The Killke culture occupied the South American region around Cusco , Peru , from 900 to 1200 AD, prior to the development of Incan culture in the 13th century.
38-563: Killke culture flourished in highland Peru in the Late Intermediate Period around what is now Cusco . Archaeologist Oscar Rodriguez suggests that the Killke built small sections of the fortress Saksaywaman during the 12th century, prior to the Incan expansion of the site. In 2007, excavations uncovered a temple on the edge of the fortress, indicating religious as well as military use of
76-402: A mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills . Generally, upland refers to a range of hills, typically from 300 m (980 ft) up to 600 m (2,000 ft), while highland is usually reserved for ranges of low mountains . However, the two terms are interchangeable and also include regions that are transitional between hilly and mountainous terrain. Probably
114-494: A climate which favoured the formation of glaciers , evidence of which can still be seen today. Cirques moraines , tarn lakes , roche moutonnées and other glacial features can all be seen in the area. Lake Cootapatamba , which was formed by an ice spilling from Mount Kosciuszko's southern flank, is the highest lake on the Australian mainland. Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue Lake , and Hedley Tarn also have glacial origins. There
152-467: A drought that ranks as one of the worst in 103 years of official Australian weather records. Fires are a natural feature of the park's ecosystem. In November 2004, a committee "The Snowy Mountains Bushfire Recovery Taskforce" was set up by the NSW State Premier's Department to help residents in the region recover from the fires. The Taskforce commissioned Louise Darmody from Sound Memories to produce
190-566: A major skifield in NSW came with the development of Mount Blue Cow in the 1980s. In 1987 the Swiss designed Skitube Alpine Railway opened to deliver skiers from Bullocks Flat , on the Alpine Way , to Perisher Valley and to Blue Cow, which also opened in 1987. The operators of Blue Cow purchased Guthega in 1991, and the new combined resort later merged with Perisher-Smiggins to become the largest ski resort in
228-467: Is endemic to the alpine region, and covers a mere 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft). Many rare or threatened plant and animal species live within the Snowy Mountains. The Kosciuszko National Park is home to one of Australia's most threatened species (the corroboree frog ), the endangered mountain pygmy possum and the more common dusky antechinus are located in the high country of
266-451: Is now little realised. The Australian Alpine Club was founded in 1950 by Charles Anton . Huts were constructed in the "Backcountry" close to Mount Kosciuszko, including Kunama Hut , which opened for the 1953 season. A rope tow was installed on Mount Northcote at the site and opened in 1954. The site proved excellent for speed skiing, but the hut was destroyed in an avalanche , which also killed one person, in 1956. Anton also recognised
304-419: Is some disagreement as to exactly how widespread Pleistocene glaciation was on the main range, and little or no evidence from earlier glacial periods exists. The 'David Moraine', a one kilometre long ridge running across Spencers Creek valley seems to indicate a larger glacier existed in this area at some time, however the glacial origin of this feature is disputed. There is evidence of periglacial activity in
342-592: Is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central-western parts of the state. Many of these areas are highly elevated alpine regions. The Ozarks cover nearly 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi), making it the most extensive highland region between the Appalachians and Rockies. This region contains some of the oldest rocks in North America. The spine of the mountains stretches across
380-678: The Moon . Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains , known informally as " The Snowies ", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales , Australia , and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia , being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system. It makes up the northeastern half of the Australian Alps (the other half being the Victorian Alps ) and contains Australia's five tallest peaks , all of which are above 2,100 m (6,890 ft), including
418-908: The Southern Hemisphere . In 2022, Perisher had 48 lifts covering 1,245 hectares and four village base areas: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Smiggin Holes and Guthega. The Snowy Mountains also feed the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers from the Tooma River , Whites River and Yarrangobilly River . The range is perhaps best known for the Snowy Mountains Scheme , a project to dam the Snowy River, providing both water for irrigation and hydroelectricity . The project began in 1949 employing 100,000 men, two-thirds of whom came from thirty other countries during
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#1733085943097456-638: The United States (notably Western North Carolina ), highveld , used in South Africa and Roof of the World , used for Tibet . The central Afghan highlands are in the center of Afghanistan , mostly located between 2,000 and 3,000 m above sea level. They have a very cold winter, and a short and cool summer. These highlands have mountain pastures during summer ( sardsīr ), watered by many small streams and rivers. There are also pastures available during winter in
