Editing Great Dividing Range (section)

==Natural components==
[[File:BrightVictoria2.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Feathertop|Mt Feathertop]] viewed from [[Smoko, Victoria|Smoko]]]]
Parts of the highlands consisting of relatively flat and, by Australian standards, well-watered land were developed for agricultural and pastoral uses. Such areas include the [[Atherton Tableland]] and [[Darling Downs]] in Queensland, and the [[Northern Tablelands]], [[Southern Highlands, New South Wales|Southern Highlands]] and [[Southern Tablelands]] in [[New South Wales]]. Other parts of the highlands are too rugged for agriculture and have been used for forestry.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} Many parts of the highlands which were not developed are now included in [[National Parks]].

All of [[Australia (continent)|mainland Australia]]'s alpine areas, including its highest mountain, [[Mount Kosciuszko]] ({{convert|2228|m|ft|disp=or}} [[Australian Height Datum|AHD]]), are part of this range, called the [[Main Range (Snowy Mountains)|Main Range]].<ref name="goa"/> The highest areas in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria are known as the [[Australian Alps]].

The central core of the Great Dividing Range is dotted with hundreds of peaks and is surrounded by many smaller mountain ranges or spurs, [[canyon]]s, [[valley]]s and plains of regional significance.  Some of the major plains include the [[High Plains (Australia)|High Plains]] of South-Eastern Australia, the Southern Highlands, the [[Central Highlands (Victoria)|Central Highlands]] and [[Bogong High Plains]] of Victoria. Other tablelands considered part of the Great Dividing Range are the [[Atherton Tableland]], [[Canberra wine region]] and the [[Southern Tablelands]].

The [[Dandenong Ranges]], [[Barrington Tops]], [[Bunya Mountains]], [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]], [[Liverpool Range]], [[McPherson Range]]s and the [[Moonbi Range]] are some of the smaller spurs and ranges that make up the greater dividing range. Other notable ranges and tablelands which form part of the Great Dividing Range include the [[Liverpool Range]], [[Mount Royal Range]] and the [[Monaro, New South Wales|Monaro District]]. Whilst some of the peaks of the highlands reach heights of a little over {{convert|2000|m}}, the age of the range and its erosion mean that most of the mountains are not very steep, and virtually all peaks can be reached without mountaineering equipment.

In some areas, such as the [[Snowy Mountains]], [[Victorian Alps]], the [[Scenic Rim]] and the eastern escarpments of the [[New England (Australia)|New England]] region, the highlands form a significant barrier. The eastern escarpment is the site of many spectacular waterfalls which were formed by rivers plunging off the tablelands. In other areas the slopes are gentle and in places the range is barely perceptible.<ref name="Shaw"/>

Well known passes on the range include [[Coxs Gap]], [[Cunninghams Gap]], [[Dead Horse Gap]], [[Nowlands Gap]], and [[Spicers Gap]].

Major cities located on the upland areas of the range include [[Canberra]], [[Toowoomba]] and the outer suburbs of [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Brisbane]], [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] and [[Cairns, Queensland|Cairns]] in north Queensland. Many towns and cities are located on the range, and also in lowland areas and foothills adjacent to the highlands. There is a strong natural history and cultural attachment to the Dividing Range region in towns and on many, sometimes remote, landholdings.
Some of the towns/cities located on or near the range include:
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* [[Canberra]] – ACT
* [[Albury]] – NSW
* [[Queanbeyan]] – NSW
* [[Goulburn]] – NSW
* [[Cooma]] – NSW
* [[Jindabyne]] – NSW
* [[Katoomba, New South Wales|Katoomba]] – NSW
* [[Lithgow, New South Wales|Lithgow]] – NSW
* [[Oberon, New South Wales|Oberon]] – NSW
* [[Bowral]] – NSW
* [[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]] – NSW
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* [[Crookwell]] – NSW
* [[Cowra]] – NSW
* [[Young, New South Wales|Young]] – NSW
* [[Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst]] – NSW
* [[Orange, New South Wales|Orange]] – NSW
* [[Wellington, New South Wales|Wellington]] – NSW
* [[Blayney, New South Wales|Blayney]] – NSW
* [[Mudgee]] – NSW
* [[Cessnock, New South Wales|Cessnock]] – NSW
* [[Wauchope, New South Wales|Wauchope]] – NSW
* [[Casino, New South Wales|Casino]] – NSW
* [[Grafton, New South Wales|Grafton]] – NSW
* [[Inverell]] – NSW
* [[Glen Innes, New South Wales|Glen Innes]] – NSW
* [[Gunnedah]] – NSW
* [[Singleton, New South Wales|Singleton]] – NSW 
* [[Armidale]] – NSW
* [[Tamworth, New South Wales|Tamworth]] – NSW
* [[Narrabri]] – NSW
* [[Coonabarabran]] – NSW
* [[Scone, New South Wales|Scone]] – NSW
* [[Gloucester, New South Wales|Gloucester]] – NSW
* [[Dorrigo, New South Wales|Dorrigo]] – NSW
* [[Walcha, New South Wales|Walcha]] – NSW
* [[Guyra]] – NSW
* [[Tenterfield]] – NSW
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* [[Roma, Queensland|Roma]] – Qld
* [[Gatton, Queensland|Gatton]] – Qld
* [[Dalby, Queensland|Dalby]] – Qld
* [[Goondiwindi]] – Qld
* [[Beaudesert, Queensland|Beaudesert]] – Qld
* [[Toowoomba]] – Qld
* [[Pittsworth, Queensland|Pittsworth]] – Qld
* [[Stanthorpe]] – Qld
* [[Warwick, Queensland|Warwick]] – Qld
* [[Kingaroy]] – Qld
* [[Biloela]] – Qld
* [[Emerald, Queensland|Emerald]] – Qld
* [[Moranbah]] – Qld
* [[Blackwater, Queensland|Blackwater]] – Qld
* [[Clermont, Queensland|Clermont]] – Qld
* [[Charters Towers]] – Qld
* [[Atherton, Queensland|Atherton]] – Qld
* [[Mareeba]] – Qld
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* [[Omeo]] – Vic
* [[Healesville]] – Vic
* [[Gisborne, Victoria|Gisborne]] – Vic
* [[Ballarat]] – Vic
* [[Beaufort, Victoria|Beaufort]] – Vic
* [[Bendigo]] – Vic
* [[Ararat, Victoria|Ararat]] – Vic
* [[Heathcote, Victoria|Heathcote]] – Vic
* [[Stawell, Victoria|Stawell]] – Vic
* [[Seymour, Victoria|Seymour]] – Vic
* [[Benalla]] – Vic
* [[Castlemaine, Victoria|Castlemaine]] – Vic
* [[Kilmore, Victoria|Kilmore]] – Vic
* [[Kyneton]] – Vic
* [[Maryborough, Victoria|Maryborough]] – Vic
* [[Shepparton]] – Vic
* [[Wallan]] – Vic
* [[Wodonga]] – Vic
* [[Wangaratta]] – Vic
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===Water catchments===
[[File:Dangar Falls Dorrigo (1).JPG|thumb|Some of the most spectacular waterfalls in Australia, such as Dangar Falls at [[Dorrigo, New South Wales]], are located along the Great Dividing Range.]]

