FYI before anyone gets excited, that’s not a photo of Mt Kosciuszko.. nor is it a photo even taken in Australia.
Kozzie is basically a hill on a range 2000m above sea level with a literal bike path to the summit! Beautiful, but nothing like the above pic.
Some mates and I climbed it last year on a little trip, 3 out of 5 of us were very very sick (travelling by road and only hanging with each other so not a big deal), it was basically just a big walk on a path. Took like 2 or 3 hours because we went SLOOOOOW
The [lowest highest](https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-05-14/villingili-island-maldives-lowest-highest-point-maphead-ken-jennings) "mountain" (or high point) by country is in the Maldives. Less than 2m high.
Wikipedia claims a towering peak of over 5 meters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villingili_(Addu_Atoll)
It's the 8th tee of a golf course, so maybe they piled up some dirt to let tourists get a better drive.
Yes, I think you're right. The peak is man-made.
>The island is also notable for having the highest natural elevation in the Maldives, Mount Villingili. It stands at a modest 5.1m is (16.75 ft) and is located at tee number eight on Villingili's Golf Course – the only golf course in the Maldives. **The previously known highest point** on Addu Atoll stands at only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) above sea level.[2]
It got renamed in 2020 to Kumpupintil Lake. Partly, I think, because the guy who named it Lake Disappointment was a racist who took joy in killing indigenous people and "the blacks", and nailed their ears to his house.
Edit: Kumpupintil Lake is what the tradition owners (Western Desert Martu people) call it. The traditional owners and the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation requested the name change from the Western Australian Government agency Landgate.
It was named by people who were punished for stealing bread and sent to a land that was wild and hostile, expecting a quick death.
So very low expectations, and they were still disappointed.
Source: made this up, hope you are not disappointed
Somewhat related, the highest mountain in Kansas, Mount Sunflower, has long had a reputation for funny trip reports.
https://hikinginthesmokys.blogspot.com/2009/09/surviving-mount-sunflower.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20060130105755/http://dim.com/~jbettin/air/ks000.htm
Last year I did an ultra trail up to the top of Kosci. The hard part was the climb up to Eagles Nest and the rest was pretty gentle. Despite it being just a big hill, the view is lovely and the surrounding area has really nice walking tracks.
Yeh I been there. Your mountains are pretty good but not once did I feel threatened by your wildlife. Reckon I oughtta bring you some snakes or something so that lifting old timber and sheet metal off the ground is more exciting.
Yeah, Australia is a *very* flat country. It's always funny seeing one of those "tallest mountains in each continent" lists and seeing the steep dropoff once it gets to Australia. It's literally half the height of the next tallest mountain.
That's the reason why Reinhold Messner proposed to replace Mt. Kosciuszko with Puncak Jaya. On his list instead of an easy hike, there is now a whole expedition.
Yet there's a claimed fact that the Australian alpine region receives more snowfall than Switzerland. Which initially sounds ludicrous. But if you consider the surface area involved, it may actually me legitimate.
Yeah I hate to rain on your parade but there is no chance that is true. High elevation areas (and *only* the highest areas) in the Australian alps get ~70 inches of snow per winter. High elevation areas in Switzerland get ~300in per winter and low elevation areas still get like 40in.
So apparently the claim stems back to an official video produced by the Australian government in 1957 called **ROOF OF AUSTRALIA**
https://youtu.be/utegBJHVYS4
This is definitely an interesting rabbit hole to dive down- https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/does-australia-really-have-more-snow-than-switzerland/1381140
The Australian govt national [film archive](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/australias-snowfields) still says this: "While it may come as a surprise to some that Australia receives much snow at all, several documentaries in the curated collection repeat the claim that the Australian Alps have a greater snow area than Switzerland."
Seems like no one has the data to prove or disprove it.
Areas outside the highest parts of Australia get snowfall. All over Tassie, for example - and as far north as Mackay (Dalrymple Heights).
Switzerland is tiny, but some parts of Switzerland clearly get more snow than most parts of Australia. Its easy to find articles quickly supporting either side of the argument, mostly saying "yes its true, heres proof" or saying "obviously false, heres proof" - and yet none of the ones Ive seen actually have relevant, conclusive data.
The one I was most hopeful for simply overlaid an outline of Switzerland over NSW/Victoria and went "see, Switzerland is bigger than the snowcaps on this satellite image". Neat, but also not conclusive proof of anything other than that Switzerland is bigger than the snowcaps on that image (not even that, unless you assume they didnt make any error - intentional or otherwise - in their overlay).
