Aerial View: Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia.
The Glass House Mountains are a group of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
The highest hill is Mount Beerwah at 556 meters above sea level, but the most identifiable of all the hills is Mount Tibrogargan which from some directions appears to be a face staring out to sea. Mt Ngungun consists of sub-volcanic rock, also known as a hypabyssal rock, an intrusive rock emplaced at medium-to-shallow depths within the crust and has intermediate grain size, and often porphyritic texture between that of volcanic and plutonic rocks.
Mount Ngungun and the Glass House Mountains are located near Beerburrum State Forest and Old Gympie Road. From Brisbane, follow the Bruce Highway north, take the Glass House Mountains tourist drive turn-off and follow the signs to the Glass House Mountains. The trip is about one hour and eleven minutes from Brisbane.
The Volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains rise dramatically from the surrounding Sunshine Coast landscape. They were formed by intrusive plugs, remnants of volcanic activity that occurred 26-27 million years ago.
Molten rock filled small vents or intruded as bodies beneath the surface and solidified into land rocks. Millions of years of erosion have removed the surrounding exteriors of volcanic cores and softer sandstone rock.
Whilst the traditional names for the hills themselves are very old, the term 'Glasshouse Mountains' was given more recently by explorer Captain James Cook on 17 May 1770.
The peaks reminded him of the glass furnaces in his home county of Yorkshire.
Matthew Flinders explored the area and climbed Mount Beerburrum after sailing along Pumicestone Passage in 1799. The Glass House Mountains National Landscape was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 3 August 2006. In the land between the peaks, pineapple and poultry farming, as well as commercial forestry and quarrying are the main land uses.
In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Glass House Mountains was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".