Bluff Knoll

{{Short description|Mountain in Western Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=October 2011}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Bluff Knoll | image = Bluff knoll 01 gnangarra.jpg | elevation_m = 1,099 | elevation_ref = <ref name=goa>{{cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=262308 |title=Bluff Knoll |date=2004-01-16 |work=Gazetteer of Australia online |publisher=Geoscience Australia, Australian Government|access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010210525/http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=262308 |archive-date = 10 October 2012}}</ref> | prominence_m = 650 | prominence_ref = | location = Great Southern of Western Australia | range = Stirling Range | map = Western Australia | coordinates = {{coord|34|22|32|S|118|15|22|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref name=goa/> }} '''Bluff Knoll''' is the highest peak of the Stirling Range in the Great Southern region of Western Australia (WA). It is {{convert|1099|m|ft}} above sea level,<ref name="goa" /> with a prominence of {{convert|650|m}}. The local Aboriginal people, the Mineng and Koreng/Goreng sub-groups of the Noongar Nation, call the mountain {{lang|nys|Boola Miyel}} or {{lang|nys|Pualaar Miial}}, meaning 'great many-faced hill'<ref name="barber">{{Cite book |last=Laurie |first=Victoria |title=The Southwest: Australia's Biodiversity Hotspot |publisher=UWA Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=9781742585000 |location=Crawley, Western Australia |pages=101 |language=}}</ref> or 'many eyes', as the peak has rock formations that resemble eyes looking out across the valley.

The main access to the base of the walk trail is from Chester Pass Road. The Bluff Knoll trail is a round trip of about {{convert|6|km|mi|0}} taking three to four hours,<ref name=":0" /> and has a grade 4 rating of climbing difficulty, with some steep and rough steps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bluff Knoll |url=https://trailswa.com.au/trails/bluff-knoll |access-date=2021-10-31 |website=Trails WA |language=en}}</ref> In 2020 many parts of the trail were destroyed in the Black Summer bushfires, and has since been upgraded and improved.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-04-17 |title=Bluff Knoll hike trail to reopen after bushfire |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/bluff-knoll-hiking-trail-reconstruction-nearly-complete/12157110 |access-date=2021-10-31}}</ref> The view from the summit encompasses the Stirling and Porongurup mountain ranges, as well as the coast near Albany.

Due to its elevation, Bluff Knoll and the surrounding peaks of the Stirling Ranges are some of only a few places to experience regular snowfalls in Western Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ABC Great Southern |date=4 July 2019 |title=Snow has been falling in Western Australia since records began |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-04/snowfall-not-uncommon-in-western-australia/11274842 |website=ABC News}}</ref> When snow is forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology it attracts hikers from all over the southwest region to experience it.

The peak was given its name by Governor James Stirling as the highest point in the Stirling Range.<ref name="R1">{{cite news |date=12 February 1928 |title=Western Australian names |page=24 |newspaper=Sunday Times (Perth) |issue=1568 |location=Western Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58346067 |via=National Library of Australia |accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref> Although Bluff Knoll is sometimes claimed to be the highest point in Western Australia,<ref name="R1" /> the highest peak is actually Mount Meharry in Karijini National Park in the Hamersley Range, which is {{convert|1249|m|ft}} above sea level.

== Aboriginal history == Some Mineng and Koreng/Goreng people treat the bluff with foreboding and prefer to avoid its rocky ridges. Noongar artist Tjyllyungoo/Lance Chadd states:<ref name="barber" /> {{blockquote |text=It's a place of different moods, lots of eyes looking...In the old days, old people went around that place. It holds the totemic spirit of our people.}} The mountain is often shrouded in a mist which curls around the peaks and floats into the gullies. Signage at the Bluff Knoll carpark states that a mist-like spirit named {{lang|nys|Noatch}} (meaning 'dead body' or 'corpse' in the Noongar language) resides there.<ref name=":1" />

In ''Boola Miyel: The place of many faces'' Noongar Elders Jack Williams and Averil Dean state:<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Jack |title=Boola Miyel: The place of many faces |last2=Dean |first2=Averil |publisher=Batchelor Press |year=2007 |isbn=9781741311082 |location=Batchelor, NT |language=}}</ref> {{blockquote |text={{lang|nys|Boola Miyel}} is the place of many faces. If you look into the rock face you will see all of the eyes of the many faces looking out at you. {{lang|nys|Boola Miyel}} is the place where the spirit {{lang|nys|Noyintj}} lives, this is the spirit of the dead...When any Noongar person dies down in Koreng country, their spirit always comes back to {{lang|nys|Boola Miyel}} before it passes onto the great beyond.}} Elders Williams and Dean also associate Bluff Knoll with the story of a young woman who set two suitors against each other, resulting in their deaths. The young woman was banished and became a lonely spirit who wails and wanders among the peaks.<ref name=":2" />

