The Clarke Range is a rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

-covered mountain range in Central Queensland

Central Queensland

Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It forms part of the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

 in central Queensland, lying about 30 km from the coast and 65 km west of the coastal city of Mackay

Mackay, Queensland

Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....

. The highest points are the summits of Mount Dalrymple and Mount William at about 1270 m above sea level.

The range is composed of granite rocks. The slopes of Clarke Range form the upper reaches of the Pioneer River valley. The Broken River also rises in the range, flowing west to join the Burdekin River

Burdekin River

The Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia rises on the western slope of the Seaview Range and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Upstart Bay over 200 km to the southeast of the source. The river was first encountered by Europeans during the expedition led by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 and named...

.

An exploration party led by John Mackay

John Mackay (Australian Pioneer)

John Mackay was an explorer, sailor and harbourmaster, best known for founding the city of Mackay in Australia. He was associated with Henry Ling Roth....

 were the first Europeans to cross the range on 18 May 1860.

The main road over the range winds sharply and steeply and is not suitable for caravans.

Birds

Some 950 km² of the Clarke Range, encompassing the Eungella National Park

Eungella National Park

Eungella is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. The original inhabitants are the Goreng goreng people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypuses.The national park was established in 1941 and is...

, has been classified as an Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

 by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 because it supports most of the population of the Eungella Honeyeater

Eungella Honeyeater

The Eungella Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...

, an isolated northern population of the Regent Bowerbird

Regent Bowerbird

The Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris...

, and large numbers of Bush Stone-curlew

Bush Stone-curlew

The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia...

s.