Kennedy Range is found on the edge of the Gascoyne River catchment area and is a weathered plateau that extends for a distance of 150 km (93 mi),[4] essentially forming a huge mesa.

Spectacular sandstone cliffs can be found on the southern and eastern sides of the range, which are dissected by steep canyons which have an elevation of up to 100 metres (330 ft).

Over 100 sites provide evidence that the Indigenous Australians inhabited the area for over 20,000 years prior to European settlement.

Gregory named the range after the Governor of Western Australia at the time, Arthur Edward Kennedy.

Pastoralists arrived in the area shortly afterwards with Charles Brockman setting up Boolathana Station in 1877, and the region experienced success in wool production until the 1930s when the overgrazing, drought and the Great Depression caused most businesses to fail.