Black Mountain, also known as Galambary to the

Ngunnawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyungan ...

people, is a small

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

with an elevation of that is situated to the west of the Canberra central business district on the northern shore of

Lake Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Walte ...

, in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Black Mountain is protected from development by the

Canberra Nature Park The Canberra Nature Park is a series of thirty three separate protected areas in and around Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, ranging from bushland hills to lowland native grassland. Many of the areas have previously been cleared for gra ...

and is predominantly covered in native bushland and is a haven to native wildlife.

Location and features

The mountain is located west of the main campus of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

and, together with the ridge, forms a natural west and northwestern boundary for Canberra city. Black Mountain rises above the water level of Lake Burley Griffin that lies at its base. Situated close to the highest point on the mountain is

Black Mountain Tower Telstra Tower (also known as Black Mountain Tower and formerly Telecom Tower) is a telecommunications tower and lookout that is situated above the summit of Black Mountain in Australia's capital city of Canberra. It is named after Australia's l ...

(previously known as Telstra Tower, and Telecom Tower), a broadcasting tower rising a further above the summit. The

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

and the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

share the eastern base of Black Mountain, next to the Australian National University. Black Mountain was originally named Black Hill at the same time as the naming of nearby Red Hill. The original name explains why the mountain is not now known as Mount Black, like nearby

Mount Majura Mount Majura is a small mountain with an elevation of that is located in the northern suburbs of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Majura lies close to the more prominent Mount Ainslie and is the highest point wit ...

and

Mount Ainslie Mount Ainslie is a hill with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park. Location and features Mount Ains ...

. The early European settlers referred to the mountain formation as the Canberry Ranges.

Geology

The bulk of Black Mountain consists of the white quartz Black Mountain

Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. This was deposited in the late Early Silurian age. On the south east slopes and north west there are exposures of State Circle

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The Black Mountain Peninsula contains

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

in the north and

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

from the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

age Pittman Formation in the south.

References

External links

{{Australian Capital Territory mountains , state=autocollapse Parks in Canberra Mountains of the Australian Capital Territory Silurian volcanism