Mount Bellenden Ker
Encyclopedia
Mount Bellenden Ker is the second highest mountain
in Queensland
, Australia
. It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler
. Located 60 km south of Cairns
near Babinda
, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere
, the state's highest peak, part of the Bellenden Ker Range
which is also known as the Wooroonooran Range. The two mountains dominate the Josephine Falls section of the Wooroonooran National Park
. Both peaks are made of resistant granite
and are remnants of an escarpment that has been eroded by the Russell
and Mulgrave River
s.
Several television transmitter
towers have been built on the mountain. The only access to the television transmitter site and the mountain top weather station is by a privately owned cable car.
In 2006, the mountain received more rainfall, 9800 mm (385.8 in) than any other part of Australia. This was primarily due to two severe tropical cyclone
s passing close to the mountain. In 2010, Queensland's wettest year on record, the top station on the mountain recorded 12438.4 mm (489.7 in), just under the 2000 record.
, Queensland's first Colonial Botanist undertook an expedition to northern Queensland to collect native plants and included a trip to Mount Bellenden Ker. In the same year Robert Arthur Johnstone climbed the peak while exploring the coastal lands south of Cooktown
with George Elphinstone Dalrymple.
Another expedition to the summit, led by Archibald Meston
(1851-1924), was conducted in early March to early February 1889.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler
John Bellenden Ker Gawler
John Bellenden Ker, originally John Gawler was an English botanist born about 1764 in Ramridge, Andover, Hampshire and died in June 1842 in the same town. On 5 November 1804 he changed his name to Ker Bellenden, but continued to sign his name as Bellenden Ker until his death...
. Located 60 km south of Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
near Babinda
Babinda, Queensland
Babinda is a small town 60 km south of Cairns, Queensland. It is located in the Cairns Region.The town is noted for its proximity to two of Queensland's highest mountains Mount Bartle Frere and Mount Bellenden Ker....
, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of 1622 metres. The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and then president of the Royal Geographical Society by George Elphinstone Dalrymple in 1873. Bartle Frere was British...
, the state's highest peak, part of the Bellenden Ker Range
Bellenden Ker Range
The Belleden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and Babinda....
which is also known as the Wooroonooran Range. The two mountains dominate the Josephine Falls section of the Wooroonooran National Park
Wooroonooran National Park
Wooroonooran is a national park in Queensland , 1367 km northwest of Brisbane, between Innisfail and Cairns.The park is one of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area series of national parks, and is a gazetted World Heritage site...
. Both peaks are made of resistant granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and are remnants of an escarpment that has been eroded by the Russell
Russell River
The Russell River is a short river that passes east of the town of Babinda in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises near the highest mountain in Queensland, Mount Bartle Frere, part of the Frances Range in the Wooroonooran National Park...
and Mulgrave River
Mulgrave River
The Mulgrave River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. It flows in a northerly direction through Gordonvale and the southern outskirts of Cairns, after rising in the Bellenden Ker Range...
s.
Several television transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
towers have been built on the mountain. The only access to the television transmitter site and the mountain top weather station is by a privately owned cable car.
Rainfall records
The rain gauge at its summit records an annual average rainfall of 8312 mm (327.2 in), making it the wettest meteorological station in Australia. It also holds the record for the highest rainfall in a calendar year of 12461 mm (490.6 in) in 2000 and the highest rainfall in Australia for a calendar month of 5387 mm (212.1 in) in January 1979.In 2006, the mountain received more rainfall, 9800 mm (385.8 in) than any other part of Australia. This was primarily due to two severe tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s passing close to the mountain. In 2010, Queensland's wettest year on record, the top station on the mountain recorded 12438.4 mm (489.7 in), just under the 2000 record.
History
In 1873, Walter HillWalter Hill (garden curator)
Walter Hill was the first curator of the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, located at Gardens Point, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.-Personal life:...
, Queensland's first Colonial Botanist undertook an expedition to northern Queensland to collect native plants and included a trip to Mount Bellenden Ker. In the same year Robert Arthur Johnstone climbed the peak while exploring the coastal lands south of Cooktown
Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown is a small town located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. At the 2006 census, Cooktown had a population of 1,336...
with George Elphinstone Dalrymple.
Another expedition to the summit, led by Archibald Meston
Archibald Meston
Archibald Meston was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer.-Personal Life:Archibald Meston was born 26 March 1851 at Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Meston....
(1851-1924), was conducted in early March to early February 1889.