McPherson Range

mountains, Australia

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Article History

McPherson Range, mountain range, eastern spur of the Great Dividing Range, eastern Australia; its crest constitutes the Queensland–New South Wales border from Point Danger to Wallangara (140 miles [225 km]). Occupying a well-dissected and rainforest-covered region, the range rises to its highest point at West Barney Peak, 4,459 feet (1,359 m). In 1770 the British navigator Captain James Cook sighted the range from the coast; he named the peak he saw Mount Warning. In 1827 Captain Patrick Logan became the first European to explore the interior of the range, which was named for Major Duncan McPherson.

It was not until 1843 that a road was surveyed from the Richmond River valley westward across the mountains. The Sydney-Brisbane rail line crosses the range through a tunnel under Richmond Gap. A section of the region, the Lamington Plateau, has been made a national park.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.