Ben Lomond (Ben Lomond)
Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia.
The mountain is composed of a central massif with an extensive plateau above 1200 m and high outlier peaks projecting from the mountain. The highest feature on the plateau is the unimposing summit of Legges Tor, at 1572 m, on the northern aspect of the plateau. The southern end of the plateau is dominated by Stacks Bluff, 1527 m, which is an imposing feature that drops away to a cliffline 600 m above the surrounding foothills. The prominent outlier peaks of Ragged Jack (1369 m), Mensa Moor (1358 m) and Tower Hill (1122 m) surround the plateau.
Ben Lomond is east of Launceston in the Ben Lomond National Park. Tasmania's premier Alpine skiing operations are located at Ben Lomond with downhill skiing facilities in the State.
Its accessibility from Launceston, together with the existence of a ski village on the plateau make Ben Lomond an all year round favourite for tourists and hikers. Access to the village and summit can be made via several walking tracks or via a zig-zag road known as "Jacobs Ladder".
The locality of Ben Lomond is in the local government area of Northern Midlands in the Central region of Tasmania. The locality is about 64 km east of the town of Longford.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal palawa kani name for Ben Lomond is turapina and was recorded in various word lists as ', toorbunna or '. The meaning of this name is uncertain, but the suffix bunna/pina is thought to denote tableland or plateau and linguistic research suggests that the stem tur/tura means bluff or precipitous cliffs. Modern etymological researchers of the Palawa lexicon assert that, in addition to turupina, there were several names related to Ben Lomond:
* parndokenne - the plateau between the Nile River valley (Lake Youl) and Stacks Bluff
* tudema tura - a name recorded by John Glover - Taylor asserts that tudema equates to the locality and tura = bluff- probably Stacks Bluff
* loonder - cf lienta (i.e. mangana lienta - South Esk River) a contraction for the plains to the south of Stacks Bluff - Fingal Valley
Map - Ben Lomond (Ben Lomond)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
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EN | English language |