Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest

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 area, and is usually highe ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist

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 a ...

. Located south of Cairns near

Babinda Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,253 people. Geography Babinda is located south of Cairns. The town is noted for its proximity to Queensl ...

, it is adjacent to

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and ...

, 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 Wooroonooran National Park (Aboriginal for "Black Rock") is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,367 km northwest of Brisbane, between Innisfail and Cairns. The park is one of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area series of national p ...

. Both peaks are made of resistant

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

and are remnants of an escarpment that has been eroded by the Russell and

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locatio ...

s. Several television

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

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.

History

In 1873,

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

, 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 Robert Arthur Johnstone (1843 – 16 January 1905) was an officer in the Native Police paramilitary force which operated in the British imperial colony of Queensland. He was stationed at various locations in central and northern Queensland betw ...

climbed the peak while exploring the coastal lands south of

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

with

George Elphinstone Dalrymple George Augustus Frederick Elphinstone Dalrymple (6 May 1826 – 22 January 1876) was a colonist, explorer, public servant and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He founded the towns of Bowen and Cardwell, and pioneer ...

. Another expedition to the summit, led by

Archibald Meston Archibald Meston (26 March 1851 – 11 March 1924) was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer. Personal life Archibald Meston was born at Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Meston. Mes ...

(1851-1924), was conducted in early February to early March 1889.

Environment

Birds

The mountain lies in the

Wooroonooran Important Bird Area The Wooroonooran Important Bird Area comprises some 5125 km2 of mainly forested land in the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site, of Far North Queensland, Australia. Description The site encompasses the largest block of tropical r ...

, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Wooroonooran. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2 December 2011.

Climate

The rain gauge at its summit records an annual average rainfall of , making it the wettest meteorological station in Australia. It also holds the record for the highest rainfall in a calendar year of in 2000 and the highest rainfall in Australia for a calendar month of in January 1979. In 2006, the mountain received more rainfall – – than any other part of Australia. This was primarily due to two severe

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depen ...

s passing close to the mountain. In 2010, Queensland's wettest year on record, the top station on the mountain recorded , just under the 2000 record.

References

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External links