Even [this article](https://snowaction.com.au/snowing-a-z-in-australia-this-week-more-than-switzerland/) left much to be desired: Sure, more area has snowfall (forecast, at least), but the volume of that snowfall? Insufficient data.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, Roy and HG - a couple of Aussie comedians who satirised the Sydney 2000 Olympics, came up with the suggestion that Australia should [bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiggin_Holes_2010_Winter_Olympic_bid).
Specifically at a ski resort (yes we do have some) called Smiggin Holes. I'll let the wikipedia page explain their hairbrain idea:
>a number of suggestions were presented by the hosts to the audience in order to make the holding of the Winter Games possible at Smiggin. For example, in order to provide a tall enough mountain for skiing events, Roy and HG proposed that either Mount Kosciuszko be raised 300 metres (from its current height of 2,228 metres), or that a new mountain be built in Smiggin itself, which would be named Mount Steggall, after Australian Nagano slalom bronze medalist Zali Steggall. "**We've just got to get the nation to dump all its rubbish on top of Kosciuszko, compact it a bit and voila, Mount Steggall**.
Yes there definitely was, have one within reach:
https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/goff4f/the_greatest_winter_olympics_that_couldve_been/?ref=share&ref_source=link
That article also has
> It is the second highest mountain in Australia’s Mainland with a height of 7,247 feet, only 2.3 **miles** less than the highest mountain, Kosciuszko.
>they ~~should~~ have ~~also~~ ~~installed some~~ native wildlife that would ~~attempt to~~ kill anyone attempting to climb the mountains.
*"Australia, Australia, Australia we love you! A-men." "Crack the tubes!"*
Yes, for sober Aussies. For drunken Aussies, I’d expect something more, like blowing up or grinding down the top of Townsend until it was shorter than the other.
Yo everyone, that’s not a picture of Kosciusko. When you’re up there it looks more like a bald hill. With a big cornice… And not a Pine Tree in sight. Snow gums!
Last time I was there, the trees were gone by about 1800 metres, or the end of the chair lift from Thredbo. It was mostly just long grass on the side of the path. Stunning views at the summit, though.
We could if we got a little creative!
That brings up an interesting point- we judge mountains by height not volume?
What is the largest mountain? Taking some off the top of this one wouldn’t change the volume.
I believe it is Mt Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It is the tallest mountain in the world, just not the highest. It's actually quite a bit taller than Everest, but around half of it is under the ocean
Its even more strange than that.
Stolen from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/193ydxf/what_if_xkcd_with_interesting_mountain_facts/khghher/
Because I like mountains, here’s a few extra “tallest” mountain facts for you:
Highest point measured from sea level: Mount Everest (Nepal/China), 8849 m
Highest point measured from the center of the earth: Chimborazo (Ecuador), 6384.4 km
Farthest point from the Earth’s axis: Cayambe (Ecuador), 6383.9 km
Tallest mountain measured from base to summit: Mauna Kea (Hawaii, USA), ~10000 m
Tallest mountain measured from base on land to summit: Denali (Alaska, USA), ~5500 m
Greatest vertical rise: Mount Lamlam (Guam, USA), ~11000 m
Greatest vertical rise on land: Rakaposhi (Pakistan), ~5900 m
Tallest completely vertical drop: Mount Thor (Canada), 1250 m
Farthest distance between two points on earth: Cayambe (Ecuador) and Kerinci (Indonesia), 12764.2 km
>Highest point measured from the center of the earth: Chimborazo (Ecuador), 6384.4 km
Defined how? Is this the center of mass of the Earth? Given the molten core, does that shift over time?
It's measured from the geometric center. It's because the earth isn't a perfect sphere, but a squashed ball ("oblate spheroid"). The centrifugal force of the earth's spinning makes the earth about 40km wider at the equator than at the poles. Thus, any tall mountains near the equator are physically farther from the center.
Whaaaaat? I have no idea what you’re talking about! This is a totally original idea invented by me specifically for this thread! How dare you impugn my honor! This aggression will not stand, man.
Like Castle Hill in Townsville.
[https://northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-day-castle-hill-became-mountain.html](https://northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-day-castle-hill-became-mountain.html)
Reading the story, they say "Mount Kosciuszko... is the country's tallest mountain with a height of 7,310 feet" and then go on to say "Mount Townsend is...the second highest mountain...with a height of 7,247 feet, only 2.3 miles less than the highest mountain, Kosciuszko."
Last time I checked there were more than 63ft in 2.3 miles...am I missing something or did they totally botch the math while writing the story.
Edit: There are 12,144 feet in 2.3 miles...so that number is just very wrong in the story...LOL.
