Ben Lomond (Tasmania)

Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond Summit Run
Highest point
Elevation	1,572 m (5,157 ft)
Parent peak	Legges Tor
Coordinates	41°34′S 147°40′E / 41.567°S 147.667°E / -41.567; 147.667Coordinates: 41°34′S 147°40′E / 41.567°S 147.667°E / -41.567; 147.667
Geography
Ben Lomond Location in Tasmania
Location	Tasmania, Australia
Geology
Age of rock	Jurassic
Mountain type	Dolerite

Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north of Tasmania, Australia.

The mountain is composed of a central massif with an extensive plateau above 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and high outlier peaks projecting from the mountain. The highest feature on the plateau is the unimposing summit of Legges Tor, at 1572 m, on the northern aspect of the plateau. The southern end of the plateau is dominated by Stacks Bluff, 1,527 metres (5,010 ft), which is an imposing feature that drops away to a cliffline 600 metres (2,000 ft) above the surrounding foothills. The prominent outlier peaks of Ragged Jack (1,369 metres (4,491 ft)), Mensa Moor (1,358 metres (4,455 ft)) and Tower Hill (1,122 metres (3,681 ft)) surround the plateau.

Ben Lomond is east of Launceston in the Ben Lomond National Park. Tasmania's premier Alpine skiing operations are located at Ben Lomond with downhill skiing facilities in the State.

Its accessibility from Launceston, together with the existence of a ski village on the plateau make Ben Lomond an all year round favourite for tourists and hikers. Access to the village and summit can be made via several walking tracks or via a zig-zag road known as "Jacobs Ladder".

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Palawa name for Ben Lomond was usually recorded as Turbunna, Toorbunna or Toorerpunner. The meaning of this name is uncertain, although, apocryphally, it is said to mean 'Rain Tail'. Modern etymological researchers of the Palawa lexicon assert that, in addition to turbunna, there were several names for Ben Lomond:

The aboriginal names for Ben Lomond probably refer to Stacks Bluff or the southern division of the massif - as the toponym Ben Lomond was usually applied to the southern half of the mountain in 1800s Tasmania, when the aboriginal words were recorded. The lake on the southern aspect of the plateau, now known as Lake Youl, was known to the Aborigines as meenamata, the prefix mena/miena being the aboriginal word for lake or lagoon. This name survives on modern maps as the toponym for the small lakes on the north-western aspect of the plateau - the Menamatta Tarns.