No. 34 Lands of the Balonne–Maranoa Area, Queensland

Abstract

The survey covered 110,000 km² in six physical regions, extending north from the NSW border to earlier Fitzroy River basin survey areas.

In a variation of previous approaches, the team first identified and described 76 homogenous types of country, then grouped them into 33 land systems using a new nomenclature reflecting parent material, relief and vegetation. These have a recognisable pattern of a few dominant and several minor land units and range in area from 55 km² to 17,800 km².

Unlike previous surveys, this report does not include a block diagram indicating relative positions of component land units within a land system. Instead, it provides detailed information for each unit including:

• a thumbnail showing location and area
• diagnostic features and rainfall characteristics
• aerial photos, one showing boundaries, one unmapped for comparison
• soil, vegetation, position on slope and land capability rating

The report has seven individual disciplinary chapters:

1. Climate — describes principal features and controls, general characteristics and how agriculture relates to available soil moisture
2. Geology — describes major structural features and stratigraphy
3. Geomorphology — describes relationships between land systems, ten classes of material and major types of country, and outlines landscape evolution and relationships between slopes, relief and land units
4. Soils — describes origin and characteristics of 40 soil families in seven major groups, relationships between soil landscapes and parent materials and how physical and chemical attributes and climatic factors affect land use
5. Vegetation — outlines environmental influences, and identifies major vegetation associations (using numerical classification) and describes distribution in relation to land systems and dominant soils
6. Pasture Lands — identifies six types of pasture land and their value and limitations for grazing
7. Land Use — identifies eight agro-ecological districts, describes major characteristics of the sheep, beef and cropping industries, and discusses prospects for future development

Map 1 — Land Systems of the Balonne–Maranoa area, Queensland by RW Galloway, R.H. Gunn and L. Pedley. Scale 1:500,000. CSIRO Land Research Series No. 34, 1974.

Map 2 — Soils of the Balonne–Maranoa area, Queensland by RH Gunn. Scale 1:500,000. CSIRO Land Research Series No. 34, 1974.

The maps were digitised by the Queensland Government with permission of CSIRO. Access to the digital files can be obtained from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water.