Editing Mount Kosciuszko

{{short description|Highest mountain in mainland Australia}}
{{for|the Antarctic mountain|Mount Kosciusko (Antarctica)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Kosciuszko
| other_name = Tar-gan-gil/Kunama Namadgi
| photo = Kosciusko Mountain view from the track.jpg
| photo_caption = Mount Kosciuszko viewed from the Summit Walk
| map = Australia New South Wales#Australia Victoria#Australia
| location = [[Snowy Mountains]], [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]
| label_position = left
| coordinates = {{coord|36|27|21|S|148|15|49|E|type:mountain_region:AU-NSW_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m = 2228
| elevation_ref = <ref name=pb>{{cite peakbagger |pid=11624 |title=Mountain Kosciuszko, Australia |units=m |access-date=28 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name="MtK">{{cite web |title=Kosciuszko National Park |work=Australian Alps National Parks |publisher=Australian Government |url=http://www.australianalps.environment.gov.au/parks/kosciuszko.html |access-date=13 June 2009 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107042005/http://www.australianalps.environment.gov.au/parks/kosciuszko.html%20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| prominence_m = 2228
| prominence_ref = <ref name=pb/>
| listing = {{plainlist|
*[[List of countries by highest point|Country high point]]
*[[Ultra-prominent peak|Ultra]] }}
| range = [[Main Range (Snowy Mountains)|Main Range]], [[Great Dividing Range]]
| topo = Perisher Valley
| range_coordinates = 
| coordinates_ref = <ref name=gnbmount>{{NSW GNR|id=KWwGjzsETR|title=Mount Kosciuszko|access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref>
| type = 
| age = 
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route = Walk (dirt road)
| map_size = 300
| photo_size = 300
| native_name = 
| isolation_km = 1894.26
| isolation_ref = <ref name=pb/>
}}

'''Mount Kosciuszko''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɒ|z|i|ˈ|ʌ|s|k|oʊ}} {{respell|KOZ|ee|USK|oh}};<ref>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John C.|year=2008|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|edition=3|location=Harlow|publisher=Pearson|page=446|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}} "Kosciusko {{sic}}".</ref> {{IPA|pl|kɔɕˈt͡ɕuʂ.kɔ}} {{respell|kosh|CHOOSH|koh}}; [[Ngarigo language|Ngarigo]]: {{lang|xni|Kunama Namadgi}})<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andrews |first1=Alan E. J. |title=Mount Kosciuszko - Our Highest Mountain |url=http://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/our-highest-mountain.htm |website=mtkosciuszko.org.au |publisher=Tabletop Press - ACT |access-date=6 September 2020 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163109/https://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/our-highest-mountain.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dual name ABC 2019">{{cite web |last1=Wheaton |first1=Claire |last2=Lauder |first2=Simon |title=Is it time to give Mount Kosciuszko a dual name? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-15/inside-the-push-to-dual-name-mount-kosciuszko/11207722 |website=www.abc.net.au |publisher=ABC |access-date=6 September 2020 |date=14 June 2019 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163109/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-15/inside-the-push-to-dual-name-mount-kosciuszko/11207722 |url-status=live }}</ref> is the highest mountain of the mainland [[Australia (continent)|Australia]], at {{convert|2228|m|ft}} above sea level. It is located on the [[Main Range (Snowy Mountains)|Main Range]] of the [[Snowy Mountains]] in [[Kosciuszko National Park]], a part of the [[Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves]], in [[New South Wales]], and is located west of Crackenback and close to [[Jindabyne]], near the border with [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]. Mount Kosciuszko is ranked 35th by [[topographic isolation]].

