The Brindabella Range is located in the northern tip of the
Australian Alps bioregion, marking the dividing line with the southern tip of the
South Eastern Highlands bioregion and the eastern limits of the
Riverina. The northern point of the range is
Mount Coree, situated west-northwest of Canberra. From this point the range heads generally south, towards the eastern watershed of the
Murrumbidgee River, in a line that marks the western edge of the ACT border with NSW. The most southern point of the range is at Bimberi Gap on the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales border. The range is located adjacent to the Bag Range, Baldy Range, Codys Ridge, Dingi Dingi Ridge and Webbs Ridge.
Scabby Range and Bimberi Range lie to the south. The
geology of the range comprises block-faulted
granites and
Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks. There are small areas of
Tertiary basalt with buried river gravels and lake sediments. The typical characteristics of the range include low-relief high plains with steep margins and slopes and fault aligned river valleys with deep gorges and waterfalls. Soils in the range change with altitude. At lower levels in forests, texture contrast soils are the norm. In the sub-alpine snow gum areas deep gradational soils with moderate amounts of organic matter are common. Vegetation changes with altitude, aspect, cold air drainage and soil saturation. Tablelands (sites of lower elevations, less than 1,100m) with dry aspects carry red stringybark (
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha), white gum (
E. rossii), broad-leaved peppermint (
E. dives), candlebark (
E. rubida) and brittle gum (
E. mannifera). Moist sites have alpine ash (
E. delegatensis), mountain gum (
E. dalrympeana), narrow-leaved peppermint (
E. radiata), manna gum (
E. viminalis) and brown barrel (
E. fastigata), with soft tree ferns (
Dicksonia antarctica), blackwood (
Acacia melanoxylon), southern sassafras (
Atherosperma moschatum) and hazel pomaderris (
Pomaderris aspera). Between alpine ash and mountain gum dominate and abruptly change to sub-alpine snow gum woodlands, heath, grasslands and bogs between . Common species include snow grasses, leafy bossiaea, yellow kunzea, alpine pepper and sphagnum bogs, with candle heath and swamp heath. Alpine herbfield and rare feldmark communities are found above the tree line at . Common species include prickly snow grass, alpine wallaby grass, silver snow daisy, ribbony grass, white purslane, eyebrights, gentians and buttercups. Most alpine species have a limited range.
Mount Gingera at ,
Mount Ginini at ,
Mount Franklin at , Mount Aggie at , Mount Bramina at , Bulls Head at , Black Bottle Mountain at , Mount Lickhole at , and Brindabella Mountain at .
Nature reserves and national parks The range straddles both the Brindabella National Park and Kosciuszko National Park, within New South Wales, and the Namadgi National Park, within the ACT and covers an area of . The
Brindabella Valley, in the middle of the range, is south-west of Canberra and from
Sydney. The valley is on the edge of the
Snowy Mountains and the
Goodradigbee River flows through the valley. ==History==