Archaeological studies indicate that the Blue Mountains were formed around one million years ago as part of the Kosciusko Uplift during the Pliocene Epoch.
Pressure from the east raised the area upwards in a monoclinal fold, reaching an elevation of around three thousand feet to the top of the Blue Mountains where Mount Victoria is today. The Blue Mountains is densely populated by oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. The atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which, in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in colour.
Australian Aboriginals were the first to inhabit the Blue Mountains, however, we are unable to determine how far back in history this occurred. Evidence of the Daruk tribe who inhabited the area in ages past can be seen through Aboriginal art carved into rock. Remarkably preserved today is the ancient rock carving known as "the flight of the Great Grey Kangaroo" which is located at the foot of Hawkesbury Lookout, Hawkesbury Heights near Winmalee.
In , Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, along with four servants, four pack horses and five dogs, set off on an exploration which was to create history. On the 11 th May the explorers departed from Emu Plains reaching the foothills of the Blue Mountains, or Glenbrook as it is known today. Having insufficient food for their journey, they recorded the trek required constant hacking through thick scrub and treading through "damp dew-laden undergrowth".
They were also in fear of attack by Aboriginals. These factors, in combination with sickness, nearly saw the men defeated by the rugged terrain. Eighteen days later, on the 29 th May , the Blue Mountains was no longer considered an impassible barrier following the discovery of the gently sloping mountains to the west.
Today, just west of Katoomba you can see the remains of a Eucalyptus tree marked by the famous explorers Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson.
A cairn of stones was also placed at Linden, however, we cannot be certain if the existing cairn at Linden is the original. It is unknown how long these tribes inhabited the region, but it is estimated many thousands of years. Related article: Aboriginal history in the Blue Mountains.
Compared to the indigenous community of Australia who live in harmony with the Blue Mountains thick bushland and jagged rocks, the Europeans sought to alter it, hoping to build flat-surfaced settlements within the mountains.
However, every surface was too steep for machinery and too thick for construction, leaving the Blue Mountains with a reputation of being impenetrable. All due to the particular trees found in the mountains; the eucalyptus!
The eucalypti are one of the most common plants located in the area, spread out throughout the mountains, gorges, and valleys. A unique feature of the eucalyptus is the oil found soaked within its leaves. When the sun is particularly hot, the temperature results in the oil to be released from the leaves in a hazy oil mist.
Although up close, this haze is unseen, from a further distance, the light reflecting on the mist is quite clear. Causing the entire Blue Mountains region to be covered in a blue haze, looking as if the mountains are blue themselves.
Undoubtedly one of the most essential sights in the entire Blue Mountains; the glorious rock formation known as the Three Sisters. This natural wonder features three enormous rocks on top of a sandstone cliff which guts down towards the Jamison Valley. The structure has become both a local and tourist favourite, being a part of the landscape for millions of years.
The rock formation is not just a natural wonder however, as it has a strong connection with the indigenous people of the area, even having a famous Dreamtime story attached to it. The legend goes that there were once three beautiful sisters called Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo, who fell madly in love with three brothers from the neighbouring tribe, Sadly, the two tribes were emeries, and marriage between them was forbidden. Unable to help themselves, the brothers set out to capture the women, which launched a war between the tribes.
However, tragedy struck during the battle when the witchdoctor was killed, leaving no one able to reverse the spell and bring the women back to life. And so, the three sisters remain rocks for all eternity, standing mournfully high above the Jamison Valley, never to be human again. Jamison Valley. A velvet greenery of land, the Jamison valley offers a breathtaking natural landscape jam-packed with exceptional attractions within.
The valley is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the Blue Mountains. Been known to have hosted a few famous faces throughout the years including Charles Darwin, who even has a walking track named after him here. Weather was partly responsible - the effects of wind, rain, and heating and cooling. But gravity takes the most credit for this spectacular landscape.
