Title: Australian Alps - Wikipedia
Headings: Australian Alps
Australian Alps
Contents
Geology
Ecology
Birds
Insects
Bushfires
Alpine huts
Attractions
Resort skiing areas
Panoramas
References
External links

Content: The Alps comprise an area of 1,232,981 ha (3,046,760 acres). The Australian Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range, the series of mountains, hills, and highlands that runs about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) from northern Queensland, through New South Wales, and into the northern part of Victoria. This chain of highlands divides the drainage of the rivers that flow to the east into the Tasman Sea from those that flow west into the drainage of the Murray–Darling Basin (and thence to the Southern Ocean) or into inland waters, such as Lake Eyre, which lie below sea level, or else evaporate rapidly. The Australian Alps consist of two biogeographic subregions: the Snowy Mountains, including the Brindabella Range, located in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory; and the Victorian Alps, located in Victoria. The latter region is also known as the "High Country", particularly within a cultural or historical context. Contents
1 Geology
2 Ecology
2.1 Birds
2.2 Insects
2.3 Bushfires
3 Alpine huts
4 Attractions
5 Resort skiing areas
6 Panoramas
7 References
8 External links
Geology
Unlike the high mountain ranges found in places like the Rockies (highest peak 4,401 m (14,439 ft)), the European Alps (highest peak 4,808 m (15,774 ft)) or the Himalayas (highest peak 8,848 m (29,029 ft)), the Australian Alps were not formed by two continental plates colliding and pushing up the Earth's rocky mantle to form jagged, rocky peaks. Instead, the Australian Alps consist of a high plateau, with significantly softer rolling hills spread across a long, wide plateau that was lifted thousands of feet up by the movement of magma when Gondwana began to break up between 130 and 160 million years ago. The highest peak in the Australian Alps is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres (7,310 ft)).