Everything about Cape York totally explained
» This article is about the peninsula located in the Australian state of Queensland; it shouldn't be confused with either Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, or Cape York, Greenland.
Cape York Peninsula is a large
peninsula located in
Far North Queensland,
Australia. This remote peninsula is one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth. Its undisturbed
tropical rainforests and
savannas are now recognized for their global environmental significance. A nomination for
World Natural Heritage is currently being considered by the Queensland and Australian Federal governments.
The Cape York Peninsula region encompasses an area of approximately 137,000 km² north of 16°S latitude. It has a population of only about 18,000, of which a large percentage (~60 %) are
Aborigines and
Torres Strait Islanders.
At the tip of the peninsula lies Cape York, the northernmost point on the Australian
continent. It was named by Lt.
James Cook in
1770 after His Royal Highness the
Duke of York. The entire region covers an area of approximately 137,000 km².
Soils
The
soils on Cape York are remarkably infertile even compared to other areas of Australia, being almost entirely
laterised and in most cases so old and weathered that very little development is apparent today (classified in
USDA soil taxonomy as
Orthents). It is because of this extraordinary soil poverty that the region is so thinly settled: the soils are so unworkable and unresponsive to
fertilisation that attempts to grow commercial crops have usually failed.
Climate
The climate on Cape York Peninsula is
tropical and
monsoonal, with a wet season extending from November to April and a dry season from May to October. The temperature across it's warm to hot, with a cooler climate in higher areas. The mean annual temperatures range from 18
°C at higher elevations to 27
°C on the lowlands in the far south-west. Temperatures over 40
°C and below 5
°C are rare.
Annual rainfall is high, ranging from over 2000 mm. in the Iron Range and north of Weipa to about 700 mm. at the southern border. Almost all this rain falls between November and April, and only on the eastern slopes of the Iron Range is the
median rainfall between June and September above 5mm (0.2 inches). Between January and March, however, the median monthly rainfall ranges from about 170mm (6.5 inches) in the south to over 500mm (20 inches) in the north and on the Iron Range.
Ecology and biology
Ecosystems
Cape York Peninsula supports a complex mosaic of intact
tropical rainforests,
tropical savannas,
heathlands,
wetlands,
wild rivers and
mangrove swamps. Therefore, the Peninsula has also been noted for its exceptionally high wilderness quality.
The majority of Cape York is covered in
tropical savannas. On Cape York, this ecosystem is typically comprised of a tall dense grass layer and varying densities of trees (dominantly
eucalypts), making it a tropical savanna woodland. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout the long
Dry season, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the Cape’s coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting a disproportionately high biodiversity, all those forests are of high conservation significance.
Infrastructure
A completely sealed inland road links
Cairns and the
Atherton Tableland to
Lakeland Downs and
Cooktown. The road north of Lakeland Downs to the tip of the Peninsula is sometimes cut after heavy rains during the wet season (roughly December to May).
Tourism
Cape York is a popular destination from May to October for 4WD enthusiasts who come to test their driving skills and their vehicles on the remaining sections of the Overland Telegraph Track.
Major national parks include the Jardine River National Park in the far north, Mungkan Kandju National Park near Aurukun, and Lakefield National Park, in the south-east of the bioregion.
Mining
There are extensive deposits of bauxite along the west or
Gulf of Carpentaria coast.
Weipa is the centre for this mining activity.