494-493: The snow cover usually melting by November (although it can occasionally persist through high summer and the next autumn). It is considered to be one of the centres of the Australian ski industry during the winter months, with all four snow resorts in New South Wales being located in the region. The range is host to the mountain plum-pine , a low-lying type of conifer . The Alpine Way and Snowy Mountains Highway are
532-492: The 1860s and experienced a boom in the 20th century following the commencement of the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme between 1949 and 1976 which brought many European workers to the district and opened up access to the ranges. The discovery of gold at Kiandra (elevation 1,400 m or 4,600 ft), in 1859, briefly enticed a population of thousands above the snowline and saw
570-548: The Australian ski industry. By 1974, 145 km (90 mi) of tunnels and 80 km (50 mi) of aqueducts connected the sixteen dams, seven power stations (two underground), and one pumping station. The American Society of Civil Engineers has rated the Snowy Scheme as "a world-class civil engineering project". The principal lakes created by the scheme include: Lake Eucumbene , Blowering Dam , Talbingo Dam , Lake Jindabyne and Tantangara Dam . The higher regions of
608-526: The Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. Banjo Paterson 's famous poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the Kosciuszko Huts Association . In the 19th century gold was mined on
646-1083: The United Kingdom include the Southern Uplands in Scotland, the Pennines , North York Moors , Dartmoor and Exmoor in England , and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales . Many countries and regions also have areas referred to as highlands . These include parts of Afghanistan , Tibet , Ethiopia , Canada , Kenya , Eritrea , Yemen , Ghana , Nigeria , Papua New Guinea , Syria , Turkey and Cantabria . Similar terms used in other countries include high country , used in New Zealand , New South Wales , Victoria , Tasmania and Southern Queensland in Australia , and parts of
684-568: The area. Solifluction appears to have created terraces on the north west flank of Mount Northcote. Frost heave is also a significant agent of soil erosion in the Kosciuszko Area. The Snowy Mountains cover a variety of climatic regions which support several distinct ecosystems . The alpine area above the tree line is one of the most fragile and covers the smallest area. This area is a patchwork of alpine heaths , herbfields , feldmarks , bogs and fens . The windswept feldmark ecotope
722-646: The best-known area officially or unofficially referred to as highlands in the Anglosphere is the Scottish Highlands in northern Scotland , the mountainous region north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault . The Highland council area is a local government area in the Scottish Highlands and Britain's largest local government area. Other highland or upland areas reaching 400 m or higher in
760-505: The economy of Cooma has been sustained by the Scheme. Townships at Adaminaby , Jindabyne and Talbingo were inundated by the construction of Lakes Eucumbene , Jindabyne and Talbingo . Improved vehicular access to the High Country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at Thredbo and Guthega in the 1950s by ex-Snowy Scheme workers, who realised the potential for expansion of
798-629: The endemic vertebrates are restricted to this ecoregion. The highlands of Iceland cover about 40% of the country and are mostly inhospitable to humans. They are generally considered to be any land above 500 m. The mountainous natural region of the Thai highlands is found in Northern Thailand. The Cameron Highlands is a highland area and hill station in Northern Malaysia. Shillong in India in
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#1733085943097836-484: The facility. At 1,760 m (5,774 ft), Charlotte Pass has the highest village base elevation of any Australia ski resort and can only be accessed via over-snow transport in winter. The growing number of ski enthusiasts heading to Charlotte Pass led to the establishment of a cafe at Smiggin Holes around 1939, where horse-drawn sleighs would deliver skiers to begin the arduous ski to the Kosciuszko Chalet. It
874-671: The high plains near Kiandra . At its height this community had a population of about 4,000 people, and ran 14 hotels. Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings. The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. In 1944 this became the Kosciuszko State Park and the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967. Recreational skiing began at Kiandra in
912-422: The introduction of recreational skiing to the Snowy Mountains around 1861. The Kiandra Goldrush was short-lived, but the township remained a service centre for recreational and survival skiing for over a century. Australia's first T-bar lift was installed at Kiandra in 1957, but the ski facilities were finally shifted up the hill to Selwyn Snowfields in 1978. Steeper slopes and more reliable snows lie further to
950-593: The island of New Guinea, forming the densely populated highlands of Papua New Guinea , and the Highland Papua , Indonesia . The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka are rain forests, where the elevation reaches 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above sea level. The Sri Lanka montane rain forests represent the montane and submontane moist forests above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the central highlands and in the Knuckles mountain range . Half of Sri Lanka's endemic flowering plants and 51 percent of
