The McIlwraith Range is a rugged, dissected granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

 plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 on the Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

, Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...

, 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...

. 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...

, it covers about 3000 km² and lies about 15 km east of the town of Coen

Coen, Queensland

Coen is a small inland town on the main road heading up the Cape York Peninsula in far northern Queensland, Australia. It is in the Cook Shire Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Coen had a population of 253....

, and 550 km north of Cairns

Cairns, Queensland

Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...

. The Archer River

Archer River

The Archer River is a major river of the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia. It rises in the McIlwraith Range, traverses tropical savanna plains and wetlands, flowing through Piccaninny Plains Sanctuary and Mungkan Kandju National Park, and enters the Gulf of Carpentaria on the...

 rises in the range.

Environment

The McIlwraith Range is protected by its gazettal as the Kulla (McIlwraith Range) National Park. It is also listed on Australia’s Register of the National Estate

Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

. It was named after Sir Thomas McIlwraith

Thomas McIlwraith

Sir Thomas McIlwraith KCMG was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1877 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893...

 (1835–1900), three time Premier of Queensland 1879-1883, 1888, and 1893

With most of the range being about 450 m asl

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

, and with a high point of 824 m, it is largely vegetated with a variety of rainforest

Rainforest

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

 types, forming the southernmost limit of the ranges of many plants and animals characteristic of New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

. These include the Spotted Cuscus, Green Tree Python and Palm Cockatoo

Palm Cockatoo

The Palm Cockatoo , also known as the Goliath Cockatoo, is a large smoky-grey or black parrot of the cockatoo family. It is the only member in subfamily Microglossinae and the only member of the monotypic genus, Probosciger...

. An endemic species is the McIlwraith Leaf-tailed Gecko (Orraya occultus)

Birds

The range is part of the 6205 km² McIlwraith and Iron Ranges 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...

 (IBA), identified as such 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 is one of the few known sites for the endangered Buff-breasted Button-quail. The IBA also supports an isolated population of Southern Cassowaries

Southern Cassowary

The Southern Cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird...

 as well as populations of Lovely Fairywrens, Silver-crowned Friarbird

Silver-crowned Friarbird

The Silver-crowned Friarbird is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.-References:...

s, Yellow

Yellow Honeyeater

The Yellow Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests....

, Yellow-spotted

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater

The Yellow-spotted Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests....

, White-streaked

White-streaked Honeyeater

The White-streaked Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Trichodere.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests....

 and Banded Honeyeater

Banded Honeyeater

The Banded Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...

s, and White-browed Robin

White-browed Robin

The White-browed Robin is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to north-eastern Australia. Its natural habitats are forest, woodland and scrub, often near water...

s.