County of Taunton is a cadastral unit located in the Australian state of South Australia on land on the east coast of Lake Torrens about from the city of Port Augusta. It was proclaimed in 1877 and named after Lord Taunton who was the Secretary for the Colonies from 1855 to 1858. It has been partially divided in the following sub-units of hundreds – Bunyeroo, Carr, Edeowie, Nilpena, Oratunga and Parachilna. Description The County of Taunton covers the part of South Australia extending from the east coast of Lake Torrens for about and extending a distance of north of its boundary in the south with the counties of Blachford, Hanson and Derby from west to east. It is the most northerly county in South Australia. The county has a physical landscape consisting of a portion of the Flinders Ranges in its east and the floodplains draining from the ranges to Lake Torrens in its west. The principal towns in the county are Blinman and Parachilna. The county is served by one principal road, The Outback Highway, which passes through the county in a north-south direction from Hawker in the south through the hundreds of Edeowie, Bunyeroo, Nipena and Parachilna to Leigh Creek in the north via Parachilna. The Marree railway line passes through the county in a north-south direction generally in parallel with The Outback Highway. Statutory land use within the county is limited to four main zones. Firstly, land between Lake Torrens and The Outback Highway which is zoned as ‘pastoral’ is intended to be predominantly used for “the grazing of livestock” while ensuring that these activities do not affect the “preservation of the natural environment and character of the zone.” Land which is located east of The Outback Highway and in the main body of the Flinders Ranges is placed in two zones – ‘environment class A’ and ‘environmental class B’ where built development, agriculture and mining are more highly controlled or even prohibited in some situations to conserve and protect “the natural character and environment of the area.” Fourthly, land in the east of the county and in parts of its north that are outside of the alignment of the ranges is zoned ‘pastoral landscape’ to control development, agriculture and mining to preserve “the environmental and scenic qualities of the foreground of the most prominent ranges.” The county includes the following protected areas within its extent –