Mt. Georgetown, Queensland, Australia Photograph by John Morrison   Northeastern Australia Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   49,600 square miles (128,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of North Carolina and Rhode Island Vulnerable

· Rugged Outback
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Rugged Outback

The Einasleigh Upland Savanna ecoregion is rugged outback country, where pioneer prospectors and cattle ranchers struggled to make a living. It’s also a region with an interesting geological history. The Einasleigh area is the largest upland area in Queensland, Australia. It is covered with low eucalyptus woodlands and scarred by gorges and escarpments. Lava flows as recent as 12,000 years ago have shaped the terrain, forming extensive basalt plains and lava tunnels.

Special Features

The Great Basalt Wall is a unique geologic feature that was formed as lava flowed down the valley. The lava braided in places before hardening, leaving pockets of tropical savanna vegetation surrounded by a wall of basalt rock. Common wallaroos, or euros, can easily hop over this wall, but livestock cannot. These pockets are important refuges for many kinds of animals, including many different skinks and geckos that no longer live in nearby grazing pastures. Another geologically important feature is the Undara Lava Tubes, a series of hollow passageways formed by lava flow.v

	When the Undara volcano erupted almost 200,000 years ago, the lava flow created a series of long hollow tubes called lava tubes. The longest of these lava tubes measures 101 miles (164 km)!

Wild Side

Marsupials abound in this lightly forested savanna grassland. The slender antilopine wallaroos and the large eastern grey kangaroos spring through the woodlands in search of suitable grazing. The rare Mareeba rock wallaby--found only in this area--suns itself on rocky outcrops. At night, opossums nimbly climb trees while gliders use the unusual skin flap between their wrist and ankle to glide from one tree to another.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is one of the more populated tropical savannas. Overgrazing by livestock, the conversion of land to agriculture, and feral and introduced animals all pose threats.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.