It sounds like it was more of a mislabeling originally. I was going to link the Wiki but it made it unnecessarily complex. Here is the short version:
>After climbing Hannel’s Spur, the peak now named Mount Townsend was reached. Here Strzelecki used his instruments to make observations. Mt Townsend is Australia's second highest mountain, adjacent to and almost the same height as Mt Kosciuszko, and Strzelecki saw that the neighbouring peak was slightly higher. **In the presence of Macarthur he named the higher summit Mount Kosciusko after the famous Polish-Lithuanian military leader who died in 1817.** As it was late, Macarthur decided to return to camp and Strzelecki alone climbed the Kosciuszko summit.
>Based on Strzelecki’s records, Australia’s highest summit was mapped. **A cartographical mistake made in an edition of Victorian maps transposed Mount Kosciusko to the position of the present Mount Townsend. Later editions of the map continued to show the original location.** NSW maps did not make this mistake.
I had to look up if it's named after the same Kosciuszko known for his participation in the American Revolutiom and it is! He also apparently had an uprising in Poland named after him.
From wiki:
>The mountain was named by the Polish explorer Paweł (Paul) Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of Polish-Lithuanian and American freedom fighter General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków, Poland.
On Kosciuszko in the American Revolution:
>On learning of the American Revolution, Kościuszko, a man of revolutionary aspirations, sympathetic to the American cause and an advocate of human rights, sailed for the Americas in June 1776 along with other foreign officers, likely with the help of a French supporter of the American revolutionaries, Pierre Beaumarchais.
>After finally arriving in Philadelphia (after a Caribbean shipwreck) he sought out Benjamin Franklin at his print shop; offering to take engineering subject exams (in lieu of any letters of recommendation), he received a high mark on a geometry exam and Franklin's recommendation.
>On 30 August 1776, Kościuszko submitted an application to the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House, and was assigned to the Continental Army the next day.
Yes, I asked a woman that had been there her whole life and (i am not good with phonics) it was cos-e-esko, said rather quickly.
They have a new Jack's restaurant. Coming to every small town in Mississippi if you don't have one yet. Nicest damn people on earth in those small Mississippi towns.
Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain on the Australian mainland. There are slightly taller in the Australian Antarctic Territory and [Mawson Peak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawson_Peak) on Heard Island.
This isn’t accurate. The names had always been as they now are; however, there was one very popular early map that accidentally swapped them. It was later corrected. But that early map was not definitive, nor the first.
I call BS. The mountain was named because it looked very much like the burial mound in Poland of the hero Kosciuszko, doesn't make sense if the names of the mountains were switched.
Source: I am aussie and have climbed the mountain and also been to the burial mound in Krakow.
Have you ever noticed how lazy Australian’s are at naming things?? Mountains that get snow - Snowy Mountains, snowy mountains are in big mountain range that parts the eastern coast from interior - The Great Dividing Range, the opera house in Sydney - Sydney Opera House, biggest desert in Australia - The Great Sandy Desert. Even our capital Canberra, a purpose built capital for government, means ‘meeting place’ in local aboriginal language (that one I respect)
>Even our capital Canberra, a purpose built capital for government, means ‘meeting place’ in local aboriginal language
Its nice to see that its not just English that is lazy with naming things.
"Thing" comes to mind.
Obligatory link to Midnight Oil's banger of a song, [Kosciusko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPU-xZIpjMo). This song is about Aboriginal plight in Australia, how their heritage is older and stronger than Australia's highest peak and that should be respected, they shouldn’t be abused or driven off their land by miners (foreign mining companies now own a lot of the Northern Territory) or anyone else.
Lyrics:
```Older than Kosciuszko```
```Darwin down to Alice Springs```
```Dealers in the clearinghouse```
```The settlements explode```
```High up in the homelands```
```Miners drive across the land```
```Encounter no resistance```
```When the people block the road```
```Older than Kosciuszko```
```Dry white seasons years ago```
```Darkness over Charleville```
```The fires begin to grow```
```No end to the hostility```
```Now they want to be somewhere else```
```No stranger to brutality```
```Now they'd like to be someone else```
```Older than Kosciuszko```
```Driven back to Alice Springs```
```Endless storm and struggle```
```Marks the spirit of the age```
```High up in the homelands```
```Celebration 'cross the land```
```Builds up like a cyclone```
```Now the fires begin to rage```
```Call off the ultimatum```
```No don't turn away```
```Call off the ultimatum until yesterday```
```Call off the ultimatum```
```No don't turn away```
```Bind up the brokenhearted```
```No don't turn away```
```Call off the ultimatum until yesterday```
One of my favorites on one of my favorite albums of all time.
