Great Dividing Range

between Braidwood and Bungendore , New South Wales ]]

Australia's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres), and all of mainland Australia's alpine areas are part of this range. The highest areas in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria are known as the Australian Alps .
The Great Dividing Range (a.k.a Eastern Highlands) is Australia 's most substantial Mountain Range . It stretches from the northeastern tip of Queensland , running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales , then into Victoria and turning west before finally fading into the central plain at the Grampians in western Victoria.

In fact ''Great Dividing Range'' is a Misnomer , as it is not a single ''range''. It does, however, ''divide'' the Watershed s of streams and rivers which flow directly into the Pacific Ocean on the eastern coast of Australia, from streams and rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin which flow inwards, away from the coast into the interior plains. Because of this, the native freshwater fish faunas of the Murray-Darling Basin and East Coast river systems are very different.

In some areas, such as the Snowy Mountains , Victorian Alps and the eastern escarpments of the New England region, the highlands form a significant barrier. In other areas the slopes are gentle and in places the range is barely perceptible.

Whilst some of the peaks of the highlands reach respectable heights of a little over 2000 metres, the age of the range and its erosion mean that the most of the mountains are not outrageously steep, and virtually all peaks can be reached without mountaineering equipment.

Much of the range is in a succession of national parks and other reserves. The lower reaches are used for forestry, an activity that causes much friction with conservationists. It is also the source of virtually all of eastern Australia's water supply, both through runoff caught in dams, and, throughout much of Queensland, through the Great Artesian Basin .

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Great Dividing Range