What is the highest mountain in Australia?
Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on mainland Australia, at 2,228 meters, in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. It is one of the easiest of the continental high points to climb.
A walking track leads to the summit from the ski resort of Thredbo, using a chairlift for the first part. In summer, many hikers make the trip, and it can be done in a few hours. In winter, the area is covered in snow and popular for cross-country skiing.
Polish explorer Paweł Edmund Strzelecki named the mountain in 1840 after Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish national hero who fought in the American Revolutionary War. The local Ngarigo name is Kunama Namadgi, and Indigenous peoples have connections to the area going back thousands of years.
Oceania's highest peaks
If Australia's external territories are included, Mawson Peak on Heard Island, at about 2,745 meters, is higher. For the Seven Summits, some climbers choose Puncak Jaya in Indonesian New Guinea, at 4,884 meters, as the highest peak in Australia-Oceania.
Did You Know?
Australia is the flattest inhabited continent, with an average elevation of only about 330 meters.