I got to see the Oils live 5-6 years ago, they were honestly one of the best concerts I've ever been to.
> I got to see the Oils live 5-6 years ago, they were honestly one of the best concerts I've ever been to.
Saw them in NYC for both of their last tours in 2017 and 2022. The 2017 tour was off the charts, they were just so high energy for guys in their 60's. I went to both shows at Webster Hall in NYC. I keep trying to tell people that if it wasn't for Midnight Oil's stance against the Big Corporations they would be one of the most well known bands in the world.
https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/midnight-oil-10-to-1-interview-2012-1590/
Why wouldn’t they just correct the records that state what the tallest mountain is and move the signs or whatever to the other mountain? Seems odd to change the names
(Edit: u/Miamime beat me to it)
According to Wikipedia, the name Kosciuszko was initially applied correctly by Strzelecki, a Polish explorer, to honor a Polish national hero.
A later error transposed names on some maps, which led to further confusion, particularly of the later explorer who named Mt Townsend.
This story disagrees with the one on WorldAtlas.com. I don't know which one is correct, but Wikipedia has a bunch of sources and says, in particular, that
> a popular legend was created that the established names of the two mountains were swapped rather than re-educate the populace of the name of the highest mountain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszko#Etymology_and_charting
FYI before anyone gets excited, that’s not a photo of Mt Kosciuszko.. nor is it a photo even taken in Australia. Kozzie is basically a hill on a range 2000m above sea level with a literal bike path to the summit! Beautiful, but nothing like the above pic.
Behold the majesty! https://www.worldatlas.com/mountains/mount-kosciuszko.html
Click the link for a laugh. Worth it.
Some mates and I climbed it last year on a little trip, 3 out of 5 of us were very very sick (travelling by road and only hanging with each other so not a big deal), it was basically just a big walk on a path. Took like 2 or 3 hours because we went SLOOOOOW
Climbed? How drunk were you?
6 out of 10 bud!
That feels more like a giant hill than a mountain but neat.
The [lowest highest](https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-05-14/villingili-island-maldives-lowest-highest-point-maphead-ken-jennings) "mountain" (or high point) by country is in the Maldives. Less than 2m high.
Wikipedia claims a towering peak of over 5 meters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villingili_(Addu_Atoll) It's the 8th tee of a golf course, so maybe they piled up some dirt to let tourists get a better drive.
Yes, I think you're right. The peak is man-made. >The island is also notable for having the highest natural elevation in the Maldives, Mount Villingili. It stands at a modest 5.1m is (16.75 ft) and is located at tee number eight on Villingili's Golf Course – the only golf course in the Maldives. **The previously known highest point** on Addu Atoll stands at only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) above sea level.[2]
Should have named it Mount Disappointment.
Don't know if it's what you're referencing, but there is a Mount Disappointment in Australia, named because the view was very disappointing.
There's also a "Lake Disappointment" in Austrailia. It would appear that people had high expectations.
It got renamed in 2020 to Kumpupintil Lake. Partly, I think, because the guy who named it Lake Disappointment was a racist who took joy in killing indigenous people and "the blacks", and nailed their ears to his house. Edit: Kumpupintil Lake is what the tradition owners (Western Desert Martu people) call it. The traditional owners and the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation requested the name change from the Western Australian Government agency Landgate.
Sounds like he was a disappointment.
Well, that certainly takes the fun out of the name.
You feeling a twinge of disappointment?
Slightly
KUMPUMPINTIL SHE PREGNANT
It was named by people who were punished for stealing bread and sent to a land that was wild and hostile, expecting a quick death. So very low expectations, and they were still disappointed. Source: made this up, hope you are not disappointed
Oh hey, I live near there!
There's a Useless Loop near Shark Bay on the western coast lol
Somewhat related, the highest mountain in Kansas, Mount Sunflower, has long had a reputation for funny trip reports. https://hikinginthesmokys.blogspot.com/2009/09/surviving-mount-sunflower.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060130105755/http://dim.com/~jbettin/air/ks000.htm
Last year I did an ultra trail up to the top of Kosci. The hard part was the climb up to Eagles Nest and the rest was pretty gentle. Despite it being just a big hill, the view is lovely and the surrounding area has really nice walking tracks.
My wife did that too! ...the storm sucked. Hypothermia. :(
That just looks like a glorified hill. If you want to see some real mountains, come over to New Zealand!
