Country Australia Formed by Volcanic plug Type of rock Granite plateau Area 3,000 km² Periods Cretaceous, Permian | State Queensland Age of rock Cretaceous and Permian Elevation 824 m Parent range Great Dividing Range Ages of rock Cretaceous, Permian | |
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Peak unnamed peak (northeast of Coen) | ||
The McIlwraith Range is a rugged, dissected granite plateau on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range, the McIlwraith Range covers about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) and lies about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of the town of Coen, and 550 kilometres (340 mi) north of Cairns. The Archer and Stewart Rivers rise in the range, with the Archer draining the range's western slopes into the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Stewart draining east into the Coral Sea. The range receives an annual rainfall of about 1,500 millimetres (59 in).
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Map of McIlwraith Range, Coen QLD 4892, Australia
Environment
The McIlwraith Range has been protected since its gazettal as the Kulla (McIlwraith Range) National Park. It is also listed on Australia's Register of the National Estate. It was named after Sir Thomas McIlwraith (1835–1900), three time Premier of Queensland 1879–1883, 1888, and 1893.
With most of the range being about 450 metres (1,480 ft) AHD , and with a high point of 824 metres (2,703 ft), just north-east of Coen. The major peaks are Mount Carter, Mount White, Mount Newberry, and Mount Walsh. The range is largely vegetated with a variety of rainforest types, forming the southernmost limit of the ranges of many plants and animals characteristic of New Guinea. These include the spotted cuscus, green tree python and palm cockatoo. An endemic species is the McIlwraith leaf-tailed gecko (Orraya occultus).
Birds
The range is part of the 6,205 square kilometres (2,396 sq mi) McIlwraith and Iron Ranges Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because it is one of the few known sites for the endangered buff-breasted buttonquail. The IBA also supports an isolated population of southern cassowaries as well as populations of lovely fairywrens, silver-crowned friarbirds, yellow, yellow-spotted, white-streaked and banded honeyeaters, and white-browed robins.