Mount Stromlo (formerly Mount Strom ) is 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 that is situated in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The mountain is most notable as the location of the Mount Stromlo Observatory. The mountain forms part of the

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the

Cotter River The Cotter River, a perennial river of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The Cotter River, together with the Queanbeyan River, is one of two rivers that p ...

which in turn is the primary water supply for part of ACT.

Geology

The rock on Mount Stromlo consists of

ignimbrite Ignimbrite is a type of volcanic rock, consisting of hardened tuff. Ignimbrites form from the deposits of pyroclastic flows, which are a hot suspension of particles and gases flowing rapidly from a volcano, driven by being denser than the surrou ...

from the Laidlaw Volcanics. This erupted in the upper

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

period over the top of the Deakin Volcanics

rhyodacite Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...

which is visible on the surface on the lower slopes in the east and southeast sides. The northern lower slopes are covered with a calcareous

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

which is included in the Laidlaw Volcanics as it was deposited at the same time. This is cut off on the northwest side by the Winslade Fault, which heads north east to and . A spur fault heads off east from the Winslade Fault to under the Scrivener Dam. On the northwest and north side of these faults are middle Silurian period rhyodacite volcanic deposits from the Walker Volcanics. The northern side was uplifted compared with the southern side. The name ''Stromlo'' is taken from the poems of

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...

Landform

Stoney Creek and its tributaries drain the north side of the mountain, The east side drains into the

Molonglo River The Molonglo River is a perennial stream, perennial river that is part of the Murrumbidgee River, Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin. It is located in the Monaro (New South Wales), Monaro and Capital Country regions of New ...

. The south side supplies Blugar Creek that runs into the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

. The summit of the mountain where the telescopes are located is elongated in a north–south direction, with a spur running to the southwest where the water treatment plant is situated.

Observatory history

The first telescope installed at Mount Stromlo was the Oddie telescope which was installed on 8 September 1911. The building housing this telescope was the first construction funded by the Commonwealth Government in Canberra. In January 1913 the first telephone was connected to the Queanbeyan telephone exchange. Mount Stromlo was devastated by the Canberra bushfires of 2003. The fire, fuelled by the pine plantation that covered the mountain, destroyed or badly damaged much of the observatory and water treatment plant. Road access is via the Cotter Road on the south side, and Uriarra Road on the east and north. The summit is reached by a road joining Cotter Road just outside .

Stromlo Forest Park

Mount Stromlo is renowned for its extensive and well-equipped mountain biking facilities. Following the 2003 bushfires, significant trail reconstruction was undertaken, resulting in over of cross-country trails, a downhill track, and various other cycling courses. The site hosted the

UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are the world championship events for mountain bike racing in the disciplines of cross country, downhill, and four-cross. They are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing ...

, attracting over visitors from 40 countries. Beyond mountain biking, Stromlo Forest Park also features an event pavilion, cafe, kids' play area, road cycling circuit, running track, and equestrian trails.

References

External links

Stromlo Forest Park website

Stromlo MTB Shuttle Bus website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stromlo, Mount Mountains of the Australian Capital Territory Volcanoes of the Australian Capital Territory Silurian volcanism