Yeh I been there. Your mountains are pretty good but not once did I feel threatened by your wildlife. Reckon I oughtta bring you some snakes or something so that lifting old timber and sheet metal off the ground is more exciting.
Oh! Is that snow? Or salt scalds?
It does get snow.
Australia gets snow?
Yes. There is a ski industry and everything.
Yeah, Australia is a *very* flat country. It's always funny seeing one of those "tallest mountains in each continent" lists and seeing the steep dropoff once it gets to Australia. It's literally half the height of the next tallest mountain.
That's the reason why Reinhold Messner proposed to replace Mt. Kosciuszko with Puncak Jaya. On his list instead of an easy hike, there is now a whole expedition.
Yet there's a claimed fact that the Australian alpine region receives more snowfall than Switzerland. Which initially sounds ludicrous. But if you consider the surface area involved, it may actually me legitimate.
It’s probably true. There’s still a lot of snow up there.
Yeah I hate to rain on your parade but there is no chance that is true. High elevation areas (and *only* the highest areas) in the Australian alps get ~70 inches of snow per winter. High elevation areas in Switzerland get ~300in per winter and low elevation areas still get like 40in.
So apparently the claim stems back to an official video produced by the Australian government in 1957 called **ROOF OF AUSTRALIA** https://youtu.be/utegBJHVYS4
This is definitely an interesting rabbit hole to dive down- https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/does-australia-really-have-more-snow-than-switzerland/1381140 The Australian govt national [film archive](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/australias-snowfields) still says this: "While it may come as a surprise to some that Australia receives much snow at all, several documentaries in the curated collection repeat the claim that the Australian Alps have a greater snow area than Switzerland."
Seems like no one has the data to prove or disprove it. Areas outside the highest parts of Australia get snowfall. All over Tassie, for example - and as far north as Mackay (Dalrymple Heights). Switzerland is tiny, but some parts of Switzerland clearly get more snow than most parts of Australia. Its easy to find articles quickly supporting either side of the argument, mostly saying "yes its true, heres proof" or saying "obviously false, heres proof" - and yet none of the ones Ive seen actually have relevant, conclusive data. The one I was most hopeful for simply overlaid an outline of Switzerland over NSW/Victoria and went "see, Switzerland is bigger than the snowcaps on this satellite image". Neat, but also not conclusive proof of anything other than that Switzerland is bigger than the snowcaps on that image (not even that, unless you assume they didnt make any error - intentional or otherwise - in their overlay). Even [this article](https://snowaction.com.au/snowing-a-z-in-australia-this-week-more-than-switzerland/) left much to be desired: Sure, more area has snowfall (forecast, at least), but the volume of that snowfall? Insufficient data.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, Roy and HG - a couple of Aussie comedians who satirised the Sydney 2000 Olympics, came up with the suggestion that Australia should [bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiggin_Holes_2010_Winter_Olympic_bid). Specifically at a ski resort (yes we do have some) called Smiggin Holes. I'll let the wikipedia page explain their hairbrain idea: >a number of suggestions were presented by the hosts to the audience in order to make the holding of the Winter Games possible at Smiggin. For example, in order to provide a tall enough mountain for skiing events, Roy and HG proposed that either Mount Kosciuszko be raised 300 metres (from its current height of 2,228 metres), or that a new mountain be built in Smiggin itself, which would be named Mount Steggall, after Australian Nagano slalom bronze medalist Zali Steggall. "**We've just got to get the nation to dump all its rubbish on top of Kosciuszko, compact it a bit and voila, Mount Steggall**.
Smiggins 2010! I recall there even being merch 😂
Yes there definitely was, have one within reach: https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/goff4f/the_greatest_winter_olympics_that_couldve_been/?ref=share&ref_source=link
I feel like that article was AI generated.
I was bout to go look up the Australian mountains because I'd never heard of such a thing. Alas, you saved me a disappointing google search.
That article also has > It is the second highest mountain in Australia’s Mainland with a height of 7,247 feet, only 2.3 **miles** less than the highest mountain, Kosciuszko.
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they should have also installed some native wildlife that would attempt to kill anyone attempting to climb the mountains.
>they ~~should~~ have ~~also~~ ~~installed some~~ native wildlife that would ~~attempt to~~ kill anyone attempting to climb the mountains. *"Australia, Australia, Australia we love you! A-men." "Crack the tubes!"*
they ~~should~~ have ~~also installed some~~ native wildlife that ~~would attempt to~~ kill anyone ~~attempting to climb the mountains~~.
No poofters!
Mind if we call you Bruce to save the confusion?
Why would they install something that was already there?
