Australian Alps

Overview

The continent of Australia is flat, hot and dry, so it’s rare to find high-altitude peaks, glacial lakes and alpine ecosystems such as those in the Australian Alps. This incredibly biodiverse alpine region of around 1.6 million hectares stretches from Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, through southern New South Wales, and along the Great Dividing Range in eastern Victoria.

The national heritage-listed Australian Alps encompass 11 national parks and nature reserves that contain plant and animal life found nowhere else in Australia and, in some cases, the world. These rare alpine environments include fern-filled forests and Snow Gum woodlands, cirque lakes and alpine meadows that sprout colourful wildflowers in summer and autumn. Glaciers have created incredible landforms containing a wide range of rock types that are hundreds of millions of years old.

This stamp issue showcases three spectacular alpine environments within the Australian Alps: snow-covered woodlands in Namadgi National Park, in the ACT; the spectacular granite tor, known as the Cathedral, in Mount Buffalo National Park, Victoria; and in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, the picturesque Cootapatamba valley, through which the Swampy Plain River flows.

Technical specifications