Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains is one of the greatest tourist attraction which attracts so many visitors from around the world to visit and feel the majestic beauty of this natural mountainous region. The people who live in Australia are well familiar with the beauty of this place.

The Blue Mountains has a number of attraction which people come to visit but over all the whole region is a mountainous terrain situated in New South Wales. This area is very near to the important Australian city of Sydney and one has to cover a 50 km ride from the city center to reach the Blue Mountains.The reason of its name being "Blue Mountains" is because of the fascinating bluish appearance of the region when viewed from some distance.

The Blue Mountains is situated in a plateau region some 1,100 m above sea level. Most of this mountainous area is a part of the World Heritage Site. The area included with in this classification covers an area of 10,300 sq km.

The area is famous for its unique land scape, beauty like anywhere else and of course the whole bluish appearance of the region. The tourists visiting the place can visit the seven famous national parks in the area and also the Jenolan Caves which is famous for its beautiful limestone rich tunnels.

Another famous place is the town of Katoomba which is an excellent place to see the breath taking view of the mountainous region surrounding it. The area also provides a direct view of the famous Three Sister Mountains from a point called echo. The Echo point is only 2 Km from the main town. The town of Katoomba is also a prefect place to go for bush walking so that one could encounter the natural habitat up close.

I already mention that the area is called Blue Mountains due the bluish appearance of the whole region. Now this bluish appearance has a direct link to the Eucalyptus trees covering the whole area.

These trees are actually called Eucalyptus Globulus and are covered with a waxy substance called 'blue gum'. When atmospheric pressure rises in the Blue Mountains, this waxy substance evaporates and disperses in the air. The sunlight after passing through the vapour reflects back blue light from its spectrum of seven colours. Therefore the whole area appears bluish.

The whole area of the Blue Mountains is home to so many places that one should visit and look at the natural sceneries that this place has to offer. Since the area is a part of the World Heritage Site, it is of prime imprtance for the tourists looking for a good Holiday destination.

The area although deemed mountainious, yet it is more like a plateau. The area is place rich with so many different animal and plant life. The most important of this habitat is of course the eucalypt habitats.Thirteen percent of the known species of eucalyptus around the world, are found in the Blue Mountains making it a center if research and experiments related to eucalyotus and the life forms it supports.

The Three Sisters is one of the most visited rock formation in whole of the Blue Mountain region making it a hot tourist spot. Like I mentioned, they are very close to the town of Katoomba and one can easily come to this place to view the three sister standing next to each other. These three sisters are called, Meehni,Wimlah and Gunnedoo having heights of 922 m, 918 m and 906 m, respectively.

There is also a famous legend associated with the Three Sisters. This legend has little truth in it and it is considered to be merely story created by the local tourist industry to add to the charm of this place.

The Three Sisters are known to have been formed due to errosion caused by winds and river waters. Gradually with time, the water seeping into the rocks made this formation which became famous with the name of Three Sisters. It is believed that as time passes on, the Three Sisters would be completely eroded away.