988-529: The major roads through the Snowy Mountains region. The mountain range is thought to have had Aboriginal occupation for 20,000 years. Large gatherings were held in the High Country during summer for collective feasting on the Bogong moth . The area was first explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after the Polish patriot. High country stockmen followed who used
1026-593: The mountains known as Main Range contains mainland Australia's five glacial lakes . The largest of these lakes is Blue Lake , one of the headwaters of the Snowy River . The other four glacial lakes are Lake Albina , Lake Cootapatamba , Club Lake and Headley Tarn. During the last ice age , which peaked about 20,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch , the highest peaks of the main range near Mount Kosciuszko experienced
1064-506: The neighboring warm lowlands ( garmsīr ), which makes the region ideal for seasonal transhumance . The highlands in Australia are often above the elevation of 500 m. These areas often receive snowfall in winter. Most of the highlands lead up to large alpine or sub-alpine mountainous regions such as the Australian Alps , Snowy Mountains , Great Dividing Range , Northern Tablelands and Blue Mountains . The most mountainous region of Tasmania
1102-776: The park experience an alpine climate which is unusual on mainland Australia. Generally, only areas above 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) are subject to a consistent heavy winter snowpack . Snow normally falls to around 600 metres (2,000 ft) most winters, and can occur as low as 300 metres (980 ft) on the windward west side of the Snowies (on the South West Slopes ); and on a few occasions has even fallen in Albury only 165 metres (541 ft) above sea level. The weather station at Charlotte Pass recorded Australia's lowest temperature of −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) on 28 June 1994. Part of
1140-480: The park. By 2008, wild horse numbers in the National Park had reached 1,700 with that figure growing by up to 300 each year, resulting in park authorities coordinating their culling and relocation. The high country is dominated by alpine woodlands, characterised by the snow gum . Montane and wet sclerophyll forests also occur across the ranges, supporting large stands of alpine ash and mountain gum . In
1178-507: The post-World War II years. Socially this project symbolises a period during which Australia became an ethnic "melting pot" of the twentieth century but which also changed Australia's character and increased its appreciation for a wide range of cultural diversity. The Scheme built several temporary towns for its construction workers, several of which have become permanent: Cabramurra (the highest town in Australia); and Khancoban . Additionally,
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1216-472: The potential of the Thredbo Valley for construction of a major resort and village, with good vertical terrain. Construction began in 1957. Today, Thredbo has 14 ski-lifts and possesses Australia's longest ski resort run, the 5.9 km from Karel's T-Bar to Friday Flat ; Australia's greatest vertical drop of 672 m; and the highest lifted point in Australia at 2037 m. The last establishment of
1254-460: The site. John H. Rowe first described killke ceramics . These vessels are often globular with vertical strap handles and have simple linear geometric decorations of black or black-on-red over a white or buff slip. It was the American archaeologist John Howland Rowe (1918–2004) who named the Killke culture. Highland (geography) Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as
1292-565: The south and in the 20th century, the focus of recreational skiing in New South Wales shifted southward, to the Mount Kosciuszko region. The Kosciuszko Chalet was built at Charlotte Pass in 1930, giving relatively comfortable access to Australia's highest terrain. In 1964, Australia briefly boasted the "World's Longest Chairlift ", designed to carry skiers from the Thredbo Valley to Charlotte Pass, but technical difficulties soon closed
1330-568: The southern Byadbo wilderness area, dry sclerophyll and wattle forests predominate. Amongst the many different native trees in the park, the large Chinese elm has become naturalised. In Summer 2003, the Australian Alps experienced their largest bushfires for over 60 years with an estimated 1.73 million hectares burning. The bushfires burnt across Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) during
1368-525: The state of Meghalaya is a hill station that is surrounded by highlands. Officers of the British Raj referred to Shillong as "The Scotland of the East". Highland continents —or terrae —are areas of topographically unstable terrain , with high peaks and valleys. They resemble highlands on Earth , but the term is applied to much larger areas on other planets. They can be found on Mercury , Venus , Mars , and
1406-403: The tallest Mount Kosciuszko , which reaches to a height of 2,228 m (7,310 ft) above sea level . The offshore Tasmanian highlands makes up the only other major alpine region present in the whole of Australia. The Snowy Mountains experience large natural snowfalls for several months of the year; with significant accumulation during May, June, July, August, September and October with
1444-486: Was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry and led to the establishment of Thredbo and Perisher as leading Australian resorts. The Construction of Guthega Dam brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957. Skifields up by Kosciuszko's side were also established during this period, though their existence
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