Darling range is situated along which of the following coasts of Australia ?
- (a)North-Eastern Coast
- (b)Southern Coast
- (c)Eastern Coast
- (d)South-Western Coast
Correct — D, South-Western Coast. The Darling Range (more precisely the Darling Scarp) is a low escarpment in the far south-west of Western Australia, running roughly north-south immediately east of Perth and the Swan Coastal Plain, so it lies along Australia's south-western coast. It is a fault-line scarp — the western edge of the Western Australian plateau — not a high fold mountain range, with its highest points only around 500-580 m (e.g. Mount Cooke).
- (a)North-Eastern Coast — Australia's north-east (Queensland) coast is flanked by the northern part of the Great Dividing Range with the Great Barrier Reef offshore — not by the Darling Range, which lies in the south-west.
- (b)Southern Coast — The uplands near the south-central coast are the Flinders and Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. The Darling Scarp is in the south-WEST (near Perth), not on the south coast.
- (c)Eastern Coast — This is the tempting trap — Australia's major highland, the Great Dividing Range, runs the whole length of the EASTERN coast. The Darling Range is a separate, much smaller feature in the south-west, so 'eastern coast' is wrong.
Australia's relief has three broad divisions: the western plateau (an ancient shield), the central lowlands (Great Artesian Basin), and the eastern highlands (the Great Dividing Range). The Darling Scarp/Range is the western edge of the WA plateau, where it drops abruptly to the narrow Swan Coastal Plain on which Perth sits.
Most candidates default to 'eastern coast' because the Great Dividing Range dominates that side of the continent. The specific clue here is 'Darling Range' located next to Perth, which fixes it to the south-west.
- The Darling Scarp/Range lies just east of Perth in the south-west of Western Australia
- It is a fault-line escarpment marking the edge of the WA plateau above the Swan Coastal Plain
- It is a low range — highest point about 582 m (Mount Cooke) — not a high fold mountain
- Do not confuse the Darling Range (west) with the Darling River, which flows in the eastern interior (NSW) as part of the Murray-Darling system
- Confusing the Darling Range (Western Australia, in the west) with the Darling River (New South Wales, in the east)
- Assuming every Australian mountain range lies on the east coast because of the Great Dividing Range
UPPSC/UPSC test world physical geography by asking you to place a named range, river or plateau in its correct region or coast.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Great Dividing Range of Australia extends mainly along which coast?
- (a)Eastern coast
- (b)Western coast
- (c)Northern coast
- (d)Southern coast
Answer(a) Eastern coast — it runs the length of Australia's east, parallel to the Pacific/Coral Sea coast.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Darling River of Australia is a major tributary of which river?
- (a)Murray
- (b)Murrumbidgee
- (c)Fitzroy
- (d)Swan
Answer(a) Murray — the Darling joins the Murray to form the Murray-Darling basin, Australia's largest river system.