== Geology == thumb|300px|left|The path from Bluff Knoll summit

The mountain as well as the rest of the Stirling Range were formed as Australia broke away from Antarctica. When both the continents began to separate a rift gradually opened. In the first stage of rifting, it began to open in the west, then later the eastern section began to open. The two continents pivoted slightly at a point in the west, which squeezed the sediments at the western end of the break against the Yilgarn block, which forced the sediments up to form the range. The sedimentary rocks that were folded up are 1.2 billion years old. The rocks on the range are mostly sedimentary such as sandstone, quartzite, slate and shale.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://austhrutime.com/stirling_range.htm|title= Stirling Range Koi Kyeunu-ruff, Western Australia|accessdate=17 April 2017|publisher=Australian through time|author=M.H.Monroe}}</ref>

== Climate == While there are no weather stations on Bluff Knoll, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's gridded climate dataset extrapolates the highest average elevation, coldest 0.025° × 0.025° area of the Stirling Ranges (the {{convert|6.5|km2|mi2|1}} from 34.35° to 34.375° S and 118.25° to 118.275° E;{{efn |The resolution of the BoM's gridded climate data depends on the variable; temperature is sampled at 0.025°, rainfall at 0.05° (nearest pixel 34.325–34.375° S, 118.225–118.275° E) in the freely-downloadable data, rain days and relative humidity at 0.1° (nearest pixel 34.35–34.45° S, 118.25–118.35° E), sunshine hours at 0.25° (nearest pixel 34.145–34.375° S, 118.125–118.375° E), and UV index at 1.5° (nearest pixel 33.42–34.92° S, 117.75–119.25° E).}} just excluding the summit but at a higher average elevation than its pixel) as having, averaged over its extent, a temperate or warm-summer mediterranean climate (''Csb'') according to the Köppen and Bureau of Meteorology classification systems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F. |author-link6=Eric Franklin Wood |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |pages=180214 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214 |pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |language=En |issn=2052-4463|bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Stern|first1= Harvey|last2= Hoedt|first2= Graham|last3= Ernst|first3= Jeneanne|date= June 2000|title= Objective classification of Australian climates|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279766565_Objective_classification_of_Australian_climates|journal= Australian Meteorological Magazine|volume= 49|issue= 2|pages= 87–96|doi= |access-date= 28 June 2022}}</ref> Alternatively, according to the Trewartha climate classification, it has a temperate oceanic climate (''Do'') due to insufficiently seasonal precipitation, bordering on Trewartha's humid subtropical climate (''Cf'') due to its eighth-warmest month (May) being only {{convert|0.5|C-change|1}} cooler than {{convert|10|C|F}} on average.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belda |first1=M |last2=Holtanová |first2=E |last3=Halenka |first3=T |last4=Kalvová |first4=J |title=Climate classification revisited: from Köppen to Trewartha |journal=Climate Research |date=4 February 2014 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.3354/cr01204 |url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/cr_oa/c059p001.pdf}}</ref> Due to global warming since the 1961–1990 normals used in the temperature extrapolation, the area may now fall within that zone, but unlikely the summit itself.

Bluff Knoll is the coldest place in Western Australia. Summers are mild while winters are cold by Australian standards; area-wide winter means are comparable to those of Canberra,<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_070014_All|site_name=CANBERRA AIRPORT COMPARISON|access-date=28 June 2022|date=23 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_070351_All|site_name=CANBERRA AIRPORT|access-date=28 June 2022|date=23 June 2022}}</ref> and average August lows at the summit likely brush freezing, with maxima frequently beating the {{convert|5.6|C|F}} state record low figure set on 16 July 1946 at Salmon Gums and 5 August 1951 at Mount Barker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/annual_extremes.cgi?climtab=tmax_low&area=wa&year=2022|title=Official records (Lowest daily maximum temperatures) for Western Australia|date=28 June 2022|work=Daily Extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date= 28 June 2022}}</ref> Diurnal temperature variation is significantly greater in summer than in winter, averaging {{convert|12.1|C-change|1}} in January yet only {{convert|5.3|C-change|1}} in July. Like most areas of southwestern Australia, more precipitation is recorded in winter, though precipitation events tend to be heavier in summer.