The lower reaches are used for forestry, an activity that causes friction with conservationists. The range 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]].

Valleys along the chain of mountains have yielded a water source for important reservoirs and water supply projects such as the [[Upper Nepean Scheme]], [[Snowy Mountains Scheme]] and [[Warragamba Dam]].

The [[Bradfield Scheme]] has been mooted as a way to transport water from the [[Wet Tropics of Queensland]] in the coastal northeast of [[Far North Queensland]] via a series of [[Dams]] & [[Tunnel]]s, southwest to inland dryer regions, including a tunnel through the Great Dividing Range into the [[Flinders River]] then a tunnel into the Torrens Creek in the [[White Mountains National Park]] then flows south into [[Thomson River (Queensland)|Thompson River]] / [[Cooper Creek]], part of the [[Eyre Basin]]. Many other variations have been proposed.

The Great Dividing Range creates the [[drainage basin]]s of the [[Australian south-east coast drainage division]] and the [[Australian north-east coast drainage division]], whose water flows to [[East Coast of Australia|the east coast]] and into the Pacific Ocean, [[Tasman Sea]], and [[Bass Strait]] with the westerly [[Murray–Darling basin]] which flow inland, away from the coast into the interior plains.

Some of the rivers which flow west of the ranges includes the [[Condamine River]], [[Flinders River]], [[Herbert River]], [[Lachlan River]], [[Macdonald River (Bendemeer)|Macdonald River]], [[Macintyre River]] and [[Namoi River]].<ref name="AustraliDotGovDotAu"/> Rivers that flow north into the Murray–Darling Basin from Victoria include the [[Goulburn River|Goulburn]], [[Mitta Mitta River|Mitta Mitta]], [[Kiewa River|Kiewa]], [[Ovens River|Ovens]], [[King River (Victoria)|King]], [[Loddon River|Loddon]] and [[Campaspe River|Campaspe]] rivers. Rivers that flow east into the Pacific Ocean include the [[Annan River]], [[Barron River (Queensland)|Barron River]], [[Brisbane River]], [[Burdekin River]], [[Burnett River]], [[Clarence River (New South Wales)|Clarence River]], [[Daintree River]], [[Fitzroy River (Queensland)|Fitzroy River]], [[Hastings River]], [[Hawkesbury River]], [[Hunter River (New South Wales)|Hunter River]], [[Karuah River]], [[Macleay River]], [[Mary River (Queensland)|Mary River]], [[Pascoe River]], [[Richmond River]] and the [[Shoalhaven River]]. Those that flow south, primarily through Victoria, include the [[Snowy River|Snowy]], [[Cann River|Cann]], [[Tambo River (Victoria)|Tambo]], [[Mitchell River (Victoria)|Mitchell]], [[Latrobe River|Latrobe]], [[Thomson River (Victoria)|Thomson]], [[Yarra River|Yarra]], [[Werribee River|Werribee]], [[Hopkins River|Hopkins]] and [[Glenelg River (Victoria)|Glenelg]] rivers.<ref name="Shaw"/>