KOSCIUSKO, MOUNT

Australia's highest peak, at 7,310 feet (2,228 m). It lies in the Snowy Mountains of the Australian Alps, in southeastern New South Wales, 240 miles (390 km) southwest of Sydney. The mountain is situated in Kosciusko National Park (2,498 square miles [6,469 square km]) and is near Mounts Townsend, Twynam, North Ramshead, and Carruthers (all exceeding 7,000 feet), whose melting snows feed the rivers and reservoirs that make up the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme. The region has been developed for winter sports. The mountain was named by Paul Strzelecki in 1840 in honour of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the Polish patriot and statesman.