Mount Kaputar, a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

with an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, is located near Narrabri in northern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. It is part of the Nandewar Range and has been preserved within the Mount Kaputar National Park. The mountain is a prominent landmark for travellers on the Newell Highway as it rises abruptly from the plains. In the cold of winter the mountain may receive a light dusting of

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

.Snow on Mount Kaputar, Oz Forecast
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Access

The summit is accessible from Narrabri via a long, winding and narrow road that is partly sealed. Neighboring Mount Dowe, with an elevation of above sea level, contains various telecommunications broadcasting equipment and the large antenna is visible from the Kamilaroi Highway heading south towards Gunnedah. There is a lookout at the top of the peak called Mount Kaputar Lookout. Nearby is the Governor Lookout and Eckfords Lookout as well as Dawson Spring with cabins, picnic tables and camping facilities. Mount kaputar summit view 2008

Geology

Mount Kaputar is the remnants of an extinct volcano that was active about 18 million years ago.Mount Kapural National Park park guide. rochureNew South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. June 1994. Mount Lindesay was probably the centre of the volcano. The predominant vegetation on the mountain is dry sclerophyll forest.

Flora

The main vegetation types are dry rainforests, dry eucalypt forests and heathlands. A sub-alpine zone known as the Kaputar Plateau forms an elevated area above sea level. Here the main vegetation type is open eucalypt forest dominated by snow gum, ribbon gum and mountain gum. Below this down to above sea level the most common trees include the silver-top stringybark and rough-barked mountain gum. Heath occurs in scattered patches where exposure to high winds and shallow soils inhibits the growth of larger trees.

Fauna

The mountain is home to a giant, fluorescent pink slug, which can grow up to in length. This pink species is found only on this single mountaintop. The peak is an isolated habitat island on which

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

invertebrates and plant species have existed for millions of years. According to a park ranger there are three species of cannibal snails on the mountain.

References

External links