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BLACKHEATH
PHILOSOPHY FORUM
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village of Blackheath is in the upper
Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. At an altitude of 1025
meters, it is about 120 km west of Sydney, around 1 3/4 hours from central
Sydney by car, or two hours by commuter rail. It lies near the highest
part of the Blue Mountains National Park - one of eight conservation reserves
that make up the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The Blue Mountains (so named because of the bluish haze produced by the interplay of strong sunlight on fine droplets of eucalyptus oil released by the forests that cover the rugged tablelands and deep valleys) presented a major obstacle to explorers from the early colony in Sydney. Twenty five years elapsed from the establishment of the first settlement at Sydney (1788) to the crossing of the these mountains by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson in 1813. Charles Darwin visited Blackheath in 1832. The distinguished pre-historian, Vere Gordon Childe, fell to his death from Govett's Leap in 1956. |
The early colonial
explorers were flummoxed by the topography of these mountains, completely
unfamiliar to European eyes. From the east, they seem quite unimpressive,
little more than a line of low hills. Yet when the explorers attempted
to cross them they encountered an endless succession of impenetrably
deep gorges and canyons, and vast inland depressions surrounded by high
vertical cliffs. Geologically, the landforms are of extreme antiquity,
the result of aeons of erosion of a flat plateau made up of sedimentary
layers laid down some 250 million years ago, when the area was at or
below the ocean surface, but uplifted about 90 million years ago. There are many walking tracks through the Blue Mountains. FOR DETAILS, CLICK ON NPWS walks guide |
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Blackheath Winter Photo: Trish Davies |
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Autum Trees at Blackheath
Photo: Trish Davies |
For more Blackheath photos click HERE
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National
Parks and conservation links
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| NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service | Comprehensive information about the Blue Mountains National Park the World Heritage area - visit the NPWS visitor centre at the end of Govetts Leap road |
| Blue Mountains lookouts | The NPWS guide to Blue Mountains lookouts - includes an animated 360 degree panorama of the upper Grose Valley |
| Penrith Web's pages on the Grose Valley and Blue Gum forest | This site includes a moving panorama of the Blue Gum Forest |
| Blue Gum Data Analysis site | A small company that develops software for the pharmaceutical industry, based in the Blue Mountains, has some pages with nice views of upper Grose Valley scenes |
| Blue Gum history | Read an account of the history of the struggle to preserve the Blue Gum forest |
| Blue Mountains National Parks maps | View the NPWS's online maps of the Blue Mountains National Park |
| Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area | Describes why the Blue Mountains have been included on the World Heritage register by the United Nations |
| NPWS walks guide | The National Parks and Wildlife Service guide to walks in the Blue Mountains National Park |
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Other Upper Blue
Mountains links
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| Blackheath & Environs Photo Album | Blackheath and nearby places of interest and beauty. Photographed by Blackheath photographer Trish Davies. Includes Rhododenron Festival, local events, stunning mountain views, wildlfe |
| Blackheath Rhododendron Garden | Read about the magnificent Rhododendron Garden in Blackheath, in which an immense variety of rhododendrons and azaleas have been integrated into an Australian native setting |
| Blue Mountains Web | A comprehensive information source about the Blue Mountains, including Blackheath |