[3] The terrain varies from 50 to 190 metres (160 to 620 ft) above sea level with the higher elevations in the east of the locality, the foothills of Mount Elliot.

[3] The land use is predominantly grazing on native vegetation with a small amount of crop growing.

[3] The first section of the Great Northern railway line opened on 20 December 1880 and followed a southerly path from Townsville to Reid River via Stuart, Antill Plains, Toonpan, Woodstock and Calcium.

After September it moved to the Black River area, north of Townsville, before going to Papua New Guinea in January 1943.

[11][12][full citation needed] In the 1980s, the second stage of the Ross River Dam necessitated a deviation of the Flinders Highway and Mount Isa railway line (which otherwise ran straight north–south) further east.