Bluff Knoll is one of only a few places to experience regular snowfalls in Western Australia, with some snow reported in most years. Snow on 20 April 1970 was recorded in Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) records.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winter arrives early in WA as cold Antarctic burst delivers April snow for first time since 1970 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-20/snow-in-albany-western-australia-record/11032616 |website=www.abc.net.au |access-date=7 December 2020 |language=en-AU |date=19 April 2019}}</ref> A heavy snowfall was recorded on 6 October 1992 when 20 centimetres of snow fell and light snow was seen at the base, at {{convert|450|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Snowfall dusts WA’s Stirling Ranges |url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/snowfall-dusts-was-stirling-ranges-hikers-build-snowman-on-bluff-knoll-ng-bc29d67797ee2bab421df2eb1b420568 |website=PerthNow |access-date=7 December 2020 |language=en |date=10 August 2015}}</ref> Snow fell on three occasions in 2016 after only falling once in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/snow-in-western-australia-bluff-knoll-wa-great-southern/7703764|title=Snow falls on Bluff Knoll as hikers brave freezing temperatures|author=Andrew Collins|date=9 August 2016|accessdate=17 April 2017|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> A flurry was recorded on the peak after 2:00 pm on 19 April 2019—it was the earliest recorded snow event in a calendar year in the history of Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaur |first1=Herlyn |title=Snow falls in WA in April for first time in 49 years as Good Friday cold blast turns Bluff Knoll white |url=http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/snow-falls-in-wa-in-april-for-first-time-in-49-years-as-good-friday-cold-blast-turns-bluff-knoll-white/529610 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420095559/http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/snow-falls-in-wa-in-april-for-first-time-in-49-years-as-good-friday-cold-blast-turns-bluff-knoll-white/529610 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 April 2019 |website=Weatherzone |publisher=Weatherzone |access-date=28 June 2022}}</ref>

{{Weather box  | name = Bluff Knoll area | width =  | collapsed =  | open =  | metric first = yes | single line = Y  | trace =  | location = Bluff Knoll area (extrapolated; temperatures and rainy days 1961–90, rainfall 1981–2010, humidity 1976–2005, UV index 1979–2007) | temperature colour =    | Jan maximum humidex = | Feb maximum humidex = | Mar maximum humidex = | Apr maximum humidex = | May maximum humidex = | Jun maximum humidex = | Jul maximum humidex = | Aug maximum humidex = | Sep maximum humidex = | Oct maximum humidex = | Nov maximum humidex = | Dec maximum humidex = | year maximum humidex =   | Jan record high C = | Feb record high C = | Mar record high C = | Apr record high C = | May record high C = | Jun record high C = | Jul record high C = | Aug record high C = | Sep record high C = | Oct record high C = | Nov record high C = | Dec record high C = | year record high C =  | Jan avg record high C = | Feb avg record high C = | Mar avg record high C = | Apr avg record high C = | May avg record high C = | Jun avg record high C = | Jul avg record high C = | Aug avg record high C = | Sep avg record high C = | Oct avg record high C = | Nov avg record high C = | Dec avg record high C = | year avg record high C =   | Jan high C = 22.3 | Feb high C = 21.7 | Mar high C = 19.7 | Apr high C = 16.2 | May high C = 12.7 | Jun high C = 10.1 | Jul high C = 9.2 | Aug high C = 9.7 | Sep high C = 11.9 | Oct high C = 14.5 | Nov high C = 17.2 | Dec high C = 20.6 | year high C =  | Jan mean C = 16.2 | Feb mean C = 16.2 | Mar mean C = 14.8 | Apr mean C = 12.3 | May mean C = 9.5 | Jun mean C = 7.4 | Jul mean C = 6.6 | Aug mean C = 6.7 | Sep mean C = 8.1 | Oct mean C = 10.0 | Nov mean C = 12.2 | Dec mean C = 14.6 | year mean C =  | Jan low C = 10.2 | Feb low C = 10.7 | Mar low C = 9.9 | Apr low C = 8.3 | May low C = 6.3 | Jun low C = 4.7 | Jul low C = 3.9 | Aug low C = 3.6 | Sep low C = 4.4 | Oct low C = 5.5 | Nov low C = 7.1 | Dec low C = 8.7 | year low C =  | Jan avg record low C = | Feb avg record low C = | Mar avg record low C = | Apr avg record low C = | May avg record low C = | Jun avg record low C = | Jul avg record low C = | Aug avg record low C = | Sep avg record low C = | Oct avg record low C = | Nov avg record low C = | Dec avg record low C = | year avg record low C =    | Jan record low C = | Feb record low C = | Mar record low C = | Apr record low C = | May record low C = | Jun record low C = | Jul record low C = | Aug record low C = | Sep record low C = | Oct record low C = | Nov record low C = | Dec record low C = | year record low C =  | Jan chill = | Feb chill = | Mar chill = | Apr chill = | May chill = | Jun chill = | Jul chill = | Aug chill = | Sep chill = | Oct chill = | Nov chill = | Dec chill = | year chill =  | precipitation colour =   | Jan precipitation mm = | Feb precipitation mm = | Mar precipitation mm = | Apr precipitation mm = | May precipitation mm = | Jun precipitation mm = | Jul precipitation mm = | Aug precipitation mm = | Sep precipitation mm = | Oct precipitation mm = | Nov precipitation mm = | Dec precipitation mm = | year precipitation mm =