==Etymology and charting==
The mountain was named by the [[Poland|Polish]] explorer [[Paweł Strzelecki|Paweł (Paul) Edmund Strzelecki]] in 1840, in honour of [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]], general and hero of the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] and [[American Revolutionary War]], because of its perceived resemblance to the [[Kościuszko Mound]] in [[Kraków]], Poland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Australian_Geographical_Name_Derivations |title=Australian Geographical Name Derivations |publisher=Wikiski.com |date=8 April 2011 |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102140157/http://www.wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Australian_Geographical_Name_Derivations |url-status=dead }}</ref>

An exploration party led by Strzelecki and [[James Macarthur (politician)|James Macarthur]] beside him with Indigenous guides Charlie Tarra and Jackey set off on what is called Strzelecki’s Southern expedition. Macarthur was seeking new pastures. Strzelecki wanted to investigate the [[climate]], [[geology]], [[paleontology]] and geography of NSW and to publish his findings.<ref>Strzelecki, Paul Edmund de. ''Physical description of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land'' (1845). Adelaide: Libraries Board of South Australia, 1967 (Reprint)</ref> This included identifying Australia’s highest summit, which Strzelecki reached on 12 March 1840.<ref name=Andrews>{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Alan E. J. |title=Kosciusko: The Mountain in History |date=1991 |publisher=Tabletop Press |location=O'Connor ACT |isbn=0-9590841-2-6 |page=50 |ref=Andrews}}</ref><ref>Paszkowski, L. ''Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki: reflections on his life''. Arcadia, Australian Scholarly Publishing. Melbourne [Vic.] 1997. {{ISBN|1-875606-39-4}}.</ref>
[[File:Eugène von Guérard - Mount Kosciusko, seen from the Victorian border (Mount Hope Ranges) - Google Art Project.jpg|left|thumb|''Mount Kosciusko, seen from the Victorian border (Mount Hope Ranges) -'' the mountain range as depicted by [[Eugene von Guerard]], 1866]]
[[File:Guerard Mount Townsend 1863.jpg|left|thumb|''North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko -'' [[Eugene von Guerard]], 1863]]
The approach was made from Geehi Valley. After climbing Hannel’s Spur, the peak now named [[Mount Townsend (Snowy Mountains)|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=RAHS Publications - The Cartography of Mount Kosciusko|url=http://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/cartography-of-mount-kosciusko.htm|access-date=2021-06-03|website=mtkosciuszko.org.au|language=en|archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603112412/http://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/cartography-of-mount-kosciusko.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> NSW maps did not make this mistake.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The Victorian error created confusion. In 1885, Austrian explorer [[Robert J. Lendlmayer von Lendenfeld|Robert von Lendenfeld]], guided by James M. Spencer,<ref name=Spencer>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13579769 "  Jas. M. Spencer ''The Highest Point in Australia'' The Sydney Morning Herald, February 18, 1885"].</ref> a local pastoralist, aided by a map containing the transposition error, reached Mount Townsend believing it was Mount Kosciusko. According to Spencer, the local Aboriginals called Mount Kosciusko ''Tar-gan-gil''. Like Strzelecki, Lendenfeld also observed that the neighbouring peak was higher. He named it Mount Townsend to honour the surveyor who in 1846 traversed the peak.

Lendenfeld claimed he had identified and reached the highest peak of the continent. The NSW Department of Mines discovered Lendenfeld's mistake and assigned the name Mount Townsend to the second-highest mountain of the range. Lendenfeld's announcement created further confusion. When Lendenfeld's mistake was corrected, 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Slattery|first=Deirdre|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/910161107|title=Australian Alps : Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks|date=2015|isbn=978-1-4863-0171-3|edition=Second|location=Clayton, Vic|oclc=910161107|access-date=3 June 2021|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163111/https://search.worldcat.org/title/910161107|url-status=live}}</ref>

