MOUNT LOFTY RANGES

series of hills in southeastern South Australia, east of Adelaide. A southerly continuation of the Flinders Range, they extend south from Peterborough for 200 mi (320 km) to Cape Jervis. Averaging 15 to 20 mi wide, the ranges are divided at the Barossa Valley into northern and southern segments. The former is higher and rises to Mt. Byron (3,058 ft ); the latter has peaks generally below 2,000 ft with a high point at Mt. Lofty (2,385 ft). Most of the rivers originating in these hills, including the Onkaparinga, Gawler, Light, and Torrens, flow down the western slopes to the Gulf St. Vincent. The ranges were named by Matthew Flinders, the explorer who viewed them offshore from Kangaroo Island in 1802. To Adelaide they are important as sources of food (orchards, truck gardens, and dairy farms in the valleys and hills), water, and recreation. Suburbs of Adelaide extend into the foothills. Belair National Park, in the ranges, has been comprehensively developed.