Thornton Peak is a prominent mountain that rises above the

Daintree Rainforest The Daintree Rainforest is a region on the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Mossman and Cairns. At around , the Daintree is a part of the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent. The Dai ...

to a height of 1374 m. The mountain is located about 80 km 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 are ...

. 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, a British colonial administrator and ...

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 near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the state'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 ...

at . The indigenous Eastern

Kuku Yalanji people The Kuku Yalanji, also known as Gugu-Yalanji, Kuku Yalandji or Kokojelandji, are an Aboriginal Australian people originating from the rainforest regions of Far North Queensland. Language The traditional language of the people is Guugu Yaland ...

's name for Thornton Peak is Wundu, and it has spiritual significance for them. The peak is covered by

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

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 Translocation may refer to: * Chromosomal translocation, a chromosome abnormality caused by rearrangement of parts ** Robertsonian translocation, a chromosomal rearrangement in pairs 13, 14, 15, 21, and 22 ** Nonreciprocal translocation, transfer ...

of some species which require a colder climate due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. 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 a division of Rockwell ...

was found on Thornton Peak.

References

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

See also

References