Mount Coolum is a hill in Mount Coolum National Park in a
suburb of the same name in
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. Mount Coolum is located on the
Sunshine Coast, 101 km north of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
. It lies between the
Sunshine Motorway to the west, the shoreline to the east,
Coolum Beach township to the north and
Marcoola township to the south.
Formation
Created about 26 million years ago, Mount Coolum is a
laccolith
A laccolith is a body of intrusive rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma (molten rock) rising through the Earth's crust begins to spread out horizontally, prying apar ...
, formed when a dome-shaped bulge of
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
cooled below the Earth's surface, roughly circular in plan with tall cliffs on the eastern and southern side. It rises abruptly from the coastal plain to a 208 m peak, resembling the
Glasshouse Mountains to the south. Mount Coolum is largely formed from 26 million year old
rhyolite which forms regular columns and
jointing patterns. A disused
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
occupies the eastern foothills of the mountain. After heavy rain there are a number of waterfalls on the cliffs.
Climbing Mount Coolum
A 1.6 km long track climbs Mount Coolum from the east, starting at a carpark on Tanah Street West off
David Low Way in the suburb of Mount Coolum. The lower part of the track is deceptively well-formed and gentle but it quickly deteriorates to become very steep, very rough and dangerously slippery when wet.
The walk up and back can be completed in 30–40 minutes; it should not be started after rain or when rain, storms or dusk threaten. The peak hosts a cage containing an aircraft hazard
obstacle light, necessary because of the mountain's close proximity to the
Sunshine Coast Airport. On average about 140 people climb to the summit each day.
Ecological values
The park is noted for its remarkable botanical diversity; more than 700 different species of plant have been identified there. Vegetation types include
eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
forest, coastal
wallum
Wallum, or wallum country, is an Australian ecosystem of coastal south-east Queensland, extending into north-eastern New South Wales. It is characterised by flora-rich shrubland and heathland on deep, nutrient-poor, acidic, sandy soils, and re ...
,
paperbark
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size f ...
wetland, rare coastal montane
heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
and some
rainforest.
A pair of
peregrine falcons are reported to nest on the cliffs.
See also
*
Protected areas of Queensland
References
External links
Climbing Coolum Mountain in 1927Sunshine Coast Regional Council - Geology of the Sunshine CoastQLD Parks and Wildlife Mount Coolum National Park Map
{{National Parks of Queensland
National Parks on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Protected areas established in 1990
Coolum
1990 establishments in Australia