The Gregory Highway is a state highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 that serves the major coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

-mining centres of 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...

. The highway was named after Augustus Gregory

Augustus Gregory

Sir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...

, an early explorer.

It runs southward from outside Georgetown

Georgetown, Queensland

Georgetown is a town on the Etheridge River in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Gulf Developmental Road passes through the town, linking Cairns - 412 km to the east - and Normanton - 301 km to the west...

 off the Gulf Developmental Road

Gulf Developmental Road

The Gulf Developmental Road links the Cairns and Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed road linking these two regions....

, via Lynd Junction ("The Lynd") and Charters Towers

Charters Towers, Queensland

Charters Towers is a city in northern Queensland, Australia. It is located 137 kilometres inland from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. In 2006 the population was 7,979 people, some 450 fewer than in the 2001 census. During the last quarter of the 19th century the town boomed as the rich gold...

, to Springsure

Springsure, Queensland

Springsure is a small town in Queensland, 66 km south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is 765 km northwest of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Springsure had a population of 829.-History:...

, over 900 kilometres away.

North of Clermont

Clermont, Queensland

Clermont is an agricultural town in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 274 km south-west of Mackay on the junction of the Gregory and Peak Downs highways...

 it is known as the Gregory Developmental Road or the Great Inland Road and it is a very lonely road that was recently upgraded to almost completely dual-laned bitumen that used to be single lane. The road is used mainly by road train

Road train

A road train or roadtrain is a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently. The term "road train" is most often used in Australia. In the U.S. and Canada the terms "triples," "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky Mountain...

.

List of towns along the Gregory Highway

• Lynd Junction
• Charters Towers
  Charters Towers, Queensland
  Charters Towers is a city in northern Queensland, Australia. It is located 137 kilometres inland from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. In 2006 the population was 7,979 people, some 450 fewer than in the 2001 census. During the last quarter of the 19th century the town boomed as the rich gold...
  
  
• Belyando Crossing
• Clermont
  Clermont, Queensland
  Clermont is an agricultural town in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 274 km south-west of Mackay on the junction of the Gregory and Peak Downs highways...
  
  
• Capella
  Capella, Queensland
  Capella is a small town in Central Highlands, Queensland midway between Emerald and Clermont on the Gregory Highway. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 796....
  
  
• Emerald
  Emerald, Queensland
  Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
  
  
• Springsure
  Springsure, Queensland
  Springsure is a small town in Queensland, 66 km south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is 765 km northwest of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Springsure had a population of 829.-History:...
  
  

See also

• Highways in Australia
  Highways in Australia
  This is a list of highways in Australia, listed alphabetically along with each highway's route number and location. Note that some highways service more than one state or territory.-Route numbering systems:...
  
  
• List of highways in Queensland