Mount Canobolas
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Mount Canobolas, at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level, is the highest mountain in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia. The mountain is of volcanic origin. It is located south of the city of Orange, and is about 300 kilometers west of Sydney.
The northern slopes of the mountain, with fertile volcanic soil, are becoming a popular cold-climate wine producing area.
The name comes from two Aboriginal words, 'coona' and 'booloo' meaning two heads or twin shoulders. There is a 360 degree view from the summit, which is often snow-capped in winter. The mountain is now part of a 15 square kilometre area controlled by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which offers various walks: to Bald Hill; to Young Man Canobolas; Federal Falls to Mount Towac, etc. The volcanic peaks give wide views and there are some attractive waterfalls. The mountain was first climbed by a European when Major Thomas Mitchell came there in 1835. An early squatter on the slopes of the Canobolas Range was Thomas Hood, whose father, John Hood, came here from England for a visit in 1841, and wrote an account of the district. By 1848 Hood was lessee for Boree Cabonne.