Katoomba

Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and the administrative headquarters of Blue Mountains City Council.

Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and the administrative headquarters of Blue Mountains City Council. Katoomba is situated on the Great Western Highway 102 km (63 mi) west of Sydney and 39 km (24 mi) south-east of Lithgow. Katoomba railway station is on the Main Western line.Katoomba is a base for bush and nature walks in the surrounding Blue Mountains. At the 2016 census, Katoomba had a population of 7,964 people.

For thousands of years, the Blue Mountains were home to Aboriginal peoples, particularly the Gundungurra and Darug tribes. They knew the area known as kedumba, meaning shiny, falling waters. Even today, there are still plenty of traditional Aboriginal peoples living in the Blue Mountains, where there are now a number of cultural sites that walk visitors through the region's rich past and share the customs and heritage of the local tribes.Katoomba and nearby Medlow Bath were first developed as tourist destinations towards the end of the 19th century when a series of hotels were built and then repeatedly extended.Coal and oil shale mining was also carried out in the Jamison Valley for many years, but when the seams were completely exhausted by the early 20th century, Katoomba was an established resort town. By the 1960s, Katoomba had somewhat declined, and several of its guest houses were converted for other purposes, including convalescent hospitals.In the 1980s, the guest houses and hotels again became fashionable and many were restored.

Katoomba has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild summers and cool winters. At Katoomba (1040 metres above sea level) summer daytime temperatures are usually in the low 20s – with a few rare days extending into the 30s (Celsius) – and night-time temperatures usually in the low teens. In winter, the maximum temperature is typically about 10 °C (50 °F) while the minimum generally around 0 °C (32 °F) or so on clear nights and 3 to 4 °C (37 to 39 °F) on cloudy nights. There are usually two or three settled snowfalls per year. Temperatures are on average 7 °C (13 °F) lower than Sydney with many misty days. Katoomba has 79.8 days of clear skies, annually.

The Blue Mountains has a reputation for snow in winter. However, despite the cool temperatures, there are only around five snowy days per year in the upper mountains area. It is extremely rare to see snow below Lawson. It is not unusual to see white blankets of frost covering the ground in the early morning hours. In the evening, thick coverings of ice can form on car windscreens. Moreover, winters aren't as snowy and rainy as those of Orange and Oberon, to the west; this is due to the fact Katoomba lies on the leeward side of the Great Dividing Range, therefore experiencing a foehn effect, whereas the latter towns lie windward of the Ranges, which are exposed to the westerly frontal systems.Several significant snowfalls have been recorded. On 5 July 1900, snowdrifts were over 6 feet (1.8 metres) deep in parts of the Blue Mountains. The snow and ice caused significant problems throughout central New South Wales, with rail and road closures, damage to buildings, and disruption to telegraph services. A winter storm on 17 July 1965 also produced very heavy snow and ice in the area, with damage to buildings and major difficulties with road and rail transport. More recently, a cold snap brought very heavy snow, up to 20 cm, to Katoomba and other towns in the upper Blue Mountains on 17 July 2015 which was the heaviest snowfall in many years.

Katoomba's main industry is tourism based on its mountain scenery. The rock formation known as the Three Sisters, viewable from Echo Point about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the main town, attracts four million visitors each year. Other features of the Jamison Valley visible from Echo Point include Mount Solitary and the rock formation known as the Ruined Castle. A short walk from Echo Point leads to the Giant Stairway which provides access to a number of nature walks through the Valley. Several of the Jamison Valley tracks, including the Stairway itself, were closed in recent years due to maintenance, but most have since been re-opened. The local geography includes extensive areas of dense warm temperate rainforest, hanging swamps and a series of waterfalls.

Other attractions include Scenic World, a tourist complex in the southwest of the town. This site is home to the steepest funicular railway in the world, the Katoomba Scenic Railway, which was originally built to facilitate coal and oil shale mining in the Jamison Valley. Scenic World also offers the Scenic Skyway cable car, which travels over an arm of the Jamison Valley and offers views of Katoomba Falls and Orphan Rock. In 2004 the original Skyway car was replaced by a new car with a liquid crystal panel floor, which becomes transparent while the car travels. In 1983 construction began at the site on a roller coaster called the Orphan Rocker; the track was completed, but this attraction has never been opened to the public.Katoomba is served by hotels and guest-houses, the oldest of which is the Carrington Hotel, established in 1882 and occupying the highest point in town. The town centre, centered on Katoomba Street, features dozens of cafes and restaurants, including the Paragon which dates to the early 20th century, as well as a number of second-hand book and antique stores.