Cravens Peak

Cravens Peak is located in central west Queensland, some 135km south west of Boulia. The 233,000 ha reserve lies on the northern end of the Simpson Desert across the boundary of the Simpson-Strezlecki Dunefields and Channel Country bioregions.  

The southern area of the property consists of expanses of red sandy dune fields, sandy plains and clay pans, a significant refuge for the desert fauna of the Simpson.  The northern section consists of the Toomba and Toko Ranges. These provide some spectacular landforms including rocky gorges, escarpments, mesas and extensive gibber plains.

Since 1975, Cravens Peak had been run as a pastoral holding managed for beef production until the Australian Bush Heritage Fund purchased the property in October 2005 to help conserve the Mulligan River catchment area.

Cravens Peak supports 21 known vegetation communities, 30 mammal species, 120 types of birds and more than 65 reptile species - one of the most diverse reptile faunas in any arid region of the world.

Previous research undertaken on Craven's Peak in the last 30 years has also found a rich assemblage of Early middle Devonian fish fossils, evidence of long term occupation by aboriginal ancestors and an interesting association with European explorers.