Mount Sonder, or ''Rwetyepme'', its
Aboriginal name, is the fourth highest
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 ...
in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...
,
Australia at .
Mount Zeil
Mount Zeil () is a mountain in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. T ...
is the highest at , to the west.
Location and features
Mt Sonder is west of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
along the
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...
in the
West MacDonnell National Park. It marks one end of the celebrated
Larapinta trail, which extends to Alice Springs. The shape of the mountain is a
double peak, the relative heights of which are somewhat ambiguous from the summit, although easy to identify from the surrounding plains. The mountain can be seen from the western half of the Larapinta trail, up to
Ormiston Pound, which obscures it from then on.
Explorer
Ernest Giles
William Ernest Powell Giles (20 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia.
Early life
Ernest Giles was born in Bris ...
named the mountain in honour of German botanist Dr.
Otto Wilhelm Sonder
Otto Wilhelm Sonder (18 June 1812, Bad Oldesloe – 21 November 1881) was a German botanist and pharmacist.
Life
A native of Holstein, Sonder studied at Kiel University, where he sat pharmaceutical examinations in 1835, before becoming the prop ...
.
A clearly defined walking track exists up the western side, which is about long. Water is available from a tank beyond the carpark, and there is a direction plate at the summit. This however is not the true summit, which is a further away, but has been chosen for safety reasons. The view from the top boasts the taller
Mount Zeil
Mount Zeil () is a mountain in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. T ...
to the west, the West MacDonnell Range to the east, Glen Helen, a nearby resort, to the east and
Gosses Bluff to the south-west.
See also
*
List of mountains of Australia
This is a list of mountains in Australia.
Highest points by state and territory
List of mountains in Australia by topographic prominence
This is a list of the top 50 mountains in Australia ranked by topographic prominence. Most of these ...
References
{{Reflist
Sonder