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Kosciuszko National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Nearest town/city:	Cabramurra
Coordinates:	36°04′20″S, 148°20′55″E
Area:	6 750 km²
Managing authorities:	New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
Official site:	www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Satellite image of part of the park. Mt Kosciuszko is incorrectly labelled (as at 5 Mar 2006) - it is actually north of the label and west of the Snowy River label.

Kosciuszko is one of the largest and one of the most important national parks in Australia. It covers over 6,900 km² and contains Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko for which it is named, and Cabramurra the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers. Image File history File links Mergefrom. ... Geehi Hut is an Australian Alpine hut located in New South Wales. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... This article is about national parks. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Image File history File links Australia_Locator_Map. ... Cabramurra town, afternoon in summer, looking north from the lookout. ... Mount Kosciuszko, Landsat, NASA site, public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mount Kosciuszko, Landsat, NASA site, public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Location in New South Wales Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy Mountains, in Kosciuszko National Park, is the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories), at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. ... Cabramurra town, afternoon in summer, looking north from the lookout. ... For the climate of the mountains named the Alps, see climate) for a region above the tree-line. ...

The park is located in the southeastern corner of New South Wales, 354 km southwest of Sydney, and is contiguous with the Alpine National Park in Victoria to the south, and the Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory to the north east. The larger towns of Cooma, Tumut and Jindabyne lie just outside and service the park. NSW redirects here. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... Alpine is a national park in Victoria (Australia), northeast of Melbourne. ... VIC redirects here. ... Namadgi National Park is located in the southwestern part of the Australian Capital Territory, bordering Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. ... Tumut is a town and the centre of a local government area in New South Wales, Australia. ... Jindabyne, as viewed from across Lake Jindabyne Jindabyne (36°24′S 148°37′E) is a town in New South Wales, Australia that overlooks Lake Jindabyne near the Snowy Mountains. ...

The waters of the Snowy River, the murry river, [[]] and Gungarlin River all rise in this park. Other notable peaks in the park include Gungartan, Mount Jagungal, Bimberi Peak and Mount Townsend. The Snowy River below McKillops Bridge The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. ... Mt Jagungal is a mountain within the Jagungal Wilderness Area of the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. ... Mount Bimberi (Australian Capital Territory) Bimberi Peak or Mt. ... Mount Townsend is the second highest peak of Australia. ...

History of the area

The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on December 5, 1906. In 1944 this became the Kosciuszko State Park, and then the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967.^[1] is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The area was previously used by drovers and farmed by cattle grazers, who have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the Kosciuszko Huts Association. A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who takes cattle over long distances, usually during a drought or season change in search of green pastures on which the cattle can feed. ...

In the 19th century gold was mined on the high plains near Kiandra. At its height this community had a population of about 4000 people, and ran 14 hotels.^[2] Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings. It is a nice quiet area, with extraordinary views of surrounding mountains. GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Kiandra is an abandoned gold mining town in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. ...

Climate in the park

The higher regions of the park experience an alpine climate which is unusual on mainland Australia. However, only the peaks of the main range are subject to consistent heavy winter snow. The climate station at Charlotte Pass recorded Australia's lowest temperature, -24.0 °C, on the 29th June 1994.^[3] For the climate of the mountains named the Alps, see climate) for a region above the tree-line. ... Charlotte Pass (Elev. ...

Glaciation

Lake Cootapatamba in the characteristically U shaped glacial valley, Kosciuszko National Park.

During the last ice age, which peaked about 20,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch, the highest peaks of the main range near Mount Kosciuszko experienced a climate which favoured the formation of glaciers, evidence of which can still be seen today. Cirques moraines, tarn lakes, roche moutonnées and other glacial features can all be seen in the area. Lake Cootapatamba, which was formed by an ice spilling from Mt Kosciuszko's southern flank, is the highest lake on the Australian mainland. Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue lake, and Hedley Tarn also have glacial origins.^[4] Image File history File links AU_Kosciuszko_L_Cootapatamb. ... Image File history File links AU_Kosciuszko_L_Cootapatamb. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Look up epoch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Perito Moreno Glacier Patagonia Argentina Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland Icebergs breaking off glaciers at Cape York, Greenland This article is about the geological formation. ... Iceberg Cirque in Glacier National Park, USA The Lower Curtis Glacier, North Cascades National Park, is a well developed cirque glacier. ... This article is about geological phenomena. ... Triad Lake in Glacier Peak Wilderness View of Tarn Hows, Cumbria A tarn (or corrie loch) is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a corrie excavated by a glacier. ... In glaciology, a roche moutonnée (or sheepback) is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. ...

