Victoria, southeastern New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. It contains Australia's only peaks exceeding 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation, and is the only bioregion on the Australian mainland in which deep snow falls annually. The range comprises an area of 1,232,981 ha (3,046,760 acres).[3]
The Australian Alps are part of the
Murray–Darling Basin (and thence to the Southern Ocean) or into inland waters, such as Lake Eyre
, which lie below sea level, or else evaporate rapidly.
The Australian Alps consist of two biogeographic sub regions: the Snowy Mountains, including the Brindabella Range, located in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory; and the Victorian Alps, located in Victoria. The latter region is also known as the "High Country", particularly within a cultural or historical context.
Geology
Unlike the high mountain ranges found in places like the
continental plates colliding and pushing up the Earth's rocky mantle to form jagged, rocky peaks. Instead, the Australian Alps consist of a high plateau, with significantly softer rolling hills spread across a long, wide plateau that was lifted thousands of feet up by the movement of magma when Gondwana began to break up between 130 and 160 million years ago. The highest peak in the Australian Alps is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres (7,310 ft)).[5]
Formation of the Australian Alps was largely complete by around 100 million years ago, but during the past 90 million years, a number of minor uplift episodes have occurred, with occasional eruptions of basalt lava from small volcanoes, which has flowed across the landscape and down some of the valleys, filling in the low-lying areas to form the flat landscapes of these high plains.
During the Pleistocene ice age, commencing around 2 million years ago, when ice caps formed on many high ranges around the world, as well as at the poles, small glaciers were formed on the very highest parts of the Australian Alps, mostly in the vicinity of Mount Kosciuszko. Whilst no glaciers remain today, evidence of their past presence can be found in the numerous tarns and cirques found in that region, such as Club Lake, Blue Lake, and Hedley Tarn.
The Australian Alps are not as high or as steep as the European Alps,
Andes Mountains, and most of their peaks can be reached without using mountaineering
equipment.
Wildlife
Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish live in the Australian Alps. There are approximately 40 native mammals, 200 bird species, 30 reptile species, 15 amphibians, 14 native fish species, and a wide variety of invertebrates.[6] Additionally, many non-native, feral species have been introduced to the Alps, such as the European rabbit, deer, house mice, red foxes, dogs, cats, horses, and pigs.[6]
Among this wide variety of different species of wildlife, there are different habitat requirements for each of the mentioned species, regardless of whether it is native or introduced.[6] In addition to rock outcrops and decaying logs, there is often vegetation that provides food and shelter or a combination of these factors.[6] Consequently, topography, soil type, and temperature determine the type of vegetation in an area and how animal populations are distributed.[6]
The bogong moth seasonally migrates long distances towards and from the Australian Alps and gregariously aestivates in caves and other sites throughout the mountain range during the summer to avoid high temperatures and lack of larval food resources.[8] The moth is a food source for many species living within the region, such as the endangered mountain pygmy possum.[9] However, the moth has also been a biovector of arsenic, transporting it from lowland feeding sites over long distances into the mountains, leading to the bioaccumulation of the element in the environment and animals in the mountain range.[9]
Bushfires
Due to their mostly hot, dry climate,
2006-07
.
Certain native flora in Australia have evolved to rely on bushfires as a means of reproduction, and fire events are an interwoven and an essential part of the ecology of the continent. In some eucalypt and banksia species, for example, fire causes seed pods to open, allowing them to germinate. Fire also encourages the growth of new grassland plants. Other species have adapted to recover quickly from fire.
Nevertheless, damage to surrounding human habitations and
fires entered the suburbs of the city on 18 January 2003. Four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. The Victorian Black Saturday bushfires were particularly intense in parts of the Victorian High Country and destroyed several towns, including Kinglake and Marysville. The fires killed 173 people,[10] Australia's highest-ever loss of life from a bushfire.[11] Statewide, the fires burned out over 400,000 hectares and destroyed 2,029 properties.[12]
Alpine huts
Within the Australian Alps, the roughly 120 active
hikers, and skiing groups throughout the year. Most of these huts are maintained by volunteers through the Kosciuszko Huts Association and the local National Parks and Wildlife Service.[13]
Some of the more noteworthy huts include
Moscow Villa Hut, Valentine Hut, Seaman's Hut, and Mawsons Hut. In recent year, many huts have been lost through lack of maintenance and bush fire, as occurred with the Pretty Plain Hut and Mount Franklin Chalet
, which were destroyed by the Canberra bushfires of 2003.
State of Victoria is the one with the largest number of skiing areas in Australia.[17]
Falls Creek and Mount Hotham.[18] Recreational and practical skiing was being practised in the Victorian Alps by the 1880s and 1890s with skis made from local timbers, and making use of single steering poles.[19] Skiing began at Mount Buffalo in the 1890s, and a chalet was constructed in 1910. Australia's first ski tow was constructed near Mount Buffalo in 1936.[20]
Cross-country skiing is possible in the ACT, as well as in New South Wales and Victoria, but downhill skiing can only be done in New South Wales and Victoria:
^"Geology of the Australian alps"(PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 30 November 2013. The Australian Alps are the highest part of a larger entity, the Eastern Highlands of Australia...