Thornton Peak is a prominent mountain that rises above the

Daintree Rainforest The Daintree Rainforest, also known as the Daintree, is a region on the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about , by road, north of the city of Cairns. Whilst the terms "Daintree Rainforest" and "the Daintree" are not officially def ...

to a height of 1374 m. The mountain is located about 126km northwest of Cairns within the catchment of the

Daintree River The Daintree River is a river that rises in the Daintree Rainforest near Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river is located about northwest of Cairns in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics of Queensland. The area ...

. It is Queensland's fourth highest peak after

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet, Sir Henry Bartle Frere ...

at ,

Mount Bellenden Ker Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the s ...

at and

Mount Superbus Mount Superbus lies south-west of the centre of Brisbane, Australia and is South East Queensland's highest peak at . At this elevation, it is the fifth-highest peak in Queensland, after Mount Bartle Frere at , Mount Bellenden Ker at , Mount F ...

at . The indigenous Eastern Kuku Yalanji people's name for Thornton Peak is Wundu, and it has spiritual significance for them. The peak is covered by

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

and is home to a number of endemic species. Thornton Peak is one of only three mountain tops that are home to the cinereus ringtail possum.Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, Nature, culture and history
Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (Queensland) A group of scientists have suggested the mountain is a viable candidate for the translocation of some species which require a colder climate due to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. In April 2001, a missing

Aero Commander 500 The Aero Commander 500 family is a series of light twin piston-engined and turboprop aircraft originally built by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s, renamed the Aero Commander company in 1950, and later a division of Ro ...

was found on Thornton Peak.

References

Thornton Peak Landforms of Far North Queensland Shire of Douglas {{Queensland-geo-stub

See also

References