Water must always travel downhill, forming rivers as it does so. These rivers, which look absurdly small from the cliff-top lookouts, have carved out the magnificent valleys they meander through. But this hasn't simply been a case of water gradually wearing its way down through the layers of rock - otherwise the mountains would be rounded, not chiselled.
Sandstone is relatively resistant to erosion, but the shales and coals underneath it are much softer. These lower layers wear back relatively easily, undermining the sandstone.
Weakened by vertical joints and the softer layers of shale within them, massive blocks of sandstone break off and topple down the slopes. Sheer cliffs are left behind, gradually retreating with each dislodged block.
In most cases, the creation of canyons coincides with the departure of glaciers from their valleys. As the ice began to melt, it not only released ancestral river beds from their icy prison, but it also released immense amounts of water. So much water was released that the rivers were provided with an incredible erosional potential. This extra water supply allowed them to rapidly alter their channels, and the down-cutting may have begun almost instantly.
While you stand at the top of of the escarpment of the Blue Mountains the valley floor is slowly being etched and scoured. The rate may have slowed, but the process is unrelenting. Australia is a very flat continent where the average elevation is just metres, the lowest in the world.
What Australia lacks in height is more that made up for in the variety, geological age and unique appearance of its mountains and rocky outcrops - some of the oldest and most interesting exposed rocks in the world. The Great Dividing Range has it origins many millions of years ago when the continents of earth were fused together as the Gondwana land mass.
A huge uplift in the earth's crust occurred over millions of years, between 5. This was just after the extinction of the dinosaurs and during the time that modern humans first appeared. The Great Dividing Range , or the Eastern Highlands , is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world.
The width of the range varies from about km mi to over km mi. The Dividing Range does not consist of a single mountain range. It consists of a complex of mountain ranges, plateaus, upland areas and escarpments with an ancient and complex geological history. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Kosciuszko at 2, metres above sea level.
The crest of the range is defined by the watershed or boundary between the drainage basins of rivers which drain directly eastward into the Pacific Ocean. The Great Dividing Range was formed during the Carboniferous period—some million years ago—when Australia collided with what is now parts of South America and New Zealand.
The range has experienced significant erosion since. Prior to white settlement the ranges were home to Aboriginal tribes. Evidence remains in some places of their occupation by decorated caves, campsites and trails used to travel between the coastal and inland regions. The Sydney Basin came into existence as a result of earth movements during the mid-Permian million years ago and for the next 70 million years, Permian — Triassic was subject to periodic episodes of marine transgressions and regressions which alternately inundated and exposed the developing basin.
The mountains are known for their sweeping vistas, cool microclimate, wildlife, Aboriginal history and rock formations like the statuesque Three Sisters and the rubble heap of Ruined Castle. Australia's Blue Mountains area is just kilometers west of Sydney, and can be reached by car or public transportation.
A misty bluish haze drapes over the expanse of Jamison Valley, giving the mountains their name. The mist is made up of tiny droplets of oil from the 91 species of eucalyptus trees that grow on the arid escarpments and in the temperate rainforest that blankets the mountain slopes, emitting a spicy, woodsy aroma. An easy way to experience the Blue Mountains is to ride a Scenic World cable car. Looking like a verdant version of the Utah canyons, the area consists mostly of heavily fractured sandstone cliffs and plateaus.
The whole area lies atop million-year-old quartzite. Between million and million years ago, a shallow sea covered the region, and rivers emptying into the sea brought shales, siltstones and mudstones.
Then, million to million years ago, the rivers dumped vast amounts of sand that buried the other sedimentary rocks. Later, tectonic forces uplifted the region, and rivers carved deep valleys and created steep cliffs, some as tall as 1, meters. The most popular attraction in the Blue Mountains is the Three Sisters formation, a jutting triplet of sandstone peaks that was worn into position by the scouring of wind, rain and rivers — their yellow rocks light up beautifully at sunset.
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