Two Major Natural Features of New South Wales

1. The Great Dividing Range

• Australia's longest mountain range (~3,700 km), running parallel to the NSW/QLD/VIC coast.
• In NSW: includes Blue Mountains, Snowy Mountains (Mt Kosciuszko 2,228 m — Australia's highest), Northern Tablelands, Barrington Tops.
• Creates rain shadow: wet coast, dry western slopes/plains.
• Source of major rivers (Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Hunter, Clarence).
• Biodiversity hotspot: Gondwanan rainforests, alpine herbfields, eucalypt woodlands.

2. The Murray–Darling River System

• Australia's largest river system (~3,700 km combined); drains 1M km² (14% of continent).
• In NSW: Murray (southern border), Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Darling (western), Barwon, Namoi, Gwydir, Macquarie, Castlereagh.
• Supports irrigation (rice, cotton, citrus, grapes, dairy), towns, wetlands (Macquarie Marshes, Lowbidgee), and Indigenous cultural flows.
• Under pressure: overallocation, drought, climate change → Murray–Darling Basin Plan (2012) seeks sustainable diversion limits.

Why They Matter

These two features define NSW's geography, climate, economy, and ecology. The Range divides the coastal strip (where 80% of population lives) from the inland; the rivers make large-scale agriculture possible and sustain ecosystems of international significance.