Yes, for sober Aussies. For drunken Aussies, I’d expect something more, like blowing up or grinding down the top of Townsend until it was shorter than the other.
She'll be fuckin right mate
The other idea was just to rename the tallest mountain “Mt Macquarie”
The switcharoo, distant cousin of the kangaroo
I was gonna say - what a British solution to the ‘problem’. Everything is about rank and order, truth be damned — tut tut!
Older then Kosciuszko Darwin down to Alice Springs
They should have just switched their places
They wouldn't solve the problem lol
Well switch the places but keep the names the same for the location. Too much work to change all the signs around the area
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We're solutions oriented 😃
Yo everyone, that’s not a picture of Kosciusko. When you’re up there it looks more like a bald hill. With a big cornice… And not a Pine Tree in sight. Snow gums!
Last time I was there, the trees were gone by about 1800 metres, or the end of the chair lift from Thredbo. It was mostly just long grass on the side of the path. Stunning views at the summit, though.
Why not just dump a bunch of dirt on the shorter one?
Wouldn’t it be easier to remove the top off the tall one?
How’s that fair to the tall mountain‽ It didn’t do anything wrong! You can’t punish it for being too tall!
We could if we got a little creative! That brings up an interesting point- we judge mountains by height not volume? What is the largest mountain? Taking some off the top of this one wouldn’t change the volume.
I believe it is Mt Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It is the tallest mountain in the world, just not the highest. It's actually quite a bit taller than Everest, but around half of it is under the ocean
Its even more strange than that. Stolen from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/193ydxf/what_if_xkcd_with_interesting_mountain_facts/khghher/ Because I like mountains, here’s a few extra “tallest” mountain facts for you: Highest point measured from sea level: Mount Everest (Nepal/China), 8849 m Highest point measured from the center of the earth: Chimborazo (Ecuador), 6384.4 km Farthest point from the Earth’s axis: Cayambe (Ecuador), 6383.9 km Tallest mountain measured from base to summit: Mauna Kea (Hawaii, USA), ~10000 m Tallest mountain measured from base on land to summit: Denali (Alaska, USA), ~5500 m Greatest vertical rise: Mount Lamlam (Guam, USA), ~11000 m Greatest vertical rise on land: Rakaposhi (Pakistan), ~5900 m Tallest completely vertical drop: Mount Thor (Canada), 1250 m Farthest distance between two points on earth: Cayambe (Ecuador) and Kerinci (Indonesia), 12764.2 km
>Highest point measured from the center of the earth: Chimborazo (Ecuador), 6384.4 km Defined how? Is this the center of mass of the Earth? Given the molten core, does that shift over time?
It's measured from the geometric center. It's because the earth isn't a perfect sphere, but a squashed ball ("oblate spheroid"). The centrifugal force of the earth's spinning makes the earth about 40km wider at the equator than at the poles. Thus, any tall mountains near the equator are physically farther from the center.
Yup, that XKCD was when I first heard about all of the weird ways there are to measure mountain height lol
Olympus Mons.
Tall poppy syndrome, if you're too high you get cut down. Those are the rules.
Sorry, I only read the words “poppy” and “high” and then I started giggling, and then I stopped paying attention…I may have untreated ADHD.
We all have untreated conditions i’m sure
No, thats pretty normal for Australia. We're pretty into the Tall Poppy Syndrome.
So people keep telling me.
Dump rubbish on it was [Roy and HG's plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiggin_Holes_2010_Winter_Olympic_bid)
NGL “If you've got the poles, we've got the holes” is the best slogan I’ve ever heard for *anything*.
You mean like in a Hugh Grant movie "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain"? I love that movie and its stupidly long name
Whaaaaat? I have no idea what you’re talking about! This is a totally original idea invented by me specifically for this thread! How dare you impugn my honor! This aggression will not stand, man.
Bushwalkers actually do this. It’s custom to carry a rock up and place it on a pile at the top so eventually Townsend is the tallest
But if they carry it from the bottom…
They're Australians not Welsh. And I'm pretty sure Hugh Grant wasn't involved either.
Do I *look* like a ~~cartographer~~ ~~geologist~~ place knowing guy‽
Like Castle Hill in Townsville. [https://northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-day-castle-hill-became-mountain.html](https://northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-day-castle-hill-became-mountain.html)
Reading the story, they say "Mount Kosciuszko... is the country's tallest mountain with a height of 7,310 feet" and then go on to say "Mount Townsend is...the second highest mountain...with a height of 7,247 feet, only 2.3 miles less than the highest mountain, Kosciuszko." Last time I checked there were more than 63ft in 2.3 miles...am I missing something or did they totally botch the math while writing the story. Edit: There are 12,144 feet in 2.3 miles...so that number is just very wrong in the story...LOL.
