Mount Kosciuszko

Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy Mountains, in New South Wales, in Kosciuszko National Park, is the highest mountain in Australia (2228 m above sea level). It was named by the Polish explorer Count Paul Strzelecki in 1840 in honour of the Polish national hero General Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

It was formerly spelled "Mount Kosciusko", an anglicisation; but the version "Mount Kosciuszko" was officially adopted in 1997 by the NSW Board of Geographic Names. The spelling adopted by the Board of Geographic Names was the original Polish spelling, "Kościuszko", including an accent over the "s", but that recommendation has generally been ignored in Australia (since such a character is not usually available on Australian computer keyboards).

It should also be noted that the common Australian pronunciation of Kosciuszko, "koz-ee-os-koe", is quite different from the pronunciation in Polish.

The peak, like many of Australia's highest peaks, is not particularly prominent. There is a road to near the summit, from which it is a short walk up a path to it: of any continent's highest mountain, it is by far the easiest to reach - anybody with a very modest level of fitness should be able to climb it if they wish.

Mount Kosciuszko national park is also the location of the closest downhill skiing ski slopes to Sydney, containing the Thredbo and Perisher Blue ski resorts.