Top 10 Highest Mountains in Australia
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| Illustrated picture. Photo: Mixi |
Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world by land mass with an area of 2.9 million square miles. It has a population of 24.3 million people spread out between the mainland, the island of Tasmania and several other smaller islands. The capital is Canberra, and the largest city is Sydney. It is also home to the world's 13th largest economy, with health and education being leading sectors. The country is biodiverse and is home to various mountains, the tallest of which will be discussed below.
List of 10 Highest Mountains in Australia
1. Kosciusko - 2,228m
2. Townsend - 2,209 m
3. Twynam - 2,195 m
4. Rams Head - 2,190 m
5. Rams Head North - 2,177 m
6. Alice Rawson - 2,160 m
7. Carruthers - 2,145 m
8. Northcote - 2,131 m
9. Tate - 2,068 m
10. Gungartan - 2,068 m
Which are the 10 Highest Mountains in Australia?
1. Kosciusko - 2,228m
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| Photo: National Geographic Society |
Mount Kosciuszko is part of the the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. It is the country's tallest mountain with a height of 7,310 feet. However, in 1892 conclusive research determined that the original Kosciuszko stood slightly shorter than its neighbor Mount Townsend. In an effort to avoid confusion, the New South Wales Lands Department chose keep the name of the tallest mountain as Kosciusko. The names of the two mountains were simply swapped.
Kosciuszko is a big deal on three continents.Poland loves Kosciuszko, its native son. The Romantic poets loved Kosciuszko, penning ballads and odes about his exploits. And hundreds of places in America are named for him as well: a county in Indiana, a city in Mississippi, and a bridge in New York City. This really ramped up in the twentieth century, with politicians looking to please their Polish-American constituents. The highest point in the Australian Alps was named for Kosciuszko too, because the first man to climb it was Paweł Strzelecki, a Polish explorer. Strzelecki thought the summit looked like Kosciuszko Mound, a monument in Krakow dedicated to the Polish hero. |
2. Townsend - 2,209 m
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| Photo: Washington Trails Association |
Mount Townsend, a mountain in the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
With an elevation of 2,209 metres (7,247 ft) above sea level, Mount Townsend is the second-highest peak of mainland Australia. Located in Kosciuszko National Park, the mountain is 3.68 kilometres (2.29 mi) north of Australia's highest mainland peak, Mount Kosciuszko.
Although lower than Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Townsend has a more craggy peak and is arguably more dominant than the relatively round-topped Mount Kosciuszko.
The confusion about swapping the names of Mount Kosciuszko and Mount Townsend was straightened out in 1940 by B. T. Dowd, a cartographer and historian of the NSW Lands Department. His study reaffirmed that the mountain named by Strzelecki as Mount Kosciuszko was indeed, as the NSW maps had always shown, Australia's highest summit. When Macarthur's field book of the historical journey was published in 1941 by C. Daley it further confirmed Dowd's clarification. This means that Targangil, mentioned in Spencer's 1885 article, was the indigenous name of Mount Townsend, not of Mount Kosciuszko.
Mount Townsend has a prominence of only 189m which is relatively low compared to other mountains worldwide. In the stricter prominence cut-off points, the most common of which being the 300m prominence rule, Townsend would not be classified as its own mountain, and instead of a subsidiary peak. Due to Australia's much flatter topography than all other continents, a prominence cut off point of 300m is almost never used instead opting for less strict definitions of 50m or 100m when classifying peaks. If using the 300m rule this makes Mount Bogong in Victoria the second-highest mountain.
Mount Townsend is the second-highest mountain in Australia.
3. Twynam - 2,195 m
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| Photo: Flickr |
Mount Twynam is located in the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains and is the third highest peak in mainland Australia at a height of 2,195m above sea-level.
It is located approximately 8km north-east of Mount Kosciuszko.
Mount Twynamn is close to the border of New South Wales and Victoria and has a spectacular view over Blue Lake Cirque and the Western Falls.
The mountain is relatively accessible by track yet is rarely visited.
4. Rams Head - 2,190 m
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| Photo: Mountain IQ |
The Rams Head is a mountain located in the Ramshead Range of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, Australia.
With an elevation of 2,190 metres (7,190 ft) above sea level, its summit is the fourth highest mountain in New South Wales and the fourth highest mountain in Australia. The mountain is contained within the Kosciuszko National Park. The summit of the mountain offers views of the Main Range.
Located south of Mount Kosciuszko, the mountain attracts hikers in the summer, and during the winter months is covered with snow for back country skiers and alpine touring.
5. Rams Head North - 2,177 m
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| Photo: on pic |
Rams Head North Mountain is located in the Snowy Mountains region, in New South Wales, Australia. It is the fifth highest mountain in Australia with an elevation of 7,142 feet above sea level.
6. Alice Rawson - 2,160 m
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| Photo: photos.ssdavies.net |
Mount Alice Rawson belongs to the Main Range which is the section of the Great Dividing Range between the Ramshead Range and Dicky Cooper Bogong in the Snowy Mountains. With a height of 2,160 m, it ranks the sixth highest mountains list in Australia.
7. Carruthers - 2,145 m
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| Photo: Pinterest |
Carruthers Peak, formerly Curruthers Peak, a mountain in the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, is located in Snowy Mountains region in southeast New South Wales, Australia. The peak is situated between Mount Lee and Mount Twynam within the Kosciuszko National Park.
With an elevation of 2,145 metres (7,037 ft) above sea level, Carruthers Peak is the seventh-highest peak in mainland Australia.
It was named after Joseph Carruthers, a Premier of New South Wales, who, while he served as Minister for Lands, facilitated the building of the Summit Road to Mount Kosciuszko. It can be easily accessed, with the Main Range walk going straight up it.
8. Northcote - 2,131 m
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| Photo: Peakery |
With an elevation of 2,131 m above sea level, Mount Northcote makes the 8th position in the list of 10 highest Mountains in Australia. This Mount is very beautiful with diverse plants and is the favorite spot for hikers looking for challenges.
9. Tate - 2,068 m
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| Photo: See You in the Mountains |
Mount Tate is a prominent rocky mountain on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains located in southeastern New South Wales, Australia.
With an elevation of 2,068 metres (6,785 ft) above sea level, Mount Tate has two ridges running north and south, named Tate West Ridge and Tate East Ridge, referring to the side of the Great Divide where they lie. It has views along the Main Range towards Mount Twynam and down to the Geehi Valley.
10. Gungartan - 2,068 m
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| Photo: Mountains |
Gungartan is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
With an elevation of 2,068 metres (6,785 ft) above sea level, Gungartan is the highest mountain on mainland Australia not within the Main Range. It is located close to Whites River Hut in Kosciuszko National Park.
Many walkers climb to the peak in summer as it offers excellent views of the surrounding national park. The overall climb to the peak is fairly easy and involves only minor scrambling close to the peak. In winter the mountain is generally snow covered and offers excellent backcountry skiing across the saddle in good conditions. In mid-winter the saddle and peak are best avoided during poor weather due to surface ice and high winds created by the funnelling effect of the valley below.
| Australia's highest mountain is 2,400 miles away from Australia. Mount Kosciuszko is no small peak at 7,310 feet high. But in 1947, Great Britain handed over to the Commonwealth of Australia one of its most remote territories, Heard and McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Heard Island is home to Mawson Peak, which is 1,700 feet higher than Kosciuszko. It's also an active volcano that last erupted in 2016. Mainland Australia has no volcanoes, but this little island group has two. (Full disclosure: there are two even higher peaks in the Australian Antarctic Territory, but most of the world doesn't recognize Australia's claim to almost half that continent.) |
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