Atherton Tablelands

The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around 32,000 km; with an altitude ranging between 500 and 1,280 m (1,600 and 4,200 ft). The fertility of the soils in the region can be attributed to the volcanic origins of the land.The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River, which was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tinaroo, also Tinaroo Hydro, a small 1.6MW Hydroelectric power station is located near the spillway.