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Mount Kosciuszko facts for kids

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Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko01Oct06.JPG
View of Mount Kosciuszko from the east
Highest point
Elevation 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
Prominence 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
Listing Seven Summits
Ultra
Geography
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State/Province AU-NS
Parent range Great Dividing Range / Main Range
Climbing
First ascent 1840 by Paweł Edmund Strzelecki
Easiest route Walk (dirt road)

Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia. The mountain is 2,228 m (7,310 ft) above sea level. The mountain is in the south east corner of New South Wales, where it is part of the Great Dividing Range. The Indigenous Australians called the whole mountain Tar-gan-gil. The first European to discover the mountain was the Polish explorer, Count Paul Strzelecki in 1840. He named it Kosciuszko after the Polish patriot, Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817).

Mount Kosciuszko is now part of the large Koscuiszko National Park.

Reaching the summit

Kosciuszko06
Mount Etheridge from south side showing high elevation toilet at Rawson Pass

Mount Koscuiszko is Australia's highest mountain. Like many of Australia's highest peaks, Mount Kosciuszko is not particularly difficult to climb. There is a road to Charlotte Pass, from which it's an walk up a path to the summit. Anybody with a modest level of fitness should be able to walk it. Until 1976 it was possible to drive to Rawson Pass close to the summit. The walking track to Mount Kosciuszko from Charlotte Pass is in fact that road, which was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. This track is also used by cyclists as far as Rawson Pass, where they must leave their bicycles and continue onto the summit on foot.

The peak may also be approached from Thredbo, which is a shorter 6.5 kilometres (4 mi), and should take about 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the summit. It's not a difficult walk and is supported by a chairlift all-year round. From the top of the chairlift there is a raised mesh walkway to the summit to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. Both tracks meet at Rawson Pass for the final climb to the Kosciuszko summit. Australia's highest public toilet was built in 2007 at Rawson Pass at an altitude of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft).

Images for kids

  • North from Mt Kosciusko

    Looking north from the summit towards Mount Townsend

  • Mount Kosciuszko with snow

    Mount Kosciuszko with snow, viewed from Guthega Peak

  • Mt Kosciuszko map Stevage

    Topographic map of Mount Kosciuszko including the approaches from Charlotte Pass and Thredbo.

  • Morning views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 21

    Kosciuszko National Park as viewed from the summit

  • Sunrise views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 34

    The base of a survey trig marker at the summit

  • Kosciuszko05

    East side of the mountain

  • Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk, Kosciuszko National Park 12

    Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk

  • Mount Kosciuszko from the Snowy River

    View of Mount Kosciuszko and the Etheridge Range from the headwaters of the Snowy River

  • Kosciuszko02

    The plate at the top

  • Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk, Kosciuszko National Park 16

    River flowing down from the summit

  • Kosciuszko03

    Lake Cootapatamba, the lake on the highest place in the Australian mainland

  • Sunrise views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 26

    Adjacent mountain ranges

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Monte Kosciuszko para niños

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