The confusion was straightened out in 1940 by B. T. Dowd,<ref>Dowd, B. T. "The Cartography of Mount Kosciusko". Royal Australian Historical Society. ''Journal & Proceedings'', vol. 26, part I, pp. 97–107.</ref> a cartographer and historian of the NSW Lands Department. His study reaffirmed that the mountain named by Strzelecki as Mount Kosciuszko was indeed, as the NSW maps had always shown, Australia’s highest summit. When Macarthur’s field book of the historical journey was published in 1941 by C. Daley,<ref>Daley, C. "Count Paul Strzelecki’s Ascent of Mt Kosciusko and Journey through Gippsland" The ''Victorian Historical Magazine'', vol. 19, no 2, pp. 41–53, 1941.</ref> it further confirmed Dowd’s clarification. This means that Targangil, mentioned in Spencer’s 1885 article,<ref name=Spencer/> was the indigenous name of Mount Townsend, not of Mount Kosciusko. According to A. E. J. Andrews, Mount Kosciuszko had no indigenous name.<ref name=Andrews2>Andrews, Alan E. J. FRAHS. ''Mount Kosciusko, Our Highest Mountain'', Letters to the Editor, Published in the Kosciuszko Hut Association Newsletter No: 108 Winter 2000.</ref> Detailed analysis of the mountain history can be found in books by H. P. G. Clews<ref>Clews, H. P. G. ''Strzelecki’s Ascent of Mount Kosciuszko 1840'' Australia Felix Literary Club, Melbourne 1973.</ref> and in the cited A.E.J. Andrews' book ''Kosciusko: The Mountain in History''.<ref name=Andrews/>

The name of the mountain was previously spelled "Mount Kosciusko", an Anglicisation, but the spelling "Mount Kosciuszko" was officially adopted in 1997 by the [[Geographical Names Board of New South Wales]].<ref name=gnbmount/> The traditional English pronunciation of Kosciuszko is {{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɒ|z|i|ˈ|ʌ|s|k|oʊ}} {{respell|KOZ|ee|US|koh}}, but the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|k|ɒ|ˈ|ʃ|ʊ|ʃ|k|oʊ}} {{respell|kosh|UUSH|koh}} is now sometimes used,<ref>{{cite dictionary|editor-last=Yallop|editor-first=Colin|entry=Kosciusko|encyclopedia=[[Macquarie Dictionary]]|edition=4th|year=2005|location=Melbourne|publisher=The Macquarie Library|isbn=1-876429-14-3}}</ref> which is substantially closer to the Polish pronunciation {{IPA|pl|kɔɕˈt͡ɕuʂkɔ||Pl-Tadeusz_Kościuszko.ogg}} {{respell|kosh|CHYUUSH|koh}}.

===Aboriginal names===
There are several native Aboriginal ([[Ngarigo language|Ngarigo]]) names associated with Mount Townsend, where J. Macarthur recorded in 1840 some campings of the natives. There is some confusion as to the exact sounds. These are ''Jagungal, Jar-gan-gil, Tar-gan-gil, Tackingal''; however, all of them mean [[Bogong Moth]], which [[aestivate]] on the mountain.<ref name=Andrews2/>

In 2019, "Kunama Namadgi" was submitted to the [[Geographical Names Board of New South Wales]] as a proposed [[Dual naming|dual name]] for Mount Kosciuszko. The proposal was submitted by the Toomaroombah Kunama Namadgi Indigenous Corporation, which states that the proposed name means "snow" and "mountain". According to Uncle John Casey, the mountain's [[Ngarigo]] name has "been Kunama Namadgi for 4,000 years, since we've been on country, until the white man came in the early 1800s and that's when they changed it". However, Iris White, the chairperson of the Southern Kosciuszko Executive Advisory Committee, disputed that account, stating "that name is not from our language. It's offensive because in some of our languages 'Kunama' actually means faeces". White said that a new name should not be given "just for the sake of it sounding Aboriginal or sounding good".<ref name="dual name ABC 2019" />

==Geography==
The mountain was formed by [[Orogeny|geologic uplift]].<ref name="geologypage.com">Geology Page: [http://www.geologypage.com/2016/03/geologists-discover-how-australias-highest-mountain-was-created.html Geologists discover how Australia's highest mountain was created | Geology Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163223/https://www.geologypage.com/2016/03/geologists-discover-how-australias-highest-mountain-was-created.html |date=5 October 2024 }}, access-date: 17 February 2017</ref> It was not formed by any recent volcanic activity.<ref name="vtd">{{cite book |title=Volcanic Tourist Destinations |last=Erfurt-Cooper |first=Patricia |year=2014 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-16191-9 |page=273 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQ5ABAAAQBAJ |access-date=24 April 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163109/https://books.google.com/books?id=XQ5ABAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Eroded granite intrusions remain at the summit as large boulders above the more heavily eroded sedimentary rocks.<ref name="vtd"/>

