BLUE MOUNTAINS FACT SHEET - A city within a World Heritage National Park

QUICK FACTS
Blue Mountains City has 27 towns and villages spread over 100km; 70% of its area is World Heritage listed National Park
Blue Mountains National Park was declared in 1959, its total area is 247,000 Hectares
Blue Mountains National Park is also a major part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area –an area of over 1
million hectares of wilderness – consisting of this and several adjoining National Park areas which was awarded world
heritage status in Nov 2000 as an area of ‘outstanding geographic, botanical and cultural significance’.
Major Towns are Glenbrook, Springwood, Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Blackheath
Population: 79,225 (as of 2013)
Distance from Sydney to Katoomba: By Car: 110kms Rail: 2 hrs from Central Station, Sydney to Katoomba
The region can be accessed by road (via either the Great Western Highway or the Bells Line of Road) or by rail from Sydney.
Climate is Cool temperate Average temperature in Katoomba: Summer (Dec-Feb) 13 - 24°C, (Winter Jun-Aug) 2 - 10°C.

WHY ARE THE MOUNTAINS BLUE?

The distinctive blue haze which has earned the Blue Mountains their name is quite different and of a deeper hue than that
found in any other part of the world. Although constantly varying in intensity, this attractive haze is always present.
Known as “Rayleigh Scattering” after Lord Rayleigh, who first investigated the phenomenon, it is caused by scattered rays
of light coming in contact with fine dust particles and droplets of oil dispersed from the eucalyptus trees in the valleys. The
first official use of the name “Blue Mountains” is attributed to Captain William Paterson, of the New South Wales Corps, in
his dispatch describing his attempt crossing of the mountains through the Grose River Valley in 1793

BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Blue Mountains National Park stretches from Glenbrook 60 Km west of Sydney to Mt Victoria 126 Km west of Sydney.
The ‘Blue Mountains’ are actually a plateau in geological terms rising gradually in elevation from 170 metres at the eastern
edge to an average of nearly 1,000 metres on the western side.
The sandstone which forms the plateau was formed from sediments deposited by ancient river systems about 250 million
years ago. Later, around 90 million years ago it was pushed up from the ancient plains to its present elevation, and then
gradually eroded by the new rivers and creeks that formed after the uplift into the spectacular sheer cliffs and enormous
deep valleys we see today.
The sandy soil of the plateau tops is infertile with low heath type vegetation covering most areas, but in the more protected
places and in the valleys where the soil is richer and conditions less harsh, there are tall forests and even lush rainforests.
Due to the fantastic variety of terrain, and great diversity of microclimates created by varying degrees of exposure to the
weather, the park supports an enormous range of plant and animal life within its different ecosystems.

Height of the Blue Mountains Plateau - from 170 to 1000 metres

Highest Point in the Blue Mountains - One Tree Hill at Mt Victoria, 1,111 m above sea level
Other High Points - Mt Piddington - 1094 m, Mt Banks -1062 m, Mt Hay - 994 m, Mt Tomah - 1000 m
Height of main waterfalls - Wentworth Falls - 250 m, Govett’s Leap Falls - 300 m
Height of the 3 Sisters - 922 m, 918 m, 906 m. Giant Stairway - 892 steps

GREATER BLUE MOUNTAINS WORLD HERITAGE AREA

The Greater Blue Mountains was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000, it was also one of 15 World Heritage places
added to the National Heritage List on 21 May 2007. It includes eight protected areas in two blocks separated by a

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transportation and urban development corridor. These protected areas are the Blue Mountains, Wollemi, Yengo, Nattai,
Kanangra-Boyd, Gardens of Stone and Thirlmere Lakes National Parks, and the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve.
The World Heritage area covers approximately 1 million hectares (10,000 km2) of mostly forested landscape on a sandstone
plateau extending 60 to 180 kilometres inland from Sydney, New South Wales, and extending out to Goulburn in the south,
and up to Mudgee and the Hunter Valley Region to the north.
It includes very extensive areas of a wide variety of eucalypt communities and large tracts of pristine wilderness. The
extensive wilderness areas of the Greater Blue Mountains make a highly significant contribution to its World Heritage value,
as they help to ensure the integrity of its ecosystems and the continued retention and protection of its heritage values
There are breathtaking views, rugged tablelands, sheer cliffs, deep inaccessible valleys and swamps teeming with life. The
unique plants and animals that live in this outstanding natural place relate an extraordinary story of Australia's antiquity, its
diversity of life and its superlative beauty. This is the story of the evolution of Australia's unique eucalypt vegetation and its
associated communities, plants and animals.
The area is a deeply incised sandstone plateau rising from less than 100 metres above sea level to about 1300 metres at the
highest point with volcanic basalt outcrops on the higher ridges.