There is some disagreement as to exactly how widespread Pleistocene glaciation was on the main range, and little or no evidence from earlier glacial periods exists. The 'David Moraine', a one kilometre long ridge running across Spencers Creek valley seems to indicate a larger glacier existed in this area at some time, however the glacial origin of this feature is disputed.^[5]

There is evidence of Periglacial activity in the area. Solifluction appears to have created terraces on the north west flank of Mount Northcote. Frost heave is also a significant agent of soil erosion in the Kosciuszko Area. Periglacial refers to places in the edges of glacial areas, normally those related to past ice ages rather than those in the modern era. ... Solifluction, also known as soil fluction, is a type of mass wasting where waterlogged sediment slowly moves downslope over impermeable material. ... Frost heaving (or frost heave) occurs when soil expands and contracts due to freezing and thawing. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. ...

Ecology

Snow Gum at tree line along Dead Horse Gap Walk, Kosciuszko National Park.

The Kosciuszko National Park covers a variety of climatic regions which support several distinct ecosystems. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (820 × 546 pixel, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Snow Gum in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (820 × 546 pixel, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Snow Gum in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... A coral reef near the Hawaiian islands is an example of a complex marine ecosystem. ...

That which is most closely identified with the park, the alpine area above the tree line, is one of the most fragile and covers the smallest area. This area is a patchwork of alpine heaths, herbfields, fjaeldmarks, bogs and fens. The windswept feldmark is endemic to the alpine region, and covers a mere 300,000 m². It is most vulnerable to the wandering footsteps of unmindful tourists. Alpine may refer to: Alpine, a breed of goat. ... In this view of an alpine tree-line, the distant line looks particularly sharp. ... Heath can mean: Kelling Heath, near Weybourne, North Norfolk, England Heath (habitat), a landscape characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation. ... Lütt-Witt Moor, a bog in Henstedt-Ulzburg in northern Germany. ... A fen is a sere, a phase in the natural ecological succession from the open water of a lake to (for example) woodland. ...

Fauna

Many rare or threatened plant and animal species occur within the boundaries of the park and nine separate wilderness areas have been identified in the latest management scheme.^[6] The park is home to one of Australia's most threatened species the Corroboree frog. The endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum and the more common Dusky Antechinus are located in the high country of the park. For other uses, see Wilderness (disambiguation). ... Binomial name J. A. Moore, 1953 Pseudophryne pengilleyi Wells and Wellington, 1985 Distribution of in blue, in red, in NSW The Corroboree frogs are two species of small, ground dwelling frogs, native to Southern Tablelands of Australia. ... Binomial name Burramys parvus Broom, 1896 The Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus) is a small, mouse-sized (weighs 45 g) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciusko in New South Wales. ... Binomial name (Waterhouse, 1840) The Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii), also known as Swainsons Antechinus or the Dusky Marsupial Mouse, is a species of small marsupial carnivore, a member of the family Dasyuridae. ...

By 2008, Wild horse numbers have reached 1700 with that figure growing by 300 each year, resulting in park authorities coordinating their culling and relocation.^[7] Brumbies in the Northern Territory, 2006 This article is about the horse; for the rugby team, see Brumbies (rugby). ... To cull is to remove from a group of animals those individuals who show signs of weakness. ...

Flora

Much of the park is dominated by alpine woodlands, characterised by the snow gum. Montane and wet sclerophyll forest also occur across the ranges, supporting large stands of alpine ash and mountain gum. In the southern Byadbo wilderness area, dry sclerophyll and wattle forests predominate. Amongst the many different native trees in the park, the large Chinese Elm has become naturalised. Alpine may refer to: Alpine, a breed of goat. ... Binomial name Eucalyptus pauciflora The Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) is a small tree or large shrub, one of the mallee group of the genus Eucalyptus. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... Arid, largely treeless areas aside, most Australian bushland is sclerophyll forest. ... Binomial name Eucalyptus delegatensis The Alpine Ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) of southern Australia is a straight, grey-trunked tree, reaching heights of over 90 metres in suitable conditions. ... Bold text Binomial name F.Muell. ... For other uses, see Acacia (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Ulmus parvifolia Jacq. ...

