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The Australian Capital Territory is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory. It is enclaved within New South Wales and is regularly referred to as Australia's 'Bush Capital'.

Canberra - the capital of Australia - is sometimes referred to as the bush capital because pockets of bushland reserve extend almost to the city centre and over half of the Australian Capital Territory, within which Canberra lays, is classified as national park or nature reserve.

A scenic two-hour drive south from Canberra takes you to the Snowy Mountains

In and around the Australian Capital Territory, the mountains are known as the Brindabella Ranges

The Snowy Mountains are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228m

The range contains the five highest peaks on the Australian mainland, all above 2100m This is mainland Australia's only true Alpine region with large snowfalls every winter.

Snow normally falls the most during June, July and Early August. Most of the snow has melted by Late Spring

It is one of the centers of the Australian ski industry during the winter months.

The area was first explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after a Polish patriot

The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains in 1906 and in 1967 this became the Kosciuszko National Park

It was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry

the Snowy Mountains Scheme was a project to dam the Snowy River, providing both water for irrigation and hydroelectricity.

The project began in 1949 employing a hundred thousand men, two-thirds of whom came from thirty other countries during the post-World War II years. Socially this project symbolizes a period during which Australia became an ethnic "melting pot" of the twentieth century but which also changed Australia's character and increased its appreciation for a wide range of cultural diversity

Thredbo, in the Snowy Mountains, has the largest vertical drop of any Australian ski resort at 672m

The higher regions of the park experience an alpine climate which is unusual on mainland Australia. However, only the peaks of the main range are subject to consistent heavy winter snow.

The climate station at Charlotte Pass recorded Australia's lowest temperature of -23.0°C on 28 June 1994

Due to its mostly hot, dry climate, bushfires in Australia occur frequently, particularly in the well forested areas of the Australian Alps. The Alps are periodically subject to major bushfires and have been almost entirely burnt through by bushfires on various occasions, notably; Black Friday (1939), and during fires in 2003 and 2006-07

Certain native flora in Australia have evolved to rely on bushfires as a means of reproduction and fire events are an interwoven and an essential part of the ecology of the continent.

In some eucalypt and banksia species, for example, fire causes seed pods to open, which allows them to germinate. Fire also encourages the growth of new grassland plants. Other species have adapted to recover quickly from fire.

Nevertheless, damage to surrounding human habitations and native fauna can be extensive and occasionally catastrophic. The 2003 Canberra bushfires severely affected almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s pasture, forests (pine plantations) and nature parks.

After burning for a week through the Brindabella Ranges above Canberra, the fires entered the suburbs of the city on 18 January 2003. Four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Within the Australian Alps there are 120 still active alpine huts that mainly originate from the early cattlemen days, ski huts, research and surveying. Many have remained in use by fly fishers (seasonal), hikers and skiing groups throughout the year.

Most of these huts are maintained by volunteers through the Kosciuszko Huts Association and the local National Parks services.

Canberra

Text: Internet Pictures: ♦ Sanda Foişoreanu

♦ Doina Grigoraş

Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

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