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

FLORA
The native plants of the Blue Mountains have adapted as a result of its particular geology and climate. Many plants of the
Blue Mountains are found nowhere else in the world. It is estimated that there are over 1000 species of plant in the Blue
Mountains. The rugged landscape has meant development has been nowhere near as extensive as in other parts of
Australia and the impacts of man have not been as noticeable. This proved to be a very important reason for granting the
Blue Mountains National Park its deserved World Heritage status

The Story of the Eucalypts & the Wollemi Pine

This plateau is thought to have enabled the survival of a rich diversity of plant and animal life by providing a refuge from
climatic changes during recent geological history.
It is particularly noted for its wide and balanced representation of eucalypt communities ranging from wet and dry
sclerophyll forests to mallee heathlands, but also includes swamps, wetlands, rainforest and grassland.
One hundred and one species of eucalypts (over 14 per cent of the global total) occur in the Greater Blue Mountains.
The area has been described as a natural laboratory for studying the evolution of eucalypts as it showcases the structural
adaptations of the eucalypts to Australian environments from giant forest trees to the shrubby stunted mallee species of
the clifftops.
Also in addition to its outstanding eucalypts, the Greater Blue Mountains also contains ancient relict species of global
significance. The most famous of these is the recently-discovered Wollemi pine, Wollemia nobilis, a "living fossil" dating
back to the age of the dinosaurs. Thought to have been extinct for millions of years, the few surviving trees of this ancient
species are known only from three small populations located in remote, inaccessible gorges within the Greater Blue
Mountains. The Wollemi Pine is one of the world’s rarest species.

There are several types of plant communities in the Blue Mountains. The most widespread plant communities in the
mountains are the open forests which can be subdivided into two groups: the "Tall open forests" located in the sheltered
slopes and gullies on the bottom of the valleys and the "Open forests" located on the ridge tops.
Both of these forest communities share a lot of similarities: the eucalyptus trees are the dominant tree species and they
both have an understory of vegetation. The understorey of the Open forests has a rich and very diverse array of flowering
plants which flower throughout most of the year.
Other less prevalent plant communities in the Blue Mountains include the swamp and the temperate.

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http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/917 for information on the criteria for listing Blue Mountains and other world heritage areas.

FAUNA

More than 400 different kinds of animals, including 265 bird species, live within the rugged gorges and tablelands of the
Greater Blue Mountains. These include threatened or rare species of conservation significance, such as the spotted-tailed
quoll, the koala, the yellow-bellied glider, the long-nosed potoroo, the green and golden bell frog and the Blue Mountains
water skink. It is also home to over 4000 species of moths and butterflies. Outstanding biodiversity and flora and fauna of
conservation significance and their habitats are a major component of the World Heritage values of the area.

It might seem hard to believe but one of the main threats to the native plants of the Blue Mountains is their collection by
people, so please do not pick or remove any plant or flower whilst on our guided nature walks in the Blue Mountains.

.
www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au to view profiles and photos of all threatened plant and animal species in
NSW – find by habitat or region
GEOLOGY
Starting with the sea
The story of the Blue Mountains begins some 300 million years ago. The landscape was mainly quartzite, heavily folded and
faulted by earlier earth movements. It's this ancient rock, which can be up to 470 million years old, on which the Blue
Mountains stand. The mountains were built from sediment deposited by ancient rivers. A movement in the earth meant
that the quartzite landscape was flooded by a shallow sea from the east. Streams flowing into this sea carried huge amounts
of sediment, which were deposited in horizontal layers. Later, these layers formed rock beds of shales, siltstones and
mudstones. In swampy areas around the margins of the sea, piles of dead vegetation were buried under the sediment. They
would eventually become seams of coal. All in all, about 500 metres of marine sediments were laid down at this time -
between 250 and 280 million years ago.