Much of the tree cover in the lower sections of the park was seriously burned in bushfires in 2003. Fires are a natural feature of the park ecosystem, but it will take some time for the region to return to its pre 2003 condition. 2003 Canberra bushfires The Canberra bushfires of 2003 were the worst fires in Canberras history and caused severe damage to the outskirts of the Australian capital city. ...

Recreational uses

The ski resorts of Thredbo, Selwyn snowfields, Perisher Blue and Charlotte Pass lie within the park. The electric rack railway, called the Skitube Alpine Railway, connects the Alpine Way to the Perisher Valley. Guided tours are conducted through several caves in the karst region of Yarrangobilly. St. ... Skiing on Friday Flat at Thredbo Thredbo () is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy River Shire. ... Selwyn Snowfields is a small ski resort in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park. ... Perisher Blue is Australias largest skiing resort. ... Charlotte Pass (Elev. ... Rack railway track using Von Roll system rack. ... Skitube railway cars and rack railway track. ... The Alpine Way is a State highway in New South Wales, Australia. ... Ski Tube railway cars and traction railway track linking Perisher Valley with Bullocks Flat Perisher Valley () is a ski resort village in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy River Shire. ... Karst topography occurs when a landscape is marked by underground drainage patterns. ... Yarrangobilly Caves Yarrangobilly Caves are located in the Kosciuszko National Park of New South Wales, Australia. ...

The Australian Alps Walking Track is perhaps the most famous of the walking paths crossing the area. Many thousands of people make the walk to Mount Kosciuszko during the summer. Other attractions include the Tin Mine Falls, Australia's highest waterfall and Valentine Falls. The Australian Alps Walking Track is a long distance walking trail through the alpine areas of Victoria, New South Wales and ACT. It is 655km long, starting at Walhalla, Victoria and going through to Tharwa, ACT near Canberra. ... Location in New South Wales Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy Mountains, in Kosciuszko National Park, is the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories), at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. ... Tin Mine Falls are unofficially the highest waterfalls in Australia. ...

A tranquil section of Thredbo River

River which runs through Thredbo, New South Wales. ...

The Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme

The Snowy River originates in the park and flows south to Victoria. Many tunnels, dams, generators and other parts of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydro-electric system are located within the park, including the Tantangara Reservoir. The Snowy River below McKillops Bridge The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. ... Talbingo Dam The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a hydro-electricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ...

See also

• Australian Alps
• Last Glacial Maximum
• National Parks in New South Wales
• Protected areas of New South Wales
• Snowy Mountains
• Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Looking across everlastings on Mt Hotham to Mt Feathertop; during winter these mountains are blanketed in snow The Australian Alps The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. ... Temperature proxies for the last 40,000 years The Last Glacial Maximum refers to the time of maximum extent of the ice sheets during the last glaciation, approximately 21 thousand years ago. ... New South Wales has many interesting National Parks, including the Royal National Park on the southern edge of Sydney which is either the oldest or second oldest in the world. ... The Protected areas of New South Wales comprise 549 separate protected areas with a total land area of 49,533 km² (6. ... Worldwind image of Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains (known for short as the Snowies) are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainlands highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2228 metres AHD. They are located in southern New South Wales and are part of the larger Australian... Tadeusz Kościuszko. ...

References

1. ^ Top of Australia hosts park's centenary. ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
2. ^ Kosciuszko National Park
3. ^ Climate information
4. ^ West,D.,(1994) Kosciuszko Natural Heritage.
5. ^ Galloway, RW (1963), Glaciation in the Snowy Mountains: A Re-appraisal
6. ^ DECC | Kosciuszko National Park - plan of management
7. ^ Environmentalists call for aerial brumby cull. ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.

ABC News logo ABC News Special Report ident, circa 2006 ABC News is a division of American television and radio network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ABC News logo ABC News Special Report ident, circa 2006 ABC News is a division of American television and radio network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Kosciuszko National Park