpment, plateaus and waterfalls of the highlands.
- Describe the eucalypt forests of the Greater Blue Mountains.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- If you poured water on the top of a roof, where would it flow? How is that like a divide?
- Why might waterfalls form where rivers cross an escarpment?
- Why might many kinds of eucalypts grow in one area?
Try at home or in class
- Fold a sheet of paper into a tent, drip water on the ridge, and watch it run down both sides.
- On a map of Australia, trace the east coast and find the Blue Mountains, the Snowy Mountains and Cairns.
Key vocabulary: divide, escarpment, plateau, uplift, eucalypt
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Year Book Australia, 2009-10: Geography of Australia , Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Greater Blue Mountains Area (World Heritage List) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Sun Safety Facts , US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- File:Jamison Valley, Blue Mountains, Australia - Nov 2008.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.