The Peninsula’s rivers are famous for their hydrological integrity. This means that they are still in their natural state, with water flows and vegetation unchanged. Cape York Peninsula is one of the few places where tropical water cycles remain unchanged. Cape York Peninsula has as much as a quarter of Australia's surface runoff. With less than 3% of Australia's land area it produces more run-off than all of Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn. The peninsula’s rivers are also important as they put water back into central Australia’s Great Artesian Basin. The Queensland Government is planning to protect 13 of Cape York Peninsula’s wild rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005.