Plant species found in the mountain include:

*Kosciuszko buttercup (''[[Ranunculus anemoneus]]'')
*Vickery's grass (''[[Rytidosperma]] vickeryae'')
*[[Phebalium]] (''Nematalolepis ovatifolia'')
*Billy buttons ([[Craspedia (plant)|''Craspedia'']] spp.)
*[[Snow gum]]

==Reaching the summit==
Mount Kosciuszko is the [[Extremes on Earth|highest]] summit in mainland Australia. Until 1977 it was possible to drive from [[Charlotte Pass, New South Wales|Charlotte Pass]] to within a few metres of the summit, but in 1977 the road was closed to public motor vehicle access due to environmental concerns. The road is open from Charlotte Pass for walkers and cyclists for {{convert|7.6|km|mi|0}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/~/media/429F16DDC80E428A8A0F25550ED8808E.ashx/ |title=National Parks' 'Southern Kosciuszko walking tracks factsheet' |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163128/http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/~/media/429F16DDC80E428A8A0F25550ED8808E.ashx/ |url-status=live }}</ref> to Rawson Pass, at an elevation of {{convert|2100|m}} above sea level. From there a {{convert|1.4|km|mi|0|adj=on}} walking path leads to the summit.

The peak may also be approached from [[Thredbo, New South Wales|Thredbo]], taking 3 to 3.5 hours for a round trip. This straightforward walk starts from the top of the Thredbo Kosciuszko Express [[chairlift]], which operates all year-round. The walking path is popular in summer, and is a mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation and prevent erosion. It is {{convert|5|km|mi|1}} to Rawson Pass, where it meets the track from Charlotte Pass, and from where it is a further {{convert|1.4|km}} to the summit.
The walk to the summit is the easiest of all the [[Seven Summits]].<ref name="ctss">{{cite book |title=Climbing the Seven Summits: A Comprehensive Guide to the Continents' Highest Peaks |last=Hamill |first=Mike |year=2014 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-59485-649-5 |page=275 |url={{GBurl|id=fiSgyRhsUrgC}} |access-date=24 April 2017}}</ref>

Australia's highest [[public toilet]] was built at Rawson pass in 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/celebrating-the-centenary-of-australias-rooftop-playground-20061206-gdozhr.html |title=Celebrating the centenary of Australia's rooftop playground |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=6 December 2006 |access-date=10 November 2018 |first=Daniel |last=Lewis |archive-date=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200010/https://www.smh.com.au/national/celebrating-the-centenary-of-australias-rooftop-playground-20061206-gdozhr.html |url-status=live }}</ref> to cope with the more than 100,000 people visiting the mountain each summer.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://web2.encom.com.au/peter/tidings/2007maytidings.pdf |title= The rush to complete Australia's highest dunny |date=3 May 2007 |publisher= Department of Environment and Climate Change, NSW |pages=6–7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109233226/http://web2.encom.com.au/peter/tidings/2007maytidings.pdf |archive-date= 9 November 2014}}</ref>

The third and often overlooked route up Mount Kosciuszko is up the very challenging and historic '''Hannel's Spur Track''' ({{cvt|15.5|km|disp=or}}), which approaches from the NW and is the only route to pass through the Western Fall Wilderness Zone – passing through four different bio-diversity bands along the ascent. The Hannel's Spur Track is officially Australia's biggest vertical ascent of {{cvt|1800|m|ft}}. This is the same route that explorer Paul Strzelecki climbed and discovered Kosciuszko in 1840 and also the same annual route that the stockmen once brought the cattle up/down from the valley almost {{cvt|2|km}} below to graze in the alpine meadows of Kosi throughout the summer. The various aboriginal tribes from the Murray valley also used this same route annually for millennia to access Kosciuszko to harvest the delicacies of Bogong moths that were abundant throughout the summer months and to socialise with other tribes from the coast and northern plains. The Hannel's Spur Track trailhead (sign) is about a {{convert|1.4|km|adj=on}} hike SSE of the Geehi Rest Area on the Alpine Way road between the towns of Thredbo and Khancoban.

