The mountain was given its current name in 1935 by Malcolm Livingstone Urquhart, who named it after Geryon, the three-headed monster of Greek mythology.[4] Like Geryon, the mountain has three main summits: north peak, the highest; south peak; and the Foresight[3] in between, named for its resemblance of a rifle sight. A fourth, lower peak, south of south peak, is known as southern spur.[3]
Mount Geryon's north peak has an elevation of 1,516 metres (4,974 feet)above sea level[1] and is the twelfth-highest mountain in Tasmania. The south peak, with an elevation of 1,509 metres (4,951ft),[2] is the state's fifteenth-highest peak.
The peaks of Geryon are features of a sharp rocky ridge or arête extending north-south and connecting the main massif of the Du Cane Range with the Acropolis. East of this arête is the Narcissus River valley and, to the west, Pine Valley, the valley of Cephissus Creek. Both were once occupied by glaciers flowing toward what is now Lake St Clair.
Mount Geryon is a major feature of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and an occasional venue for bushwalkers and mountain climbers. It has more than 40 ascent routes for climbers, some of which are more than 300 metres (980ft) in height. However, it is the east face at up to 420 metres (1,380ft) in height, easily the greatest precipice in the national park, for which Mount Geryon is most admired.
The lakes of The Labyrinth, to the west on the opposite side of Pine Valley, are often used as foreground in photographs of Mount Geryon. Sunsets illuminate the mountain's west face and its three main peaks are prominent.
↑Boss-Walker, Ian. "Peaks and High Places". Trove, National Library of Australia. Scenery Preservation Board, Hobart, 1964 (p56). Retrieved 18 January 2026.
