Atherton
- Local Government Area
- Tablelands
- Postcode
- 4883
- Population
- 7,724
- Area
- 94.19 km²
- Coordinates
- -17.2660, 145.4859
- Data
- Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics ASGS boundaries, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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About Atherton
Atherton is the administrative centre of the Tablelands Regional Council in Far North Queensland, about 80 km southwest of Cairns on the Atherton Tableland plateau at around 753 metres elevation. Known for its rich volcanic soils supporting dairy, beef, macadamias, avocados, coffee and sugar cane, it is a gateway to World Heritage-listed rainforests with crater lakes, waterfalls and attractions such as the Curtain Fig Tree and Mount Hypipamee Crater. Founded as a cedar logging camp in the 1870s, it was renamed after pioneer pastoralist John Atherton.
Nearby localities
- Carrington (Qld) 5 km
- East Barron 7 km
- Wongabel 7 km
- Kairi 8 km
- Tolga 9 km
- Yungaburra 12 km