Mount Woodroffe
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| Mount Woodroffe (Ngarutjaranya) | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,435 metres AHD (4,708 feet) |
| Location | South Australia, Australia |
| Range | Musgrave Ranges |
| Prominence | South Australia's highest mountain |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Easiest route | hike |
Mount Woodroffe is South Australia's highest peak, at 1,435 metres.
Contents |
[edit] Cultural Significance
The mountain is known to the Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Australians as Ngarutjaranya.[1] In Indigenous Australian mythology, the mountain embodies the mythological creature Ngintaka.
[edit] Geography
Mount Woodroffe is located in the far northwest of South Australia, in the Musgrave Ranges. The mountain range rises some 700-800 metres from the surrounding plains and comprises massifs of granite and gneiss.
[edit] History
Mount Woodroffe was named by William Christie Gosse, who first sighted it on 20 July 1873 and is named after George Woodroffe Goyder, Surveyor-General of South Australia and an early explorer of South Australia and the Northern Territory himself.[2]
In the 1960s Mount Woodroffe was considered as a potential site for the proposed Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). It lost out due to its remoteness compared to Siding Spring in New South Wales, where the AAT sits today amongst other astronomical observatories [3].
[edit] Access
Access is limited as a permit is required to enter the Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ "Mount Woodroffe". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
- ^ "Mount Woodroffe, South Australia". Place Names Online. Government of South Australia. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
- ^ Biographical Memoir of Arthur Robert Hogg, 1903-1966, Australian Academy of Science [1]
- ^ "Permits". PYMedia. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.