Mountains of Australasia*
By Dr. Harka Gurung
Three large islands east of Timor Trough and
Aru Basin constitute Asia's farthest region of Australasia.
Australia, its main bulk, can be described as the world's largest
island and smallest continent. The other two island groups are
New Guinea in the north and New Zealand in the south-east. Australia
and New Guinea are only separated by the shallow Arafura Sea
but present a contrast in geological structure. Australia is
mostly founded on Precambrian stable shield related to Gondwana
land. New Guinea, on the other hand, has east-west axes of Tertiary
folding. New Zealand is similarly built on a folded structure
but aligned south-west/north-east.
New Guinea
The island of New Guinea is comprised of the Indonesian Province
of Irian Jaya and the independent country of Papua New Guinea.
Their boundary along 142° east longitude bisects the island
virtually into two equal halves. However, the Central Cordillera,
extending east-west over 2,500 km as the central spine, provides
physiographic unity to the island. Indeed, they are the highest
mountain ranges between the Himalayas and the Andes with an
average tree line of from 3,750 - 3,900m. The Central Cordillera
has narrow crested ridges above montane basins enriched by volcanic
depositions of laharic material and ash. The prominent peaks
are the Puncak Jaya (Mt. Victory at 5,029m) in the
west and Mount Wilhelm (4,697m) in the east. The former, originally
called Mount Carstenz after a Dutch navigator, is high enough
to support some small glaciers. The western section in Indonesia,
Pegunungan Maoke, has three other peaks over 4,500m in elevation.
The eastern section in Papua New Guinea extends from Thurnwald
through the Bismarck to Owen Stanley Ranges in the extreme east.
As a general pattern, the highlands have the steepest slopes
towards the south. Along the northern coast are a chain of lower
ranges that trend parallel to the main range. These are the
Van Rees in the west, Torricelli in the middle, and Finisterre
in the east. The main highlands are composed of Archaean schists
and massive crystallines with lava effusives in the central
part. These rock formations are rich in minerals - including
gold.
The highland terrain is very rugged. The lower slopes are covered
with dense tropical forests while grasslands prevail on the
higher ranges above 3,000m. The highlands are inhabited
by scattered tribes of the Papuan type, some of whom continue
their primitive ways. The earliest settlers were centred around
swamplands with taro and pork as basic foods. Subsequently,
these 'sedentarised' swamplanders expanded into adjoining dry
land for swidden cultivation. They were followed by the Melanesian
people, mainly along the coast. The economy is based on subsistence
horticulture and pig husbandry. The main crop is the sweet
potato (Ipomea batatas) which was introduced in the 17th
century. Forest land is cleared by fire and used for garden
cultivation of various root crops. The upper limit of crop cultivation
is about 2,500m with cultivation on slopes ranging from 30 to
40 degrees. These slopes are never terraced or irrigated. Cultivation
techniques based on indigenous knowledge seem well-adapted to
fertility management. This has resulted in comparatively dense
settlement at elevations between 1,500 - 2,500m; one of the
advantages of the sweet potato being its tolerance to low temperatures
and the fact that its yield is two to six times higher than
that of the taro. Currently, timber extraction and mining are
the main economic activities.
Australia
Australia
is the lowest and flattest of the continents and has no high
mountains despite its vast extent. Approximately three-quarters
of its area is covered by a plateau that rarely rises above
500m. The Great Western Plateau is mostly desert or semi-arid
scrub country. the few uplands occurring there are mere pimples
on the extensive peneplain. The ancient shield topography is
missing only in the east where a chain of low ranges runs parallel
to the coastline. The western uplands include the Hamersley
Range in the north and the Stirling Range in the extreme south.
The Hamersley and its eastern extension, the Opthalmia Range,
are aligned east-west with Mount Bruce (1,235m) being the high
point. The rocks are mainly Palaeozoic
crystallines. The climate is subtropical with summer rain. The
Stirling Range near the south coast is a small lava outcrop
capped by Bluff Knoll (1,167m). This area has a temperate climate
favoured with winter rainfall.
The central uplands are ringed by deserts in
all four directions. These are all low hills with a predominantly
north-east strike. The Macdonnell Ranges in the north and Musgrave
Ranges in the south enclose the dry lake of Amadeus. Much of
these upland areas are designated as Aboriginal Reserves and
there are seven in all. The only range in South Australia, Flinders'
Range, trends north-south along a structural fault fronting
Spencer Gulf near Adelaide. The highest point is St. Mary Peak
(1,165m). The nearby uplands, known as Barrier Range to the
east and Gawler Range to the west, are merely low knolls approaching
500m. These are of much-eroded Palaeozoic rock formations with
ridges of hard quartzite.
