Excavations at Rainbow Cave and Wanderer's Cave: two rockshelters in the Carnarvon Range, Queensland

Abstract

If the state of Queensland can be said to have true "uplands", then they are to be found in the southern and central region of the state in that place Archibald Meston (1895) called the "Home of the Rivers".  There, some 400km inland from Australia's eastern coast and some 600km south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the uplifted and heavily weathered Triassic sandstones form a conspicuous link in the north-south trending mountains collectively referred to as "The Great Dividing Range".  These ancient sandstones seldom rise above 650m elevation, and never more than the prominence of Black Alley Peak (Mt. Ackland) at 1000m.  Rather, the range here achieves its mass and character by being broad and ruggedly dissected.  Plateaus and mesas with sharp precipitous cliffs commingle with alluvial flats, seasonal creeks and the headwaters of several important rivers such as the Dawson, Warrego, Maranoa and Barcoo.