Three Sisters (Australia)

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The Three Sisters
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The Three Sisters
The Three Sisters towering above the Jamison Valley. The lighter coloured orange/yellow sections indicate fresh rock, exposed by recent erosion.
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The Three Sisters towering above the Jamison Valley. The lighter coloured orange/yellow sections indicate fresh rock, exposed by recent erosion.

The Three Sisters are a famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. They are close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' most famous sights, towering above the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m).

The Sisters were formed by erosion. The soft sandstone of the Blue Mountains is easily eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, and the cliffs surrounding the Jamison Valley are being slowly broken up. Formations like the Three Sisters are created when water seeps into small cracks in the rock, gradually enlarging them over time to form large indentations. Eventually, the Sisters will be eroded away completely.

Indigenous Australian Dreamtime legend says that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by a witch doctor to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.

From the nearby Echo Point, a bushwalking trail leads to the Three Sisters and down to the valley floor via a set of well-maintained steel steps. The Federal Pass is a trail leading to the base of Katoomba Falls and the Katoomba Scenic Railway.