The shales are buried under a sandy basin - A new phase began with the Triassic Period, 250 million years ago. Large rivers
began dumping vast quantities of sand on top of the shales, burying them. Throughout this burial process, the weight of the
accumulating sediments caused the layers to sink, creating a basin.

Sand collected in the basin, which continued to subside. As the deeper beds were buried, they were forged into hard rocks
by heat and pressure. Above them, the first layers of sand formed the Narrabeen sandstones (about 200 m thick). The sands
that followed formed the Hawkesbury sandstones. They were about 300 m thick.

Rising, splitting rocks build a plateau - About 170 million years ago, the sands stopped being deposited. Forces in the earth
started pushing the rock strata upwards. The hard rock layers on the bottom bent and flexed, but the sandstone above
them fractured into a series of vertical cracks called joints.
Eventually, the rock layers rose into a broad plateau (and they may still be rising). The plateau was highest on its western
edge, and sloped down to an abrupt downturn at its eastern edge. You can see this today, in the low escarpment just west
of Penrith and the Nepean River.

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Volcanoes fill the gaps - The uplift wasn't necessarily a calm, gradual affair. It featured some dramatic volcanic activity,
probably starting around 150 million years ago. A number of volcanic necks, called diatremes, flowed up through the cracks
in the sandstone and shale. Then, more recently, basalt lava poured from vents and spread over the landscape. By analysing
the radioactive minerals in this basalt rock, geologists have found that some of these flows are around 17 million years old.
www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Blue-Mountains-National-Park - for extensive natural environment information including
climate, geology, plant communities and wildlife.
www.science.uniserve.edu.au for features of a dissected plateau
www.jenolancaves.org.au for the processes and features found in limestone caves

HISTORY

ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

There are many sites throughout the Blue Mountains that are of both cultural and historical significance to Aboriginal
people.

For Australia’s indigenous people the natural and cultural heritage is integral to the environment. The natural heritage is
the physical landscape – plants, animals, mountains and rivers. This landscape is also imbued with human associations,
stories, myths, personal histories and emotions.

Aboriginal people have lived in the Blue Mountains for many thousands of years. The region incorporates significant parts of
the traditional lands of the Gundungurra and Darug tribal groups.

Aboriginal heritage extends well beyond archaeological sites, rock engraving and rock shelter art. It includes natural
landscape features, ceremonial, mythological or religious areas, massacre sites or other places with which Aboriginal people
maintain a strong spiritual or historical association.

The Blue Mountains and surrounding plateaus contain a rich diversity of Aboriginal sites. A rock shelter on Kings Tableland,
Wentworth Falls, dates Aboriginal prehistoric occupation back to 22,000 years.

Research and discovery of Aboriginal sites has centred on developed areas, that is, alongside walking tracks or close to
residential development. The large extent of relatively unexplored terrain potentially contains a wealth of important
Aboriginal sites. Large areas have not been the subject of systematic survey or the recording of Aboriginal history. These
areas may contain sites which are not currently known.

The Aboriginal People of the Blue Mountains invite you to share their unique home.
www.gundungurra.net.au for aboriginal culture and history on the Gundungurra Tribal Council website.
www.murumittigar.com.au for aboriginal culture of the Darug people.

HISTORY SINCE COLONISATION

Colonisation: early explorers try, but fail, to cross the mountains

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What lies beyond the Blue Mountains? This was the question on everyone's lips during the first 25 years of European
colonisation in Australia. In 1788, the First British Fleet had arrived in Sydney Harbour, and since then the colony had grown
rapidly. Settlers had taken land across the Cumberland Plain, up to the foothills of the Blue Mountains. But no one could go
further: the mountains were impenetrable. Sydney was hemmed in, unable to expand to the west.

A route is found, and a road is built

The failure of the explorers was bad for Sydney's graziers. By 1812 the colony had expanded across the Cumberland Plain to
the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers. There was a shortage of good grasslands - particularly when the Sydney area was hit
with a severe drought and a plague of army worms in 1812 and 1813.

Gregory Blaxland, a wealthy free settler with a property near St Mary's, approached fellow grazier William Lawson and the
young William Charles Wentworth to go with him on a land-finding expedition across the Blue Mountains (they hoped to be

rewarded with land grants for their efforts). Despite Governor Macquarie's objections, and with a party that included four
servants, five dogs and four packhorses, they set out from St Marys in May 1813.