| unit precipitation days =  | precip days colour =  | Jan precipitation days = | Feb precipitation days = | Mar precipitation days = | Apr precipitation days = | May precipitation days = | Jun precipitation days = | Jul precipitation days = | Aug precipitation days = | Sep precipitation days = | Oct precipitation days = | Nov precipitation days = | Dec precipitation days = | year precipitation days =  | unit rain days = 1 mm | Jan rain days = 2 | Feb rain days = 3 | Mar rain days = 4 | Apr rain days = 6 | May rain days = 9 | Jun rain days = 11 | Jul rain days = 12 | Aug rain days = 11 | Sep rain days = 10 | Oct rain days = 8 | Nov rain days = 6 | Dec rain days = 3 | year rain days =  | unit snow days =  | Jan snow days = | Feb snow days = | Mar snow days = | Apr snow days = | May snow days = | Jun snow days = | Jul snow days = | Aug snow days = | Sep snow days = | Oct snow days = | Nov snow days = | Dec snow days = | year snow days =   | humidity colour =  | time day = 15:00 | daily =  | Jan humidity = | Feb humidity = | Mar humidity = | Apr humidity = | May humidity = | Jun humidity = | Jul humidity = | Aug humidity = | Sep humidity = | Oct humidity = | Nov humidity = | Dec humidity = | year humidity =   | Jan afthumidity = 40 | Feb afthumidity = 42 | Mar afthumidity = 45 | Apr afthumidity = 51 | May afthumidity = 60 | Jun afthumidity = 67 | Jul afthumidity = 67 | Aug afthumidity = 64 | Sep afthumidity = 59 | Oct afthumidity = 51 | Nov afthumidity = 46 | Dec afthumidity = 42 | year afthumidity =  | Jan dew point C = | Feb dew point C = | Mar dew point C = | Apr dew point C = | May dew point C = | Jun dew point C = | Jul dew point C = | Aug dew point C = | Sep dew point C = | Oct dew point C = | Nov dew point C = | Dec dew point C =  | Jan sun = | Feb sun =  | Mar sun = | Apr sun = | May sun = | Jun sun = | Jul sun = | Aug sun = | Sep sun = | Oct sun = | Nov sun = | Dec sun = | year sun =  | Jand sun = 8.0 | Febd sun = 7.0 | Mard sun = 6.0 | Aprd sun = 5.0 | Mayd sun = 4.0 | Jund sun = 4.0 | Juld sun = 4.0 | Augd sun = 5.0 | Sepd sun = 5.0 | Octd sun = 6.0 | Novd sun = 6.0 | Decd sun = 8.0 | yeard sun =  | Jan light = | Feb light = | Mar light = | Apr light = | May light = | Jun light = | Jul light = | Aug light = | Sep light = | Oct light = | Nov light = | Dec light = | year light =  | Jan percentsun = | Feb percentsun = | Mar percentsun = | Apr percentsun = | May percentsun = | Jun percentsun = | Jul percentsun = | Aug percentsun = | Sep percentsun = | Oct percentsun = | Nov percentsun = | Dec percentsun = | year percentsun =  | Jan uv = 12.2 | Feb uv = 11.2 | Mar uv = 8.5 | Apr uv = 5.5 | May uv = 3.3 | Jun uv = 2.5 | Jul uv = 2.7 | Aug uv = 3.8 | Sep uv = 5.8 | Oct uv = 8.1 | Nov uv = 10.2 | Dec uv = 11.8 | year uv =  | source = Bureau of Meteorology<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/maps.shtml|title=Maps of average conditions|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date= 27 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/climatology/gridded-data-info/gridded-climate-data.shtml|title=Climatological gridded data information - Australian Maps|work=Gridded climate data|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date= 28 June 2022}}</ref>  | source 2 = }}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:Mountains of Western Australia Category:Climbing areas of Australia Category:Shire of Gnowangerup Category:Stirling Range