Kosciuszko National Park, National park in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Kosciuszko National Park covers about 6,900 square kilometres in the southeastern corner of New South Wales, 354 km southwest of Sydney. Mount Kosciuszko, mainland Australia's highest peak at 2,228 metres, rises in its Main Range, and the Snowy, Murray, Murrumbidgee and Gungarlin rivers all begin within the park. Its alpine zone holds glacial lakes such as Blue Lake, Albina and Hedley Tarn, plus cirques and moraines left by ice-age glaciers.
The area was first protected as National Chase Snowy Mountains in 1906, then renamed Kosciusko State Park in 1944. It became Kosciuszko National Park in its current form in 1967.
The park's name honours Tadeusz Kościuszko, the Polish patriot and military leader for whom Edmund Strzelecki renamed Mount Kosciuszko in 1840. The spelling Kosciusko was used until 1997. Stockmen's mountain huts remain across the high country, maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and volunteer groups such as the Kosciuszko Huts Association.
The park includes all ski areas in New South Wales with facilities for winter sports and extensive networks of walking trails for summer exploration. Visitors should prepare for changeable weather, especially in colder months when snow and ice can affect conditions.
Lake Cootapatamba, formed by ice spilling from Mount Kosciuszko's southern flank, is the highest lake on the Australian mainland. Nearby Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue Lake and Hedley Tarn also have glacial origins, and cirques, moraines and roche moutonnées remain visible around the main range.
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