They decided to follow the mountain ridge-tops, and quite by chance chose the main ridge of the Blue Mountains (where
the railway and Great Western Highway now run). Doggedly hacking their way through thick bushland, they climbed higher
and higher. At times they struggled along steep and narrow paths, with sheer precipices on either side. At one point they
found themselves trapped by an impassable barrier of rock, and were forced to retrace their steps.

But they eventually made it. After 17 days, they arrived at Mount York and looked down on the fertile plains of the Western
Tableland (at the time, the plains were blanketed in rich forest, but they were soon to become grasslands). When Blaxland,
Wentworth and Lawson returned to Sydney, they were widely praised. Each was given 400 hectares of the new land out
west.

A few months later in November 1813, Governor Macquarie sent surveyor and artist George Evans out west. Evans's
mission was to plan a road across the mountains, and to explore the country that lay further west. Crossing the Great
Dividing Range, he descended down into the valley onto the Bathurst Plains, discovering the west-flowing rivers there, and
continued 150 kilometres further west to the future site of Bathurst, Australia's first inland city.

Evans had surveyed the road; William Cox was given the job of building it. In July 1814, Cox took a convict gang of just 28
men into the mountains. They laid 160 kilometres of road in just six months - an amazing feat for such a small team, in such
difficult conditions, using primitive equipment. For their efforts, the convicts gained their freedom.
www.midmountainshistory.org.au for information on aboriginal culture and mid mountains history
www.infobluemountains.net.au/history for information on the exploration of the Blue Mountains, its roads and railways
and its built and industrial heritage.
www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au for detailed population and demographic data - The social and community profiles provide local
area maps and interesting snapshots of each area at town/village level
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@nrp.nsf/lookup/LGA10900Main+Features12005-2009 for the Australian Bureau of
Statistics site – access data through local government areas

TOURISM

The area is widely renowned and extensively used for sight-seeing, bushwalking, rock climbing, canyoning and other
outdoor recreation activities. It is one of the most consistently popular holiday regions of Australia. The breathtaking scenic
beauty, nostalgic appeal and opportunity for relaxation attract more than 2 million visitors each year. At an average altitude

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of 1000 metres above sea level, the air is fresh and clean, the nights crisp and easy to sleep. There is a large variety of
walking tracks for all ages and levels of fitness. The city’s major industry is tourism which is a growing element of the local
economy. The tourism industry provides 40% of all jobs in the city.
www.destinationnsw.com.au/tourism/facts-and-figures/regional/bluemountains for latest tourism data
www.visitbluemountains.com.au for the broad spectrum of tourism locations and activity in the Blue Mountains and
surrounding areas
www.bluemountainscitytourism.com.au for the blue mountains visitor information centre website.
www.bluemountainsattractions.com.au for websites of the major attractions operators in the area.
www.glenbrookbluemountains.com.au for information on attractions and history of the lower Blue Mountains area
www.bluemountains.org.au for the Blue Mountains Conservation Society website provides information on topical issues and
sustainable living strategies. Links to Blue Mountains bird watching groups and a nature diary which details seasonal
changes in the national park environment and the activities of its wildlife.

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 STATION DISTANCE FROM SYDNEY HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Lapstone 63.6 80.8 m

Glenbrook 66.8 163.1m

Blaxland 71.6 234.1m

Warrimoo 74.0 273.4m

Valley Heights 77.2 321.9m

Springwood 79.6 371.2m

Faulconbridge 82.9 446.5m

Linden 86.9 526.1m

Woodford 90.1 607.2m

Hazelbrook 93.3 673.6m

Lawson 95.7 732.4m

Bullaburra 97.3 738.8m

Wentworth Falls 103.0 866.6m

Leura 107.8 934.8m

Katoomba 110.2 1016.8m

Medlow Bath 115.8 1050.3m

Blackheath 120.7 1065.3m

Mt Victoria 126.3 1043.6m

Hartley Vale 132.7 1011.9

Bell 136.8 1067.1

Lithgow 156.1 919.6

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1st September 2015 Blue Mountains Information 1300 653 40 www.bluemountainscitytourism.com.au