ATHERTON TABLELAND

also called Atherton Plateau, highland region that is part of the Great Dividing Range (Eastern Highlands) in northeastern Queensland, Australia. The plateau region is bounded by the Palmer (north) and Burdekin (south) rivers and has an area of 12,000 square miles (31,000 square km). Its average elevation of 2,0003,000 feet (600900 m) induces relatively high rainfall, which, in conjunction with rich volcanic soils, makes the plateau extremely fertile. First settled in the 1870s, the region had by 1890 been the scene of many mining ventures. As the ores were depleted, the workers turned to agricultural pursuits. The plateau yields tobacco, beef, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), and dairy products, which are handled in the principal towns of Atherton, Herberton, and Mareeba. Liquid milk is shipped as far as Townsville, 830 miles (1,330 km) southeast. Lakes Eacham and Barrine, deep crater pools, lie on the plateau, which is the source of the Barron, Herbert, Johnstone, and Tully rivers.