Sparsely populated, 500-mile-long
peninsula in northern
Queensland between the
Gulf of Carpentaria and the
Coral Sea. The Cape York Peninsula was first discovered by the Western world in 1606, by
Willem Jansz; originally known as
Carpentaria Land, it was renamed by
Captain James Cook in 1770.
Notable features of this remote peninsula are huge bauxite deposits, several large Aboriginal reserves, and a number of rivers, including the Archer, Gilbert, Holroyd, Mitchell, Staaten, and Wenlock.