Coffs Harbor likes to claim that it is Geographically unique, as it is the only place in NSW where the Great Dividing Range (GDR) meets the Pacific Ocean, today we will have you standing on the edge to come to your own conclusion about these claims. There is plenty of parking (no caravans), toilets and picnic tables nearby.
The Great Dividing Range (GDR) is Australia’s largest mountain range and main watershed of eastern Australia; it comprises a series of plateaus and low mountain ranges roughly paralleling the coasts of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria for 3,700 km. Geologically and topographically complex, the range begins in the north on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Within that state the ranges’ average elevation is 600–900 meters, but they rise as high as 1,500 meters in the Bellenden Ker and McPherson ranges and the Lamington Plateau. Farther south the highlands average 900meters; a segment known as the Australian Alps, near the New South Wales–Victoria border, contains Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko 2,228 meters. The highlands finally bend westward in Victoria to terminate in the Grampians, while a southern spur emerges from the Bass Strait to form the central uplands of insular Tasmania.
The headwaters of several of Australia’s principal rivers are located in the Great Dividing Range. The Snowy River flows down the steep eastern slope, while the Darling, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, and Goulburn rivers drain the gentle western slope to join the Murray River.
Mountain ranges, like the Great Dividing Range are usually created when two land or land and sea tectonic plates push against each and are forced to move upwards.
The Great Dividing Range was formed during the Carboniferous period, 300 million years. When Australia collided with what is now parts of South America and New Zealand, forced upwards movement created the Great Dividing Range, mountain ranges like the Himalayas continue to grow in height due to this. Australia is in the middle of a tectonic plate and therefore the Great Dividing Range will not grow any further height. The range has experienced significant erosion since its creation, creating fertile plains.
Apart from being a major aspect of Australian geology, The Great Dividing Range also divides the east coast from the inland, has a major influence on the climate of the eastern part of Australia, it’s the home to many native Australian plants and animals that don’t grow anywhere else and one of the most important sources of water to Australians.
It’s important for the purpose of this earthcache to note that in Geology, by definition, a hill is a landform that is higher than the surrounding area. On the other hand, a mountain is a steep landform that has an elevation of more than 300m.
**You do not need to visit reference point one, we can tell you it is sea level and is 4.4km away.
To claim a find on this EarthCache we require you to email answers to the following questions:
Q1. What is your altitude at GZ, does this height suggest you are still on the GDR despite being close to the sea?
Q2. Looking towards the East, noting the harbour at reference point 1 and the land that you can see leading from GZ down to R1, do you agree with CH’s claim, that the GDR meets the Pacific Ocean?
Q3. Near WP2 (along Bruxner Park Road), what is the main use of the land in the surrounding area, what does this suggest about the soil here?
Q4. Post a photo of you/your team or something that identifies you at the lookout.
You are welcome to log your find straight away to keep your TBs and Stats in order, but please message us with your answers within a few days. Cachers who do not fulfil the Earth Cache requirement will have their logs deleted.