Sydney’s Blue Mountains look blue.
There has been a terrorist attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. 16 people have died in the attack. Media reports have claimed that this attack was carried out to target the Jewish community. Hanukkah program was going on near Bondi Beach, for which people of the Jewish community had gathered. It was here that the gunmen targeted the Jews.
Sydney is a city where a large number of tourists visit. About 15 million tourists visit Sydney every year. Whenever the beautiful places here are discussed, the Blue Mountains are also mentioned. Usually mountains appear brown, white or green from a distance, but Sydney’s mountains appear blue.
Why are Sydney’s mountains blue?
There is a big reason behind the Blue Mountains of Sydney. There are eucalyptus trees far and wide here. Millions of eucalyptus trees falling on the mountains release oil particles into the air. These particles, when combined with sunlight, emit blue light. The real game behind this is science.
Air and eucalyptus oil diffuse more blue light. The mountains appear hazy blue from a distance. The Blue Mountains are located away from Sydney city. As distance increases, red and yellow colors become less visible. Blue color has shorter wavelength. Blue color is more effective. That’s why mountains always appear light blue from a distance.
Humidity and temperature are also responsible for the appearance of the Blue Mountains. Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images
Effect of humidity and temperature also
Humidity and temperature are also the reason behind the blue appearance of the Blue Mountains. There is more humidity in these hilly areas. Fluctuations in temperature are seen here. This also shows effect in deepening the complexion. Together they create an effect like blue smoke. In this way, if we actually look at the mountains closely, they will not appear blue. Be it mountains or rocks, it is green, but eucalyptus oil, air, temperature and moisture together give such a blue color to the mountains that they appear blue from a distance.
In the year 2000, the Blue Mountains were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/picture alliance via Getty Images
Blue Mountains are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage
In the year 2000, the Blue Mountains were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has been officially named Greater Blue Mountains Area in the list. There are many reasons behind including it in the list of World Heritage. The first is the variety of eucalyptus present here. 13 to 14 percent of all the Eucalyptus species in the world are found here. This area is considered very special for understanding the growth of eucalyptus. More than 1 thousand species of plants are found here. Rare mammals, birds and reptiles are found. Many such plants were also found here which were considered extinct. Like Wollemi Pine, it is called the tree of the dinosaur era. There are 8 national parks in the Greater Blue Mountains Area. This area is spread over 10 thousand square kilometers.
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