The peak and the surrounding areas are snow-covered in winter and spring (usually beginning in June and continuing until October or later). The road from Charlotte Pass is marked by snow poles and provides a guide for [[Cross-country skiing|cross-country skiers]], and the track from Thredbo is easily followed until covered by snow in winter.

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|image = Towards Kosciuszko from Kangaroo Ridge in winter.jpg
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|overlay1 = North Ramshead
|overlay1left = 80
|overlay1top = 100
|overlay1link = Ramshead Range
|overlay2 = Kosciuszko summit, obscured by clouds
|overlay2left = 380
|overlay2top = 90
|overlay3 = Etheridge Range
|overlay3left = 310
|overlay3top = 110
|overlay4 = Mount Clarke (Mount Townsend is behind it)
|overlay4left = 675
|overlay4top = 80
|overlay5 = Kangaroo Ridge
|overlay5left = 150
|overlay5top = 300
|overlay6 = Snowy River headwaters
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[[File:North from Mt Kosciusko.jpg|704px|thumb|center|Looking north from the summit towards Mount Townsend]]

[[File:Mount Kosciuszko with snow.jpg|thumb|Mount Kosciuszko with snow, viewed from Guthega Peak]]

=== Recreation ===
[[File:Mt Kosciuszko map Stevage.png|right|thumb|343x343px|Topographic map of Mount Kosciuszko including the approaches from Charlotte Pass and Thredbo.]]
Kosciuszko National Park is also the location of the downhill ski slopes closest to [[Canberra]] and [[Sydney]], containing the [[Thredbo, New South Wales|Thredbo]], [[Charlotte Pass, New South Wales|Charlotte Pass]], and [[Perisher Ski Resort|Perisher]] ski resorts. Mount Kosciuszko may have been ascended by [[Indigenous Australians]] long before the first recorded ascent by Europeans.

Each year in December, an [[ultramarathon]] running race called the [[Coast to Kosciuszko]] ascends to the top of Mount Kosciuszko after starting at the coast {{convert|240|km|mi}} away.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coast2kosci.com/ |title=Coast to Kosciuszko |publisher=Coast2kosci.com |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615144305/http://www.coast2kosci.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Higher Australian mountains==
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[File:Kosciuszko_Summit_Plaque.JPG|thumb|350px|Kosciuszko summit plaque, March 2005.]] -->

Higher peaks exist within territory administered or claimed by Australia: outside the continent are [[Mawson Peak]] ({{convert|2745|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) on [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands|Heard Island]] as well as [[Dome A]]rgus ({{convert|4030|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}), [[Mount McClintock]] ({{convert|3490|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and [[Mount Menzies]] ({{convert|3355|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]].

Although not in Australia, [[Puncak Jaya]] in [[New Guinea]], [[Indonesia]], which stands at {{convert|4884 |m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}, is the highest mountain in the [[Australia (continent)|Australian continent]] as well as [[Oceania]].

==In popular culture==
The 1863 picture by [[Eugene von Guerard]] hanging in the [[National Gallery of Australia]] titled ''Northeast view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko'' is actually from [[Mount Townsend (Snowy Mountains)|Mount Townsend]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.gov.au/OutandAbout/Texts/48469.htm |title=Eugene von Guérard: North-east view from the northern top of Mount Kosciusko 1863 |publisher=National Gallery of Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104100231/http://www.nga.gov.au/OutandAbout/Texts/48469.htm |archive-date=4 November 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=John Boyd |last=Macdonald |title=Home » Jokar projects » Ten-Mile Stare |url=http://www.jokar.com.au/projects/Ten-Mile%20Stare/slides/Mt_Townsend_Panorama1.html |publisher=Jokar Photography |quote=Mt. Townsend, 19 November 1862. Eugene Von Guérard's painting |access-date=8 July 2019 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507181527/http://jokar.com.au/projects/Ten-Mile%20Stare/slides/Mt_Townsend_Panorama1.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/strzelecki-kosciuszko.htm|title=Strzelecki's Kosciusko by E. Axford|website=mtkosciuszko.org.au|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005163111/https://mtkosciuszko.org.au/english/strzelecki-kosciuszko.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the well known poem by [[Banjo Paterson]], [[The Man from Snowy River (poem)|The Man From Snowy River]] is said to hail from “up by Kosciusko’s side”.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allpoetry.com/The-Man-from-Snowy-River|title=The Man from Snowy River|access-date=19 October 2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309005044/https://allpoetry.com/The-Man-from-Snowy-River|url-status=live}}</ref>

