Mount Bellenden Ker
{{Short description|Mountain in Queensland, Australia}}
{{About|the mountain|the town|Bellenden Ker, Queensland|the mountain range|Bellenden Ker Range}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Bellenden Ker
| photo = Mount Bellenden Ker summit and aerial cableway from Bruce Hwy.jpg
| photo_caption =Mount Bellenden Ker summit and aerial cableway from Bruce Highway
| elevation_m = 1593
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| prominence =
| map = Queensland
| map_caption = Location in Queensland
| label_position = right
| listing =
| location = Queensland, Australia
| range = Bellenden Ker Range
| coordinates = {{coord|17|15|51|S|145|51|14|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref =
| topo =
| type =
| age =
| volcanic_arc/belt =
| last_eruption =
| first_ascent =
| easiest_route =
}}
Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of {{convert|1593|m}}. It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located {{convert|39|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the state's highest peak, part of the Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range. The two mountains dominate the Josephine Falls section of the Wooroonooran National Park.{{cite book |title=Natural areas of Queensland |last=Shilton |first=Peter |year=2005 |publisher=Goldpress |location=Mount Gravatt, Queensland |isbn=0-9758275-0-2 |pages=74 }} Both peaks are made of resistant granite and are remnants of an escarpment that has been eroded by the Russell and Mulgrave Rivers.
The mountain's summit is the rainiest part of Australia. Several television transmitter towers have been built on the mountain. The only access to the television transmitter site and the mountain top weather station is by a privately owned cable car.{{Cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/on-top-of-world-never-rains-but-it-pours/story-e6frg6nf-1226047232706 |title=On top of world, never rains but it pours |author=Sarah Elks |accessdate=26 June 2011 |date=30 April 2011 |newspaper=The Australia |publisher=News Limited }}
History
In 1873, Walter Hill, Queensland's first Colonial botanist, undertook an expedition to northern Queensland to collect native plants and included a trip to Mount Bellenden Ker. In the same year Robert Arthur Johnstone climbed the peak while exploring the coastal lands south of Cooktown with George Elphinstone Dalrymple.{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|first=Dorothy|last= Jones|id2=johnstone-robert-arthur-3865|title=Johnstone, Robert Arthur (1843–1905) |year=1972|accessdate=14 August 2023}} Another expedition to the summit, led by Archibald Meston, was conducted in early February to early March 1889.
Environment
The forest canopy on Bellenden Ker is an example of a cloud forest, with high biodiversity and its frequent cloud cover and fog.
=Birds=
The mountain lies in the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Wooroonooran. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710124603/http://www.birdlife.org/ |date=10 July 2007 }} on 2 December 2011.
Climate
The rain gauge at its summit records an annual average rainfall of {{convert|8053.6|mm|abbr=on}}, making it the wettest meteorological station in Australia. It also holds the record for the highest rainfall in a calendar year of {{convert|12461|mm|abbr=on}} in 2000 and the highest rainfall in Australia for a calendar month of {{convert|5387|mm|abbr=on}} in January 1979.{{Cite web|
year=2001| url=http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/ho/010105.shtml| title=Media release: Queensland site sets Australian rainfall record| publisher=Bureau of Meteorology| accessdate=24 April 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/weatherData/av?p_nccObsCode=139&p_display_type=dataFile&p_startYear=&p_c=&p_stn_num=031141|title=Monthly Rainfall – 031141|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|accessdate=25 February 2018}}
In 2006, the mountain received more rainfall – {{convert|9800|mm|in|abbr=on}} – than any other part of Australia.
"abc">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/cairns/200701/s1821277.htm |title=2006 a year of 'extremes' for Qld weather |accessdate=30 July 2009 |date=4 January 2007 |work=ABC News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation }}
{{Weather box
|location = Mount Bellenden Ker (top station); elevation: {{convert|1545|m}}
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour =green
|Jan rain mm = 996.9
|Feb rain mm = 1201.7
|Mar rain mm = 1304.4
|Apr rain mm = 1082.5
|May rain mm = 784.1
|Jun rain mm = 457.2
|Jul rain mm = 402.0
|Aug rain mm = 309.8
|Sep rain mm = 279.1
|Oct rain mm = 340.1
|Nov rain mm = 367.4
|Dec rain mm = 564.7
|year rain mm = 8053.6
|source=Bureau of Meteorology|date=February 2018}}
{{Weather box
|location = Mount Bellenden Ker (bottom station); elevation: {{convert|97|m}}
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour =green
|Jan rain mm = 675.8
|Feb rain mm = 830.7
|Mar rain mm = 813.9
|Apr rain mm = 582.0
|May rain mm = 339.0
|Jun rain mm = 177.5
|Jul rain mm = 137.4
|Aug rain mm = 121.6
|Sep rain mm = 136.1
|Oct rain mm = 167.4
|Nov rain mm = 276.9
|Dec rain mm = 380.3
|year rain mm = 4546.3
|source=Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/weatherData/av?p_nccObsCode=139&p_display_type=dataFile&p_startYear=&p_c=&p_stn_num=031140|title=Monthly Rainfall – 031140|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|accessdate=25 February 2018}}|date=February 2018}}
See also
{{Portal|Queensland}}
- Big Bog, Maui
- Cherrapunji
- List of mountains in Australia
- Mount Waialeale
- Quibdó
- {{section link|Rainfall|Wettest known locations}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Queensland_tropical_rain_forests Queensland tropical rain forests]
Category:Landforms of Far North Queensland