Kosciuszko National Park
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Kosciuszko is a national park in New South Wales (Australia), 354 km southwest of Sydney. It is named for Mount Kosciuszko, which it contains, and which is in turn named for the Polish hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
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The park has an alpine climate and an alpine flora, which is quite rare in Australia. The landscape near Mount Kosciuszko was shaped by ancient glaciers which left moraines and tarns. The glacial lakes are: Lake Cootapatamba, Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue lake, and Hedley Tarn.
The Snowy River originates in the park and flows south to Victoria. There are tunnels, dams, generators and other parts of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydro-electric system within the park.
The ski resorts of Thredbo, Perisher Blue and Charlotte Pass, New South Wales lie within the park, as does Cabramurra the highest town in Australia. The larger towns of Cooma and Jindabyne lie just outside and service the park.
In the 19th century gold was mined on the high plains near Kiandra.
The park is contiguous with the Alpine National Park in Victoria to the south, and the Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory to the east.
Fact sheet
- Area: 6,658.12 km²
- Coordinates: Template:Coor dms
- Date of establishment: October 1, 1967
- Managing authorities: New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
- IUCN category: II