Thread: The end of the Blue Mountains

PS: Perhaps I should have said Ranges !!!

The name "Blue Mountains" refers only to the deeply incised sandstone plateau country west of Sydney.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Blue_Mountains_Area"]Greater Blue Mountains Area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 10,300 square kilometres of mostly forested landscape on a sandstone plateau 60 to 180 kilometres inland from central Sydney

Your thinking perhaps of the great dividing range

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dividing_Range"]Great Dividing Range - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

starts in Victoria and ends in north qland

On the northen side, it ends at the wollami, on the west, hartley. To the south... I'm not so sure..I guess if you drew a line from Mittagong to Janolan?

Hmm, I didn't word that very well did I !!!
You could say that there are two or three common referals depending on where you live. From Sydney and the central coast you could refer to them being the Blue Mountains, further south and thru Victoria we refer to the high country, here in Qld we look to the west and refer to the Ranges.
I used the term Blue Mountains when I should have just said mountains !!!

Coming up thru NSW toward the north the mountains are very deep and dense and you could say difficult terrain to traverse.
Here in Qld the Ranges are less dense in comparison and access is much easier. The terrain is much different not only the vegetation but density so to speak.
So I got to wondering where does one really start to notice the difference and be able to say, I am leaving the southern mountainous country and entering the Ranges ? Is it around Armidale or Warwick or even further north toward Toowoomba ?
I have only travelled thru those near border areas between NSW and Qld without taking much notice. I love mulga and the desert areas.
I have aroused my curiosity about this question so I think come summer I might take a trip south in me Disco for a few weeks and have a closer look and take a few pics. There must be a white line or blaze saying that you are leaving the Ranges and entering the Mountains, eh. Might even throw the golf bags on board and get a few rounds of golf in along the way. Wouldn't be before February tho as I would wait untill the end of school ( shudder ) holidays and the holiday makers gone home.

The Blue Moutains are part of the Great Dividing Range which starts in Easten Victoria and goes North up to the Cape York Peninsular.in Northern NSW there is the McPherson Range which goes East,and which denotes the Eastern part of the Queensland/NSW border ending just short of Tweed Heads.

cheers

Originally Posted by flagg

On the northen side, it ends at the wollami, on the west, hartley. To the south... I'm not so sure..I guess if you drew a line from Mittagong to Janolan?

If you want to define the region called the "Blue Mountains", it's pretty much the area enclosed by the Cox's River to the west, Warragamba River/Dam to the south, Hawkesbury/Nepean to the east and the Capertee/Colo Rivers to the north.

But, if you want to define the Great Dividing Range, it's somewhat further west of that. While the Blue Mountains do form a geographic barrier to the west of Sydney, they are not part of the Great Dividing Range as all the watercourses within the area flow east to the Pacific. As the Cox's River flows > Warragamba Dam >Nepean River > Hawkesbury River >Pacific, then Hartley is east of the Range. Mt Lambie/Rydal is the watershed where the rivers drain west into the Fish River > Macquarie and eventually the Murray/Darling. A bit further north, both Wolgan and Capertee Rivers flow > Colo River > Hawkesbury. You have to go west of Capertee to find the westward flowing Turon River. Oddly, this part of the GDR is rolling countryside and doesn't appear quite as "Divisive" as the Blue Mountains. The GDR runs through the Wollemi Wilderness, with some watercourses flowing east into the Macdonald or Hunter Rivers, while the western side drains into the Cudgegong or Macquarie Rivers.

As you head further North in NSW, even significant hills like the Barrington Tops aren't actually part of the GDR, as all the rivers and streams around the Tops flow into the Hunter. It is the Liverpool Ranges that separate the eastern flowing streams from those that go into the Murray Darling system.

Originally Posted by olbod

I have only travelled thru those near border areas between NSW and Qld without taking much notice. I love mulga and the desert areas.
I have aroused my curiosity about this question so I think come summer I might take a trip south in me Disco for a few weeks and have a closer look and take a few pics.

One place to start is Main Range National Park, on the Scenic Rim. You can start at Boonah, & head south, or Warwick, & head Sth/ east. Great country , with the Sugerloaf, Ben Lomond, Knapps peak, Mt Maroon, & Mt. Superbus, 1381 metres, highest in S.E.Qld. Then theres Dagg's Falls, Browns Falls, & Queen Mary's Falls , a drop of 40 metres from Spring Creek, before it joins the Condamine River. Drive thru Cambanoora Gorge, cross the Condamine 14 times [ but not after heavy rain]. Easy driving, Drop into Warwick's tourist info shop, & find a lot more about the area, there are plenty of out of the way tracks to drive. The drive thru the Gorge was part of the old Cobb & Co. route from Boonah to Warwick. Easy in a 4x4 , how they took that coach thru the Gorge is beyond me, Bob