Physical Geography of the Tenterfield Region

Tenterfield Shire may be divided physically into three concentric parts: the central upland basin in which the town is set; the elevated granite country that surrounds the central high plain to the north, west and south; and the eastern falls country on the edge of and below the Great Escarpment, and similar but less extensive 'falls' country on the western edge of the shire and on the western and southern slopes of the Spirabo Range. Only the area around Tenterfield is substantially inhabited, and Tenterfield is the only town of any size. The other two sub-regions, comprising mostly infertile, sandy, granitic soils and rugged terrain, are given over to forestry, mining, and recreation, with some rough grazing. This chapter will concentrate on a sketch of the natural environment of the Tenterfield Shire, touching on the human geography only where it interacts directly with the physical.