The Atherton Tableland, part of the Great Dividing Range, spreads over an area of about 650 square kilometres in the north-eastern part of Australia in the state of Queensland. It is a relatively low plateau, with elevations ranging from 600 to 1100 metres above sea level. The geological history of the plateau is very interesting: many of the hills are extinct volcanoes. Many of the hills are extinct volcanoes, with lakes in their craters. There are a lot of endemic species of flora and fauna that do not live anywhere else in the world. the shy tree kangaroos, wallabies, possums, marsupials. volatiles and secretive platypuses.
Since ancient times, the main inhabitants of the Atherton Plateau have been Aboriginal people. Atherton Plateau from ancient times were aboriginal tribes, whose populations declined sharply with the arrival of the with the arrival of Europeans. In 1875, James Mulligan and John Atherton, after whom the area was later named. after whom the area was later named, independently explored the plateau. The travellers discovered rich tin deposits near the future settlement of Herberton. Herberton, which prompted a flood of settlers to the area. The rapid settlement of the region prompted the construction of a road from Port Douglas to Herberton, and in 1886. the town of Atherton was founded. Today there are several towns located on the plateau: Atherton, Kairi, Kuranda, Mariba, Malanda, Milla Milla, Ravenshoe, and Herberton.
Interestingly, that some of the first foreigners on the plateau were Chinese: at the beginning of the century, more thousands of foreigners lived in Chinatown in Atherton was home to over a thousand Chinese, most of whom were engaged in agriculture.
In 1925, the Gillies Highway was built, which made it possible to reach the plateau from the Coral Sea coast in just 24 hours. In 1955, a dam was built on the Barron River.
Today, the Atherton Plateau is one of the country's largest agricultural centres, growing sugar cane sugar cane, avocados, corn, strawberries, citrus and mangoes. Tourism is the most actively developed tourism.
There are numerous recreational opportunities for visitors to the plateau: These include walking on hiking trails, bird and animal watching, tours tours to limestone caves, hot air ballooning, fishing, rafting, water skiing.
A 15-minute drive from the town of Atherton is Lake Tinaro, with its namesake village on the shore. The lake itself is of artificial origin, it was formed after the construction of a dam on the River Barron. Today, Tinaro is a very popular tourist destination, where you can practice a variety of water sports, or you can or just relax on the sandy beach. From here begins the 28-kilometre Dunbulla Drive, passing pineapple and eucalyptus plantations, through a protected government-protected rainforest and a stretch of humid tropics.
Two famous "blue" icons of the evergreen plateau are the crater lakes Barrine and Eacham, are UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. The shores of both lakes There are circular hiking trails along the shores of both lakes. In the vicinity of Lake Barryn grows two amazing twin agathis New Zealand trees - they are reliably estimated to be 1100 years old!
Also worth a visit are the 90 metre high Mungalli Falls. 13 kilometres from the town of Mill Mill, the highest waterfalls on the Atherton Plateau.
