The main towns within the Central Tablelands, listed by population, include Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow, Mudgee, Blayney, Oberon, Gulgong, and Portland.

The group climbed the mountains and on reaching the top of the ridges they continued west to a point later named Mount Blaxland (south of present-day Rydal).

The town of Orange was named by the explorer Thomas Mitchell, and his third expedition, south, began in this region, accompanied by a local Wiradjuri guide and interpreter Turandurey.

[1][2] The Central Tablelands region of New South Wales lies largely within the Lachlan Fold Belt tectonic zone.

The eastern portion of the Central Tablelands covers the area known as the Blue Mountains to the west of the Sydney basin.

The Blue Mountains terminate in a north–south line of cliffs that form the eastern edge of the Hartley, Kanimbla and Megalong Valleys.

The south is more complex geology with siltstones, sandstones, greywacke, shales and chert, basalt and granite intrusions and embedded volcanic and limestones.

[5] Geology of the area surrounding Mudgee and Gulgong forms part of the north eastern margin of the Lachlan Fold Belt tectonic zone.

At the head of the valley, to the east, high mountains are of volcanic origin, and capped in basalt lava flows deposited some 17 million years ago.

The high mountainous eastern area is a spectacular landscape with basalt peaks, sandstone ravines and rainforest gorges.