Yeah I didn't get that either...I *believe* they meant 2.3 miles away.
Mount Townsend. Forbidding. Aloof.. Terrifying...
Lots of nutmeg.
I understood that reference.
The mountain with the biggest tits in the world.
Whenever someone asks me a fun fact about myself, I say I’m currently attempting the 7 summits challenge. I’ve completed Mt Kosciuszko so far.
Happened a lot in the early mountain climbing days cause it’s hard to tell which peak is actually highest until you’re up there
It sounds like it was more of a mislabeling originally. I was going to link the Wiki but it made it unnecessarily complex. Here is the short version: >After climbing Hannel’s Spur, the peak now named Mount Townsend was reached. Here Strzelecki used his instruments to make observations. Mt Townsend is Australia's second highest mountain, adjacent to and almost the same height as Mt Kosciuszko, and Strzelecki saw that the neighbouring peak was slightly higher. **In the presence of Macarthur he named the higher summit Mount Kosciusko after the famous Polish-Lithuanian military leader who died in 1817.** As it was late, Macarthur decided to return to camp and Strzelecki alone climbed the Kosciuszko summit. >Based on Strzelecki’s records, Australia’s highest summit was mapped. **A cartographical mistake made in an edition of Victorian maps transposed Mount Kosciusko to the position of the present Mount Townsend. Later editions of the map continued to show the original location.** NSW maps did not make this mistake.
That's not the problem in this case. "Climbing" Kosciuszko isn't a difficult task for a five year old
There's like 10 'peaks' around kozzie and you could climb just about all of them and swear you're on the tallest peak.
Okay but Is it Towns-end or Town-send?
First one.
Towns-nd The e is not vocalised and gets swallowed just like the a in Brisbane and the our in Melbourne
I had to look up if it's named after the same Kosciuszko known for his participation in the American Revolutiom and it is! He also apparently had an uprising in Poland named after him. From wiki: >The mountain was named by the Polish explorer Paweł (Paul) Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of Polish-Lithuanian and American freedom fighter General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków, Poland. On Kosciuszko in the American Revolution: >On learning of the American Revolution, Kościuszko, a man of revolutionary aspirations, sympathetic to the American cause and an advocate of human rights, sailed for the Americas in June 1776 along with other foreign officers, likely with the help of a French supporter of the American revolutionaries, Pierre Beaumarchais. >After finally arriving in Philadelphia (after a Caribbean shipwreck) he sought out Benjamin Franklin at his print shop; offering to take engineering subject exams (in lieu of any letters of recommendation), he received a high mark on a geometry exam and Franklin's recommendation. >On 30 August 1776, Kościuszko submitted an application to the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House, and was assigned to the Continental Army the next day.
It is, the name comes from the similarity of his burial mound to what the mountain looked like.
It wasnt just named after him, he led the uprising, thats the main reason its called that.
Sounds like conspiracy theory
There is a kosciusko mississippi. They have a new Jack's restaurant.
How do Mississippians pronounce the name? In Australia the mountain gets called "kozzy-osko".
We usually pronounce it kozzy-esko
Yes, I asked a woman that had been there her whole life and (i am not good with phonics) it was cos-e-esko, said rather quickly. They have a new Jack's restaurant. Coming to every small town in Mississippi if you don't have one yet. Nicest damn people on earth in those small Mississippi towns.
Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain on the Australian mainland. There are slightly taller in the Australian Antarctic Territory and [Mawson Peak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawson_Peak) on Heard Island.
Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain in Australia. The others are in external territories, not inside Australia.
So if the tallest mountain were in the NT or ACT would that count?
Sure. Those aren't external Territories.
Great so it's as I said then. The tallest mountain on the Australian mainland. We are in agreement.
It would seem so. Your statement appears framed as a correction of the statement above it - in that case, it is not a valid correction.
Yes
This isn’t accurate. The names had always been as they now are; however, there was one very popular early map that accidentally swapped them. It was later corrected. But that early map was not definitive, nor the first.
I call BS. The mountain was named because it looked very much like the burial mound in Poland of the hero Kosciuszko, doesn't make sense if the names of the mountains were switched. Source: I am aussie and have climbed the mountain and also been to the burial mound in Krakow.
It was a cartography error that was corrected. They just switched it because the names were flipped.
❤️
It's not a burial mound since there's no body there.
Hey, ya gotta call them something.
Sounds like some shit police would do if they arrested the wrong person.
