The Great Dividing Range (or Eastern Highlands) is Australia’s most prominent topographical feature. Formed over 300 million years ago, it consists of a complex series of plateaus, mountain ranges and escarpments. Geographically, it is not exceptionally high, but it has a profound impact on Australia’s climate, trapping moisture from the Tasman Sea to create a fertile coastal strip while leaving the interior “outback” dry. It is a classic example of an Old Fold Mountain system that has been significantly modified by subsequent faulting and millions of years of denudation.