[1] It was first named The Glenmorrison Range by John Oxley during his exploration of the area in January 1824.

The two sections of the range separate at Enoggera Reservoir and circle the crater shaped suburb of The Gap like the claws of a crab, leaving a narrow entrance via Waterworks Road from the east (this being ‘the gap’ from which the suburb got its name).

The Enoggera side of the range is bound on the north by the upper end of the Kedron Brook catchment area which includes the tributary of Cedar Creek.

Mount Coot-tha, on which there is a lookout, botanical gardens, a planetarium and television towers, has multiple peaks.

Early attempts to purchase the land in the 1860s were not permitted by the Surveyor-General, Augustus Charles Gregory, on the basis that the heights would be needed for trigonometrical purposes and for Brisbane residents to visit on account of the views and fresh air.