Original link: https://blog.fivest.one/archives/6184
Which is the highest mountain in Australia? Whether in Chinese or English, you can easily find the answer – Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales, with an altitude of 2228m, is “Australia’s highest peak”. Then, many Chinese talked and said that it became “the highest peak in Australia”.
The New Zealander next door disagrees. New Zealand’s highest peak , Mount Cook (Mount Cook) , or Aoraki in the local Maori language, is 3724m above sea level, higher than Mount Kosciusko. As a result, New Zealanders will complain: you are just “the highest peak in mainland Australia”, definitely not “the highest peak in Australia”.
In fact, the concept of “Australian mainland” is very vague. In Chinese, “continent” or “mainland” is more inclined to the huge land surrounded by water, which is the large island of Australia. But the scope of the continent in English will be larger, biased towards the concept of geography. During the Ice Age 10,000 years ago, the current Australian mainland was connected to the surrounding islands of Tasmania and New Guinea by land, and was gradually submerged by sea water later. As “Australia”, there are several different views on how to define geographically and where the boundary between Asia and Australia is. But in either case, the island of New Guinea is regarded as part of Australia. In the west of New Guinea, Puncak Jaya in Indonesia, with an altitude of 4884m, is the most recognized “Australia’s highest peak” and the highest island peak on earth.
However, this division of Asia and Oceania divides Indonesia in two. Administratively, if Indonesia is counted as a whole in Asia, then the highest peak within the country of “Oceania” defined by the United Nations is also on the island of New Guinea, not far from Jaya Peak, which belongs to Papua New Guinea Wilhelm (Mount Wilhelm) , 4509m above sea level.
And New Zealand, in many cases, does not belong to the concept of “Australian mainland”. In the theory of plate tectonics, New Zealand belongs to the continent of Zealand, and the plate area under water is almost the same as that of Australia. However, in geopolitics, physical geography, ecology, there is a term called ” Australasia “, which is used to cover Australia and New Zealand, sometimes New Guinea and surrounding islands, sometimes not. Many matches between Australia and New Zealand are named after Australasia, and the two countries have even played together in the Davis Cup tennis and two Olympic Games under the Australasia name. From this point of view, New Zealanders call Mount Cook (Aoraki / Mt Cook) “the highest peak in Australia sia”, and it is also possible…
So, is it enough to say that the 2228m Mount Kosciuszko is the highest peak in “the country of Australia”? Neither.
In 1947, the United Kingdom handed over one of its most remote territories, the Heard and McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, to Australia, and has since become an Australian territory, recognized as sovereignty by most of the world. The active volcano Mawson Peak (Mawson Peak) on Heard Island, with an altitude of 2745m, is higher than all the mountains in mainland Australia.
And higher. Seven countries, including Australia, have declared sovereign territory in Antarctica, but it has not been universally recognized. Mount McClintock (Mount McClintock) in Australia’s claimed Antarctic territory is 3490m above sea level, higher than the mainland and Heard Island. If the height of the Antarctic ice shell is counted, then the highest point of the claimed territory of the “Australian nation” is Dome Argus (Dome Argus) or Dome A (Dome A) , with an altitude of 4093m.
Therefore, the status of the 2228m Mount Kosciuszko, to be precise, can only be called mainland Australia’s highest peak, (similar to “Mainland China”) the highest peak in mainland Australia.
Last but not least, Mauna Kea in Hawaii, although the altitude is only 4205m, the local travel guide has always claimed that if the part below sea level is included, the drop from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain is as high as 10211m, which is far more than The “True World’s Highest Peak” of Mount Everest. Although Hawaii belongs to the United States, it is still part of the Polynesian Islands of Oceania in terms of cultural geography.
Therefore, those who can stir into the circle of “Australia’s highest peak” include:
- Mount Kosciuszko in mainland Australia, 2228m
- Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, 4884m
- Mount Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea, 4509m
- Mawson Peak in the Indian Ocean, 2745m
- Mount McClintock, Antarctica, 3490m
- Dome A on the Antarctic Ice Sheet, 4093m
- Aoraki/Mt Cook, New Zealand, 3724m
- Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 4205m / 10211m
In the mountaineering world, for those who aim to “climb the highest peak on the seven continents”, the “highest peak in Australia” they recognize basically refers to Mount Jaya in Indonesia. However, there was a time when warlords were chaotic near Jaya Peak, and local gold mines were also involved. It was difficult for climbers to reach the foot of the mountain, so they had to be cheeky and came to Australia to climb the 2228m Kosciusko Mountain to make up the number, which is a tourist area with a few hours of hiking. La. It seems that the situation of Jaya Peak has improved in recent years, and it is possible to climb again.
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