Australia (2,228 m) – Tallest Mountain in Australia
Mount Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain on the continent of Australia. However, because there are other higher peaks on other islands in greater Oceania, Kosciuszko’s claim to being one of the Seven Summits is disputed. There are also taller peakss in some of Australia’s external territories. The mountain is named in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a hero of Poland and the American Revolution (the namer was famous Polish explorer Edmund Strzelecki).
Kosciuszko was discovered and explored in 1840 and climbed shortly thereafter. Because the climb is little more than a long, strenuous hike, the mountain was almost certainly ascended by indigenous people long before westerners arrived.
Located in Kosciuszko National Park, the mountain is about 100 miles south of Canberra and almost exactly halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Kosciuszko is the lowest and by far the easiest of all the Seven Summits to climb. Because of this, and because of its accessibility, it is one of the world’s most climbed mountains. A road nearly reaches the summit. Every year, the peak of Mount Kosciuszko is the finish line for a 150-mile ultra marathon.
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