The Great Dividing Range extends over 3,200 km from Cape York
Peninsula in the north to Bass Strait in the south. It is an
eroded plateau ranging from 900 to 1,500m. The highest point,
Mt. Kosciusko (2,230m), in the extreme south, was named in 1840
after Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Polish revolutionary. The topography
is subdued with rolling hills. The island
of Tasmania has some small mountains. The main range lies west
of the Great Lake and has a number of peaks. The highest peak,
Legges Tor (1,573m), is an outlier far to the east. Despite
their low elevation, these mountains are considered to be of
great interest owing to their luxuriant native flora. Thus,
the small island has four national parks centred around the
highlands.
New Zealand
New Zealand forms part of the 'rim of fire'
as a surface impression of the boundary between tectonic plates.
The mountains of New Zealand extend throughout the length of
the two islands as their spine. In terms of geological origin,
those in the North Island are younger than those in the South
Island. The northern ones are mostly hilly and dominated by
four volcanic cones. Maori legends describe the ranges as a
great fish brought to the surface by a magic fish-hook; great
swellings arose where it was clubbed by the gods who caught
it, and the active volcanoes are the death twitches of the giant.
This Fish of Maui is associated with North Island as its tail,
Lake Taupo as its heart, and the Wellington area as its head.
The mountains of North Island extend nearly 500km north-east/south-west,
commencing from Raukumara overlooking
the East Cape to Cook Strait. It is connected with Huiaru further
south which joins the central plateau with the highest peak,
Ruapehu (2,797m). Nearby are two more volcanic peaks, Ngauruhoe
(2,291m) and Tongariro (1,968m), which overlook the warm lake
of Taupo which is surrounded by ice. Several ranges diverge
from the plateau to the north and south. Ruahine Range descends
further south to merge with Tararua Range. The climate is marine
temperate with rain in all seasons and higher precipitation
(over 1,500mm mean annual) in the highlands. The surface configuration
is one of steep slopes and vegetation is basically deciduous
forest. The indigenous people are Maori of Polynesian origin.
Mountain ranges traverse the entire 800 km length of South
Island as its backbone. There are 223 named peaks that exceed
2,300m in elevation. The central and highest section between
Arthur's Pass and Haast Pass is referred to as the Southern
Alps. Northwards, there are many ranges with average elevations
of 2,000m with their highest elevations fronting the east coast.
The central section with Mt. Cook (3,764m) has many peaks exceeding
2,500m. It has numerous glaciers, Tasman Glacier in the Mount
Cook National Park being nearly 30 km long. Since the Southern
Alps are generally steepest on the western side, the longer
glaciers are in the east where there are gentler slopes. In
the west, glaciers descend more rapidly approaching the rain
forest along the coast. The southern section of the range is
more splayed-out and contributes to a broken topography. The
prevailing winds that sweep across the Pacific bring abundant
rain and snow. The snow-line varies from 100m in winter to 1,800m
in summer. Natural vegetation is of broad-leaved deciduous species
in the west and is a mixture of broad-leaved and needle-leaved
evergreens in the east. Over 90 per cent of alpine plants are
endemic. The landscape has undergone two diverse
impacts. First, Polynesian migration marked the commencement
of the destruction of montane forests by fire. Then followed
exploitative pastoralism throughout the tussock grasslands and
mountain lands of the interior when European colonisation began
in the mid-1850s. South Island was unique in throughout the
tussock grasslands and mountain lands of the interior when European
colonisation began in the mid-1850s. having only wild bird life.
Now all types of animals have been introduced and have become
pests in this pristine land.
(*Extracted from Dr. Harka Gurung's monograph
entitled, Mountains of Asia: A Regional Inventory. Commissioned
by Asia Pacific Mountain Network.)
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BOOK SECTION
TOUGH TERRAIN
Media Reports on Mountain Issues (November
1999)
Editorial Coordinators: Kunda Dixit, Aruni
John, Bhim Subba,
Panos Institute South Asia
GPO Box 1365, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: 977-1-523846
e-mail: <panosktm@mos.com.np>
Life in the mountains has always been tough. Despite the decades
of development, it is not getting any easier.
A great amount of research and study has been done on mountains.
The Khumbu region below Mt Everest has been called the "most
analysed, most researched and most blood-taken area of the world."