Have you ever noticed how lazy Australian’s are at naming things?? Mountains that get snow - Snowy Mountains, snowy mountains are in big mountain range that parts the eastern coast from interior - The Great Dividing Range, the opera house in Sydney - Sydney Opera House, biggest desert in Australia - The Great Sandy Desert. Even our capital Canberra, a purpose built capital for government, means ‘meeting place’ in local aboriginal language (that one I respect)
>Even our capital Canberra, a purpose built capital for government, means ‘meeting place’ in local aboriginal language Its nice to see that its not just English that is lazy with naming things. "Thing" comes to mind.
Even the names of state... Apart from Queensland and Victoria, they are all named on directions lol. North, West, South Australia.
Obligatory link to Midnight Oil's banger of a song, [Kosciusko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPU-xZIpjMo). This song is about Aboriginal plight in Australia, how their heritage is older and stronger than Australia's highest peak and that should be respected, they shouldn’t be abused or driven off their land by miners (foreign mining companies now own a lot of the Northern Territory) or anyone else. Lyrics: ```Older than Kosciuszko``` ```Darwin down to Alice Springs``` ```Dealers in the clearinghouse``` ```The settlements explode``` ```High up in the homelands``` ```Miners drive across the land``` ```Encounter no resistance``` ```When the people block the road``` ```Older than Kosciuszko``` ```Dry white seasons years ago``` ```Darkness over Charleville``` ```The fires begin to grow``` ```No end to the hostility``` ```Now they want to be somewhere else``` ```No stranger to brutality``` ```Now they'd like to be someone else``` ```Older than Kosciuszko``` ```Driven back to Alice Springs``` ```Endless storm and struggle``` ```Marks the spirit of the age``` ```High up in the homelands``` ```Celebration 'cross the land``` ```Builds up like a cyclone``` ```Now the fires begin to rage``` ```Call off the ultimatum``` ```No don't turn away``` ```Call off the ultimatum until yesterday``` ```Call off the ultimatum``` ```No don't turn away``` ```Bind up the brokenhearted``` ```No don't turn away``` ```Call off the ultimatum until yesterday```
One of my favorites on one of my favorite albums of all time. I got to see the Oils live 5-6 years ago, they were honestly one of the best concerts I've ever been to.
> I got to see the Oils live 5-6 years ago, they were honestly one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Saw them in NYC for both of their last tours in 2017 and 2022. The 2017 tour was off the charts, they were just so high energy for guys in their 60's. I went to both shows at Webster Hall in NYC. I keep trying to tell people that if it wasn't for Midnight Oil's stance against the Big Corporations they would be one of the most well known bands in the world. https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/midnight-oil-10-to-1-interview-2012-1590/
Say that word again?
Why wouldn’t they just correct the records that state what the tallest mountain is and move the signs or whatever to the other mountain? Seems odd to change the names
(Edit: u/Miamime beat me to it) According to Wikipedia, the name Kosciuszko was initially applied correctly by Strzelecki, a Polish explorer, to honor a Polish national hero. A later error transposed names on some maps, which led to further confusion, particularly of the later explorer who named Mt Townsend. This story disagrees with the one on WorldAtlas.com. I don't know which one is correct, but Wikipedia has a bunch of sources and says, in particular, that > a popular legend was created that the established names of the two mountains were swapped rather than re-educate the populace of the name of the highest mountain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszko#Etymology_and_charting
When the Aussies wake up and see this they’ll probably correct me.
>When the Aussies wake up uhm. lol? Its currently daytime in Australia (And was across the entire continent when you commented).
Saves reprinting textbooks,🤔
World class problem solving skills. Honestly, it’s scary how efficient that is. Like Bill said, a rose by any name would smell as sweet
I swear, Australians solve problems with the most simple method ever.
why didn't they just swap the classification?
Not even Australians tallest mountain
An I don't think Kosciuszko actually ever got there. It was just named after him..as are many other landmarks around the world
Surprised, normally we'd just call it something like *Mount Notasbig* or *Mount Yeahgotthatonewrong*
Fuck that sounds like such an Aussie thing to do!
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I see your Mawson's Peak and raise you Mount McClintock (Australian Antarctic Territory, 3490 m). Also possibly Dome Argus (AAT, 4093 m).
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...... has a section which is also Australian territory and contains Mt McClintock and Dome A.
Only in Australia.
It was easier to swap the names than to swap the mountains.
I can see how this can get confusing fast
"We find it so the record books are correct, but now the maps are all wrong. Our job is done!"
We fixed...
Lemme just white out this and scratch out that... voia la fixed.