Mount Kintore (dual-named as "Ilpinga/Mount Kintore") is an

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands in the state's northwest. It is about

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 ...

. It is located about halfway between the remote communities of Amaṯa and

Watarru Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia (one of a number of communities or homelands on "The Lands"; others include Amata, Ernabella/Pukatja, Fregon/Kaltjiti, ...

. The mountain is made up mostly of

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

beds A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

es and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

, which are split with

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...

dykes. The beds have been thrown into a series of simple folds. These can be clearly seen on the northern face of the mountain. The rock has been

weathered ''Weathered'' is the third studio album by American rock band Creed, released on November 20, 2001. It was the last Creed album to be released until '' Full Circle'' came out in October 2009, with Creed disbanding in June 2004. It is the only Cr ...

into ridges, and heavy

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

can be seen along the folds. At the western end of the mountain, the gneiss is replaced by

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. Mount Kintore is part of the traditional country of the

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

people. An important

rock hole A panhole is a depression or basin eroded into flat or gently sloping cohesive rock.Twidale, C.R., and Bourne, J.A., 2018''Rock basins (gnammas) revisited. ''Géomorphologie: Relief, Processus, Environnement, Articles sous presse, Varia, mis en li ...

is located about to the west, called Kunamata. The name "Mount Kintore" was given to the mountain in the honour of

Algernon Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore, 11th Lord Falconer of Halkerton, 9th Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall, Chief of Clan Keith, (12 August 1852 – 3 March 1930), was a British politician and colonial govern ...

, who was the Governor of South Australia from 1889 to 1895. The name "Ilpinga " was recorded during a field trip organised by an unspecified state government agency in May 1989. The mountain was officially given the dual names of "Ilpinga / Mount Kintore" by the Government of South Australia on 28 July 1994.

References

Mountains of South Australia Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara {{Australia-mountain-stub