Australian rock band [[Midnight Oil]] recorded a song called "Kosciusko" on its 1984 album ''[[Red Sails in the Sunset (album)|Red Sails in the Sunset]]'', referring to the mountain. The spelling was updated to "Kosciuszko" for the group's 1997 [[compilation album]], ''[[20,000 Watt R.S.L.]]''

A species of lizard, ''[[Eulamprus|Eulamprus kosciuskoi]]'', is named after Mount Kosciuszko.<ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Kosciusko {{sic}}", p. 145).</ref>

The mountain top was the finish line on the [[The Amazing Race Australia 5|fifth season]] of ''[[The Amazing Race Australia]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7175079/canberra-and-mount-kosciuszko-to-feature-in-amazing-race-finale/|title=Amazing Race finale to feature Canberra - and Mount Kosciuszko|work=[[The Canberra Times]]|date=20 March 2021|access-date=27 March 2021|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319205624/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7175079/canberra-and-mount-kosciuszko-to-feature-in-amazing-race-finale/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Kosciusko Mountain view from the track.jpg|Mt Kosciuszko pictured in summer, without snow
File:Morning views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 21.jpg|[[Kosciuszko National Park]] as viewed from the summit
File:Sunrise views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 34.jpg|The base of a survey trig marker at the summit
File:Kosciuszko05.JPG|East side of the mountain
File:Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk, Kosciuszko National Park 12.jpg|Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk
File:Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk, Kosciuszko National Park 06.jpg|The summit from [[Charlotte Pass, New South Wales]]
File:Kosciuszko06.JPG|Mount Etheridge from south side showing high elevation toilet at Rawson Pass
File:Mount Kosciuszko from the Snowy River.jpg|View of Mount Kosciuszko and the Etheridge Range from the headwaters of the Snowy River
File:Kosciuszko02.JPG|The plate at the top
File:Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk, Kosciuszko National Park 16.jpg|The [[Snowy River]] flowing down from the summit.
File:Kosciuszko03.JPG|[[Lake Cootapatamba]], the lake on the highest place in the [[Australian mainland]]
File:Sunrise views from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park 26.jpg|Adjacent mountain ranges
</gallery>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Australia|Geography|Mountains}}}}
* [[Australian Alps]]
* [[Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves]]
*[[List of mountains in Australia|List of mountains of Australia]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Kosciusco}}
{{Wikivoyage|Mount Kosciuszko}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://mtkosciuszko.org.au/ Mt Kosciuszko Inc.] — page for information about explorer P. E. Strzelecki – and news about Mount Kosciuszko 
* {{cite peakware|id=145|name=Mount Kosciuszko}} — photo

{{Highest points of Oceania}}
{{Australian State Highest Points}}
{{Seven Summits}}
{{New South Wales mountains |state=autocollapse}}
{{Snowy River Shire |state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosciuszko}}
[[Category:Mountains of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Snowy Mountains|Mount Kosciuszko]]
[[Category:Extreme points of Australia|Mount Kosciuszko]]
[[Category:Highest points of countries]]
[[Category:Landmarks in New South Wales|Mount Kosciuszko]]
[[Category:Seven Summits|Mount Kosciuszko]]
[[Category:Sport in New South Wales|Mount Kosciuszko]]