Cape York Peninsula (biogeographic region)

Cape York Peninsula
Queensland
The interim Australian bioregions,
with Cape York Peninsula in red
Area 122,564.57 km2 (47,322.4 sq mi)
Localities around Cape York Peninsula:
Gulf of Carpentaria Torres Strait Pacific Ocean
Gulf of Carpentaria Cape York Peninsula Pacific Ocean
Gulf Plains Einasleigh Uplands Wet Tropics

Cape York Peninsula (code CYP),[1] an interim Australian bioregion, is located in Queensland.[2]

Along the eastern margin, the geology of the Coen-Yambo Inlier is complex, with volcanic, metamorphic and acid intrusive rocks.[3] This area includes high-altitude/high-rainfall areas.[3] The subregion of theBattle Camp Sandstones, formed from deeply dissected plateaus, lies in the south of the region,[3] with the Laura Lowlands, composed of sands and silts, and colluvial and alluvial clays, lying adjacent.[3] The west of the region is dominated in the south by an extensive Tertiary sand sheet dissected by the drainage systems of the Holroyd Plain, the Tertiary laterite of the Weipa Plateau, and the low rises of Mesozoic sandstones, while the northern section consists of the Weipa Plateau together with extensive coastal plains along the Gulf of Carpentaria. To the east lie aeolian dunefields.[3]

The vegetation mainly consists of woodlands, heathlands, sedgelands, vine forests (including both semi-deciduous vine forests on the eastern ranges and deciduous vine thickets on western slopes). Mangrove forests are found in the north east and along the estuaries on the coasts.[3] The climate is tropical, humid or maritime, with rainfall varying from 1000 mm to 1600 mm.[3]

Regions

In the IBRA system Cape York Peninsula has the code of (CYP), and has nine sub-regions:[4]

IBRA regions and subregions: IBRA7
IBRA subregionIBRA
code		Area
haacres
Coen-Yambo InlierCYP012,312,126 5,713,390
Starke Coastal LowlandsCYP02512,498 1,266,410
Cape York-Torres StraitCYP0394,367 233,190
Jardine-Pascoe SandstonesCYP041,444,223 3,568,750
Battle Camp SandstonesCYP05504,409 1,246,420
Laura LowlandsCYP061,791,228 4,426,220
Weipa PlateauCYP072,848,753 7,039,420
Northern Holroyd PlainCYP082,464,074 6,088,860
Coastal PlainsCYP09284,780 703,700


See also

References

  1. ↑ "Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA7) regions and codes". Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Commonwealth of Australia. 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, Version 7: regions" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Environment Australia. "Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and Development of Version 5.1 - Summary Report". Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Australian Government. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "IBRA7 subregions and codes" (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.