Location : the Hull River Wetlands, North Queensland, Australia Source: GoogleEarth Source: LandSat 2002 The only region of Australia where the rainfall exceeds the evaporation is the Wet Tropics of North Queensland. Source: LandSat 2002 The Wet Tropics run from Townsville (19° South) to Cooktown (15° S) and rainforest habitat is limited to higher altitudes at both extremes. Source: LandSat 2002 The whole coastline north of the Hinchinbrook Island is very low-lying and forms a single floodplain involving the Murray, Tully and Hull Rivers. The pinkish areas are cane fields, which have encroached to the very edge of the wetlands. Source: GoogleEarth The rainfall here is approximately 3,500 mm per year, and more further inland where the clouds bank up against "the Misty Mountains". Source: QDNR QAP5849064 The Carmoo area showing the location of most of the photographs in Dave Kimble's Rainforest Photo Catalogue. Source: QEPA Regional Ecosystem mapping There are four distinct ecosystems on the block, which is 3.3 hectares in area. Along the southern border and in the south-west corner there are tall mangroves. Along the creek the soil is the last finger of red colluvial soil (granitic, relatively free draining) coming down from Mount Douglas, which supports mesophyll vine forest with Feather Palms (Archontopheonix alexandrae) sub-dominant - type 7.3.10c . This is the last few hundred metres before the creek reaches the Highest Astronomical Tide line. The creek twists and turns, and during high-rainfall events, the low inner curves are scoured by a raging torrent up to 5 metres deep. The Alexandra Palm is a specialist at surviving in these severe locations.   Adjacent to the vine forest, on a sticky grey alluvial mud (perhaps an old mangrove mud-bank) is a tall, open forest dominated by Eucalyptus pellita and Corymbia intermedia. Other tree species include Pandanus solms-laubachi, Melaleuca dealbata, Acacia crassicarpa and A. mangium, Dillenia alata and Deplanchea tetraphylla. These are all recognised as being specialists in water-logged soils. The understorey is dominated by Xanthorrhoea johnsonii This area is considered to be habitat for the endangered Mahogany Glider, Petaurus gracilis, however it is being invaded by the rainforest and it never seems to get dry enough to burn. The spongy bark of E. pellita, kept moist by the frequents rains, is an ideal host for epiphytic orchids. In the eastern half of the block, the soil is a fine white clay and supports an open forest of Melaleuca viridiflora with a dense understorey tangle of the weedy fern, Dicranopteris linearis and the fern ally Lycopodiella cernua. The melaleucas also host epiphytes on their papery bark - these are Dendrobium canaliculatum with Dischidia nummularia, the ant-plant Myrmecodia beccarii, and a tangle of Psilotum complanatum with Cymbidium madidum. The ecosystem mapping has this type as being 7.3.5, however that type has the water-table at or near the surface for more than half the year. This is wet country, but it is not quite as wet as that. These photos and many more are also available through Dave Kimble's Rainforest Photo Catalog Dave Kimble December 2007 You can support my not-for-profit causes by making a donation by secure on-line transaction. Thank you.