Mount Stromlo (formerly Mount Strom ) is a

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 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 ...

. The mountain is most notable as the location of the

Mount Stromlo Observatory Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). History The observatory was established in 1924 as The Commonwea ...

. The mountain forms part of the

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the

Cotter River The Cotter River, a perennial river of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The Cotter River, together with the Queanbeyan River, is one of two rivers that prov ...

which in turn is the primary water supply for part of ACT.

Geology

The rock on Mount Stromlo consists of

ignimbrite Ignimbrite is a type of volcanic rock, consisting of hardened tuff. Ignimbrites form from the deposits of pyroclastic flows, which are a hot suspension of particles and gases flowing rapidly from a volcano, driven by being denser than the surrou ...

from the Laidlaw Volcanics. This erupted in the upper

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

period over the top of the Deakin Volcanics

rhyodacite Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...

which is visible on the surface on the lower slopes in the east and southeast sides. The northern lower slopes are covered with a calcareous

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 ...

which is included in the Laidlaw Volcanics as it was deposited at the same time. This is cut off on the northwest side by the Winslade Fault, which heads north east to and . A spur fault heads off east from the Winslade Fault to under the

Scrivener Dam Scrivener Dam is a concrete gravity dam that impounds the Molonglo River in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The dam creates Lake Burley Griffin, which was established for recreational and ornamental purposes. Named in honour of surveyor C ...

. On the northwest and north side of these faults are middle Silurian period rhyodacite volcanic deposits from the Walker Volcanics. The northern side was uplifted compared with the southern side. The name ''Stromlo'' is taken from the poems of

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under t ...

Landform

Stoney Creek and its tributaries drain the north side of the mountain, The east side drains into the

Molonglo River The Molonglo River, a perennial river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Monaro and Capital Country regions of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia. Lo ...

. The south side supplies Blugar Creek that runs into the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

. The summit of the mountain where the telescopes are located is elongated in a north-south direction, with a spur running to the southwest where the water treatment plant is situated.

Observatory history

The first telescope installed at Mount Stromlo was the Oddie telescope which was installed on 8 September 1911. The building housing this telescope was the first construction funded by the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

in Canberra. In January 1913 the first telephone was connected to the Queanbeyan telephone exchange. Mount Stromlo was devastated by the

Canberra bushfires of 2003 The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nat ...

. The fire, fueled by the pine plantation that covered the mountain, destroyed or badly damaged much of the observatory and water treatment plant. Road access is via the Cotter Road on the south side, and Uriarra Road on the east and north. The summit is reached by a road joining Cotter Road just outside .

Mountain biking

Mount Stromlo is home to one of the finest and most well equipped mountain biking facilities in Australia. Prior to the 2003 bushfires, Mount Stromlo hosted some of the best and oldest mountain bike trails in Australia. In May 2006 extensive remedial work and trail reconstruction was commenced by World Trail in partnership with Canberra Off-Road Cyclists mountain bike club and the

ACT Government The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lead ...

. Stromlo Forest Park now includes more than of cross country single trail, a Four-Cross course, several observed trials areas and a downhill track. Mount Stromlo hosted the 2009

UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing b ...

that attracted more than visitors from up to 40 countries. The event involved more than 750 of the world's top riders who competed in the four mountain bike disciplines of Cross Country, Downhill, Four Cross and Observed Trials. In addition to the mountain biking facilities Mount Stromlo also boasts an event pavilion with office space and change rooms, a kids play area, BBQs, a road cycling criterium circuit, a groomed grass cross country running track and equestrian trails.

References

External links

Stromlo Forest Park website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stromlo, Mount Mountains of the Australian Capital Territory Volcanoes of the Australian Capital Territory Silurian volcanism