Kings Tableland

Kings Tableland

The plateau of Kings Tableland stretching to the left, above Jamison Valley, centre, 2008.
Highest point
Elevation 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Coordinates 33°49′S 150°24′E / 33.817°S 150.400°E / -33.817; 150.400Coordinates: 33°49′S 150°24′E / 33.817°S 150.400°E / -33.817; 150.400[1]
Geography
Parent range Blue Mountains Range
Geology
Mountain type Sydney sandstone plateau

The Kings Tableland is a plateau, located in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The Tableland is an eroded remnant of a sandstone layer that is approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) AMSL, situated immediately south of Wentworth Falls. The Tableland is the major southerly spur of the main spine of the Blue Mountains Range and forms the beginning of the Southern Escarpment, an unbroken series of tall sandstone cliffs which fringes the Jamison, Megalong, Kanimbla and Hartley Valleys.[2]

Situated to the west of the locality of Blue Labyrinth, Kings Tableland extends from Bodington Hill south to McMahons Lookout and further about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi). The plateau was named by Governor Macquarie after King George III.[1]

Indigenous significance

A portion of the Kings Tablelands has been gazetted as a camping and meeting place of significance for the Aboriginal Gandangara people. The conserved area includes a sandstone rock platform with extensive grinding and other grooves, a shelter with rock art that has been recorded as being the oldest Aboriginal site in the Blue Mountains region and containing unique vertically engraved depictions of kangaroo and bird tracks.[3][4]

Modern developments

A road from Wentworth Falls runs north and south along the plateau to the current lookout area of McMahons Point. Before the construction of Warragamba Dam the track continued down the escarpment along a track all the way to the Cox's River area in the Burragorang Valley.[5] There is a track descending from the western edge down into the Jamison Valley, originally leading to the old (now abandoned) sewerage works below the cliffs at Katoomba. The abandoned Queen Victoria Hospital is also located on Kings Tableland.

See also

Media related to Blue Mountains, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.