Mount Owen (Tasmania)
Encyclopedia
Mount Owen is the mountain directly east of the town of Queenstown
in Tasmania
, Australia
.
Like most of the mountains in the West Coast Range - it was named by Charles Gould
after Richard Owen
as the taller mountains were named after opponents or critics of Charles Darwin
, the smaller after his supporters.
the north western slopes clearly seen from Gormanston
and the Linda Valley
the 'Long Spur'.
's 'The Peaks of Lyell
' sourced from 1900-1910 calls the north west peak the 'North Spur', and
The northern slopes, clearly visible from the Lyell Highway
passing through the Linda Valley
, show the extent of degradation due to fire, smelter fumes, and heavy rainfall.
It has small glacial lakes on its upper eastern slope, indicating the extent of Glaciation in the King River valley.
The western slopes loom over Queenstown, and in winter are regularly covered in snow.
The eastern wall to its north eastern peak that 'hangs over' the western shore of Lake Burbury, or in earlier times the North Mount Lyell Railway
formation which passed beneath.
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West Coast Range context
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Queenstown, Tasmania
Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region of the island of Tasmania. It is located in a valley on western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range.It had a population of 5,119 people . At the 2006 census, Queenstown had a population of 2,117....
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, 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...
.
Like most of the mountains in the West Coast Range - it was named by Charles Gould
Charles Gould (geologist)
Charles Gould was the first Geological Surveyor of Tasmania 1859-69.He was born on the 4th June 1834 in England He conducted three expeditions into Western Tasmania in the 1860's.He named many of the mountains on the West Coast Range....
after Richard Owen
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
as the taller mountains were named after opponents or critics of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, the smaller after his supporters.
the north western slopes clearly seen from Gormanston
Gormanston, Tasmania
Gormanston is a town in Tasmania on the slopes of Mount Owen, above the town of Queenstown in Tasmania's West Coast. At the 2006 census, Gormanston had a population of 167....
and the Linda Valley
Linda Valley
Linda Valley is a valley in the West Coast Range of Tasmania. It was earlier known as the Vale of Chamouni. It is between Mount Owen and Mount Lyell.Linda Valley is the location of two historical settlements, Linda and Gormanston...
the 'Long Spur'.
Features
A map in Geoffrey BlaineyGeoffrey Blainey
Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC , is a prominent Australian historian.Blainey was born in Melbourne and raised in a series of Victorian country towns before attending Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. While at university he was editor of Farrago, the newspaper of the University of...
's 'The Peaks of Lyell
The peaks of lyell
The Peaks of Lyell is a book by Geoffrey Blainey, originally published in 1954. It contains the history of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, and through association, Queenstown and further the West Coast Tasmania...
' sourced from 1900-1910 calls the north west peak the 'North Spur', and
The northern slopes, clearly visible from the Lyell Highway
Lyell Highway
The Lyell Highway is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. The name is derived from Mount Lyell, the mountain peak where copper was found in the late 19th century, and the site of the Mount Lyell copper mine, and the sole reason for the existence of Queenstown...
passing through the Linda Valley
Linda Valley
Linda Valley is a valley in the West Coast Range of Tasmania. It was earlier known as the Vale of Chamouni. It is between Mount Owen and Mount Lyell.Linda Valley is the location of two historical settlements, Linda and Gormanston...
, show the extent of degradation due to fire, smelter fumes, and heavy rainfall.
It has small glacial lakes on its upper eastern slope, indicating the extent of Glaciation in the King River valley.
The western slopes loom over Queenstown, and in winter are regularly covered in snow.
The eastern wall to its north eastern peak that 'hangs over' the western shore of Lake Burbury, or in earlier times the North Mount Lyell Railway
North Mount Lyell Railway
The North Mount Lyell Railway was built to service the North Mount Lyell mine in West Coast Tasmania at the start of the Twentieth century to take ore from Gormanston east of the West Coast Range to the Crotty smelters, and then on to Pillinger in the Kelly Basin of Macquarie Harbour, from where...
formation which passed beneath.
Access
It also has TV and communications towers on its north west peak (North Spur), which has been utilised a vehicle access track________________________________________________________________
West Coast Range context
- North - Mount LyellMount Lyell (Tasmania)Mount Lyell is a mountain in the West Coast Range, Tasmania, named by Charles Gould in 1863 Charles Lyell was named during the nineteenth century controversy about the theory of evolution put forward by Charles Darwin, Lyell was a supporter of Darwin's....
- Mount Owen
- South - Mount HuxleyMount Huxley (Tasmania)Mount Huxley is a mountain in the West Coast Range, Tasmania, named by Charles Gould in 1863 after Professor Thomas Henry Huxley.A smaller of the west coast range mountains, with a large 200 metre outcrop/rock face on its southern side above the King River gorge just west of the Crotty Dam - parts...
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