    the three sisters is a rock formation in the blue mountains of new south wales, australia, on the north escarpment of the jamison valley. they are close to the town of katoomba and are one of the blue mountains' best known sites, towering above the jamison valley. their names are meehni (922&nbsp;m), wimlah (918&nbsp;m), and gunnedoo (906&nbsp;m). thumb|right|180px|the three sisters at sunset ==geology== the sisters were formed by land erosion. the soft sandstone of the blue mountains is easily eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, causing the cliffs surrounding the jamison valley to be slowly broken up. ==aboriginal legend== the commonly told legend of the three sisters is that three sisters (meehni', 'wimlah' and gunnedoo') lived in the jamison valley as members of the katoomba tribe. they fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe (the nepean tribe), but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. the brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters. a major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. this legend is claimed to be an indigenous australian dreamtime legend. however, dr martin thomas, in his work "the artificial horizon: imagining the blue mountains",thomas, martin, "the artificial horizon: imagining the blue mountains", melbourne university press, 2004 clearly shows that the "aboriginal" legend is a fabrication created by a non-aboriginal katoomba local, mel ward, presumably to add interest to
Australian_Aboriginal_mythology Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales) Rock_formations_in_Australia Visitor_attractions_in_New_South_Wales