P.R. Wilson and P.M. Taylor§, Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts. © The State of Queensland (Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts) 2012. Copyright inquiries should be addressed to <[email protected]> or the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, 111 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000. Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this document is from a number of sources and, as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy. If you need to access this document in a language other than English, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 and ask them to telephone Library Services on +61 7 3224 8412. This publication can be made available in an alternative format (e.g. large print or audiotape) on request for people with vision impairment; phone +61 7 3224 8412 or email <[email protected]>. ISBN: 978-1-920928-21-6 Citation This work may be cited as: Wilson, P.R. and Taylor, P.M. (2012) Land Zones of Queensland. Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Brisbane. 79 pp. Front Cover: Design by Will Smith Images – clockwise from top left: ancient sandstone formation in the Lawn Hill area of the North West Highlands bioregion – land zone 10 (D. Kelman); coastal estuarine mud flats, Gulf Plains bioregion – land zone 1 (R. Jaensch); granite tor field in the North West Highlands bioregion – land zone 12 (D. Kelman); flat clay plains on the Barkly Tableland – land zone 4 (B. Wilson); metamorphic hills in the Dajarra area of the North West Highlands bioregion – land zone 11 (D. Kelman); Quaternary coastal deposits on a beach, Central Queensland Coast bioregion – land zone 2 (J. Kemp). Acknowledgements In addition to the principal authors, this publication has received substantial input from a range of people including Eda Addicott, Chris Appelman, Len Cranfield, Hans Dillewaard, Andrew Franks, Wayne Harris, Dan Kelman, Jeanette Kemp, Don Malcolm, Gethin Morgan, John Neldner, Sandy Pollock, Tim Ryan, John Thompson, Bruce Wilson and Peter Young. § Deceased 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 6 2. The land surface ............................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Unconsolidated Cainozoic Deposits – Sand, silt, clay, gravel, soil .............................. 10 2.1.1 Tidal flats and beaches – Land Zone 1 .............................................................. 10 2.1.2 Coastal sand dunes and beach ridges – Land Zone 2 ....................................... 11 2.1.3 River and creek landforms – Land Zone 3 ......................................................... 13 2.1.4 “Old” alluvial clay plains – Land Zone 4 ............................................................. 16 2.1.5 Aeolian clays (parna) forming arid plains, rises and low hills – Land Zone 4 ...... 18 2.1.6 “Old” alluvial sands and loams on plains, rises and low hills – Land Zone 5 ...... 20 2.1.7 Sand and non-clay plains not developed in-situ from bedrock – Land Zone 5 ... 22 2.1.8 Inland sand dunes – Land Zone 6 ..................................................................... 24 2.2 Deep weathering and duricrusts ................................................................................. 26 2.3 Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks............................................................ 29 2.3.1 Sedimentary rocks ............................................................................................. 30 2.3.1.1 Fine grained sedimentary rocks with little or no deformation – Land Zone 9 .. 30 2.3.1.2 Medium to coarse grained sedimentary rocks with little or no deformation – Land Zone 10 ................................................................................................ 31 2.3.2 Metamorphosed rocks – Land Zone 11 ............................................................. 32 2.3.3 Igneous rocks – Land Zones 8 and 12 ............................................................... 35 2.3.3.1 Extrusive igneous rocks ................................................................................ 35 2.3.3.2 Intrusive igneous rock ................................................................................... 36 3. Land Zones ................................................................................................................... 38 3.1 Land Zone 1 – Deposits subject to periodic tidal inundation ........................................ 38 3.2 Land Zone 2 – Quaternary coastal sand deposits ....................................................... 41 3.3 Land Zone 3 – Recent Quaternary alluvial systems .................................................... 44 3.4 Land Zone 4 – Tertiary-early Quaternary clay plains ................................................... 50 3.5 Land Zone 5 –Tertiary-early Quaternary loamy and sandy plains and plateaus .......... 53 3.6 Land Zone 6 – Quaternary inland dunefields .............................................................. 59 3.7 Land Zone 7 – Cainozoic duricrusts ............................................................................ 62 3.8 Land Zone 8 – Cainozoic igneous rocks ..................................................................... 64 3.9 Land Zone 9 – Fine grained sedimentary rocks .......................................................... 67 3.10 Land Zone 10 – Coarse grained sedimentary rocks .................................................... 70 3.11 Land Zone 11 – Metamorphic rocks ............................................................................ 72 3.12 Land Zone 12 – Mesozoic to Proterozoic igneous rocks ............................................. 75 4. Glossary ....................................................................................................................... 77 5. References ................................................................................................................... 79 3 LIST OF PLATES Plate 1 Unconsolidated Quaternary marine sediments, Burnett River (Land Zone 1) ............................ 9 Plate 2 Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvium, Burnett River floodplain (Land Zone 3)........................... 9 Plate 3 Unconsolidated Pleistocene marine quartz sand deposits with organic staining, Maroochydore (Land Zone 2) ..................................................................................................... 9 Plate 4 Deeply weathered Tertiary basalt, Childers (Land Zone 5) ........................................................ 9 Plate 5 Fine grained Cretaceous sediments of the Maryborough Basin (Land Zone 9) ......................... 9 Plate 6 Triassic granite, Childers (Land Zone 12) ................................................................................... 9 Plate 7 Pleistocene and Holocene beach ridges on Bribie Island ......................................................... 12 Plate 8 Linear Holocene beach ridges north of Karumba ..................................................................... 12 Plate 9 Longitudinal dunes of Cape Flattery ......................................................................................... 12 Plate 10 Longitudinal dunes of Fraser Island .......................................................................................... 12 Plate 11 Complex coastal geomorphology on the Townsville coastal plain............................................ 14 Plate 12 Playa (ephemeral salt lakes) of Land Zone 3 are common landforms in arid Queensland ...... 15 Plate 13 Quaternary alluvial fans of Mt Elliott, south of Townsville with streams and gullies from Mt Elliott aggrading fans onto the coastal marine plains ............................................................... 16 Plate 14 Paleo-alluvial clay soils of Land Zone 4 associated with gidgee (G1, T2) ................................ 17 Plate 15 Paleo alluvial clay plains (F2) of Land Zone 4 .......................................................................... 17 Plate 16 Gravel pavements on Parna, Birdsville–Bedourie Road ........................................................... 19 Plate 17 Deep Parna deposits with gypsum in the lower profile, Windorah–Birdsville Road ................. 19 Plate 18 Parna (P2) of Land Zone 4 with silcrete gravel pavements ...................................................... 19 Plate 19 Complex geomorphology south-east of Bedourie ..................................................................... 20 Plate 20 Image of paleo-sandy alluvium of Land Zone 5 ........................................................................ 21 Plate 21 Elevated Tertiary sand alluvia (S1) associated with a paleo-river system not associated with the current Thompson River ..................................................................................................... 21 Plate 22 Batavia soil (Land Zone 5) on Cape York Peninsula ................................................................ 23 Plate