Australia Blue Mountains National Park

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New South Wales

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New South Wales is Australia's most populous state, contains one third (33%) of Australia's population and is located in the south-east of the country. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in addition to the area currently referred to as the state of New South Wales, which was formed during Federation in 1901. New South Wales

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Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welsh or New South Welshmen. New South Wales's largest city and capital is Sydney.

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The Blue Mountains National Park is a large, World Heritage-listed national park occupying much of the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.

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The Greater Blue Mountains Area is 1.03 million hectares of deeply dissected sandstone plateaus, cliffs and gorges dominated by temperate eucalypt forest. There are fabulous views from many vantage points and it is evident on a clear day why the Mountains received their name of "Blue", as the Eucalyptus shimmer in the distance, creating a hazy blue as far as the eye can see.

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Its eight protected areas preserve a record of the adaptation and diversification of the eucalypts on the Australian continent. The Area has an exceptionally wide range of habitats which contain ninety-two species of eucalyptus, ten percent of Australia’s vascular flora and numbers of rare or threatened, endemic and relict species

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Banksia, woody, evergreen plant range from prostrate shrubs to trees up to 25m tall. Banksia serrata

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When Europeans arrived in Australia, the Blue Mountains had already been inhabited for several millennia by the Gundungurra people, now represented by the Gundungurra Tribal Council Aboriginal Corporation based in Katoomba.

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The Gundungurra creation story of the Blue Mountains tells that Dreamtime creatures Mirigan and Garangatch, half fish and half reptile, fought an epic battle which scarred the landscape into the Jamison Valley..

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Gundungurra Tribal Council Aboriginal Corporation has a registered Native Title Claim since 1995 over their traditional lands, which include the Blue Mountains and surrounding areas...

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The Three Sisters are a famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains.

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Offering panoramic views into the Jamison Valley, these three prominent rocky pinnacles on the edge of the escarpment at Echo Point Katoomba have become an iconic symbol for the Blue Mountains.

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A ‘must visit’ Blue Mountains attraction is the famous Scenic World Blue Mountains in Katoomba where you can experience a 720 metre journey in a glass bottom Skyway cable car suspended 270m above ancient ravines and dazzling waterfalls, or descend 415m through a cliff side tunnel on one of the world’s steepest railways, then wander along a wheelchair friendly, 2km boardwalk through ancient rainforest.

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The legend is that three sisters: 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers decided to use force to capture three sisters causing a major tribal battle. While the sisters' lives in danger, a witchdoctor turned three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. But when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

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Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea

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Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea

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The Greater Blue Mountains is one of the three most diverse areas on earth for scleromorphic species, and the only such area outside a Mediterranean climate and dominated by trees.

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It is also a centre of plant endemism. It contains almost 1500 species, 10% of Australia’s vascular plants, and the highest diversity of any of its temperate zones.

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Golden Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia‘)

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Tibouchina - Purple Glory

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Katoomba is the most visited town in the Blue Mountains, the home of traditional shopping Banksia serrata

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Sydney Sound : Ken Davis - To Be With You - Moment In Time Pictures and arangement: Sanda Foişoreanu www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda