Mount Piper is a steep, wooded, solitary mountain rising from 230m to 456m above an undulating plain between the Tallarook and Mount William ranges in central Victoria, some 65 km from Melbourne.
It's in a declared Education Reserve of 60 hectares.
The mountain is virtually an island of natural bushland surrounded by largely cleared grazing land with narrow corridors or small patches of remnant bushland on private land linking native habitat on Mount Piper with roadside and stream-side vegetation.
The mountain is of volcanic origin, being a quartz plug, originating from the near surface deposit of quartz and other minerals from hot solutions. Quartz capping is localised on the summit.
An area of olivine basalt extends north east from Mount Piper. Sandstones interspersed with basalt areas occur to the south west and west. The top soil on Mount Piper is shallow and rocky.
The vegetation on Mount Piper is a mosaic of open forest and woodland.
It's surrounded by mostly cleared farm land. It thus forms an isolated refuge, or 'island', for a number of plant and animal species. The summit area is an important habitat, especially as a breeding area, for eight butterfly species.
At the summit there is triangulation (trig) station.
Antimony was mined on a small scale from 1939 to 1945 but proved unprofitable, and exploratory shafts were sunk in search of gold. In 1989 a planning permit application for mineral exploration and prospecting over the area was lodged with the Shire of Broadford, but it was refused.
A radio mast, cables, pipelines and a radio shed were removed by the Gas & Fuel Corporation in 1990.
See the Photo Album of my trip!
See background information, for details about the Reserve.
It's in a declared Education Reserve of 60 hectares.
The mountain is virtually an island of natural bushland surrounded by largely cleared grazing land with narrow corridors or small patches of remnant bushland on private land linking native habitat on Mount Piper with roadside and stream-side vegetation.
The mountain is of volcanic origin, being a quartz plug, originating from the near surface deposit of quartz and other minerals from hot solutions. Quartz capping is localised on the summit.
An area of olivine basalt extends north east from Mount Piper. Sandstones interspersed with basalt areas occur to the south west and west. The top soil on Mount Piper is shallow and rocky.
The vegetation on Mount Piper is a mosaic of open forest and woodland.
It's surrounded by mostly cleared farm land. It thus forms an isolated refuge, or 'island', for a number of plant and animal species. The summit area is an important habitat, especially as a breeding area, for eight butterfly species.
At the summit there is triangulation (trig) station.
Antimony was mined on a small scale from 1939 to 1945 but proved unprofitable, and exploratory shafts were sunk in search of gold. In 1989 a planning permit application for mineral exploration and prospecting over the area was lodged with the Shire of Broadford, but it was refused.
A radio mast, cables, pipelines and a radio shed were removed by the Gas & Fuel Corporation in 1990.
See the Photo Album of my trip!
See background information, for details about the Reserve.
Was up there last night in fact. Beautiful, since had just been heavy rain.
ReplyDeletePatrick O'Shakespeare, Ivanhoe
did you see the tonnel thats on the nort east side of the hill ?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a pyramid, I wonder..
ReplyDelete