Social scientists, economists, engineers, and hydrologists have
traversed the Himalayan arc from Afghanistan to Burma studying
its resources and problems. They have written about it all -
the fragility of the environment, the rich biodiversity, and
the tremendous energy potential. Anthropologists have dissected
the ethnic and religious diversity, researchers and travel writers
have written about lifestyles, food habits, languages, and social
customs. Indeed, it seems there is not much else to learn about
mountain issues.
Yet the breadth of research is deceptive. The average person
is unaware of the issues and the enormous amount of work that
has been undertaken. The non-specialist is seldom able to explore
this vast treasure trove of knowledge. Because of its technical
nature, little of the research filters out to the general public.
The information fills the shelves of technical libraries and
research institutions where they are the source of more research
and more study. For the common citizen, or the non-technical
decision-maker, all this has little practical value.
This book hopes to make mountain issues more accessible to
the general public. The editors at Panos Institute South Asia
have tried to make the content as jargon-free as possible without
sacrificing precision and nuance. The chapters have been adapted
from articles on mountain issues commissioned to journalists
and experts from the region during 1998-99. Some of the articles
have already appeared in the regional press.
As we approach the 'International Year of Mountains 2002',
we hope that this book will help rekindle interest in mountain
issues among policy-makers and the public. It can serve as a
reference tool for journalists, for schools, and for the English-reading
public. The specific problems of development in the mountains
must receive the priority they deserve.
This book, jointly produced by the Asia Pacific Mountain Network
and Panos Institute, South Asia, brings a fresh new perspective
to the complex problems, innovative solutions, and the remarkable
ability of mountains to adapt to changing circumstances. The
entire book, except for Chapter 11, is available online on the
ICIMOD website at < http://www.icimod.org.sg/publications/Special/tterrain/tough_terrain1.htm
>.
Contents
1. Tough Terrain - Introduction
2. Greening Hills - Seeing the Forest and the Tree:
Nepal's quiet success with community forestry brings back
water, biodiversity, and better living standards for Himalayan
villages. But what if it becomes too successful. by Madhukar
Upadhaya
3. Fleeing the Mountains - Downhill Migration: With
few job opportunities in the Garhwal hills and no other means
of income, more and more hill people head downhill towards
the big cities in search of jobs. by Mahesh Uniyal
4. Self-sufficient Slopes - Food Security in the Highlands:
Niche high-value agriculture increases food supply, but has
contributed to destroying traditional, indigenous farming
systems in the mountains. by Shantanu Nagpal
5. To Fetch a Pail of Water - Women in the Mountains:
Women do more than their fair share of work within the household
and on the farms. The survival and well-being of families
is often dependent on women, but their voices are seldom heard.
What we do not know of the lives of mountain women is probably
more important than what we do know. by Malini Sen
6. Green Treks - Ecotourism Model in the Annapurnas:
There are some ecotourism success stories, but concerns still
remain. by Keya Acharya
7. Landsliding Away - Landslides are not always a natural
calamity: 'Development' work that ignores the fragile
ecology of the mountainous region often leads to more pain
than gain. Poorly designed, badly constructed mountain roads
are a case in point. by Beena Sarwar
8. Waiting for the Big One - Seismi-city in the Himalaya:
Predicting seismicity is still an inexact science in
the Himalaya. This leads to concerns over disaster preparedness
as well as worries about proposals for construction of
high dams in these moving mountains. by Suman Pradhan.
9. Going with the Flow - A Flood of Questions:
Long-term flood mitigation efforts need a paradigm shift in
the way we think about them, about what is possible and what
isn't. by Kunda Dixit and Inam Ahmed
10. Small is Practical - How to be Hydropowerful:
Nepal tries to harness its hydropower potential and shows
that there are big benefits in scaling down. by Kumar Pandey
11. The Real Golden Triangle - Cooperation in the Mekong
Basin: Decades of effort are beginning to bear fruit.
People in the Greater Mekong Subregion see their dreams of
a borderless river beginning to come true. by Prangtip
Daorueng
12. Turning Water into Dollars - Nepal Goes Private:
Nepal woos private investors to develop its vast hydropower
potential, but the government will need to make sure it has
its policies right. by Binod Bhattarai
13. Feeling the Heat - Global Warming on Climate Change:
Temperatures are rising. Whether or not this is linked to
greenhouse gases and global warming, the variability in climate
can have a significant impact on developing countries. by
Rakesh Kalshian
14. Into Thin Air - Climate Change on the Roof of the
World: Retreating glaciers, low water levels in lakes,
worsening floods, and decreasing lean season flows in rivers
will not only affect Tibetans. by Pushpa Adhikary
15. Further Reading and Websites
