Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park, Cradle Valley, TAS | Photographs: |   | | List: | Register of the National Estate | | Class: | Natural | | Legal Status: | Registered (21/03/1978) | | Place ID: | 12416 | | Place File No: | 6/03/032/0008 | | Statement of Significance: | | The park is a mountainous area of outstanding beauty and is largely undisturbed. It offers protection for the source of five of the most important river systems in Tasmania. It is an area of high plant species diversity, having 119 different plant communities. The park is a major stronghold of endemic species, 40-55% of known flora of the park are endemic; also includes most endemic rainforest species and other endemics. 68% Of higher plant species recorded from alpine areas in Tasmania are present in the park. Only reserved E.RODWAYI woodlands are present in this park; some of the reserved areas of E.PAUCIFLORA also. The park includes most of the animal species occurring in montane western Tasmania. The many walking tracks offer an exceptional recreation. | | Official Values: Not Available | | Description: | The Overland Track and Innes Track, which are located in this place, have cultural values which are described in separate place records.
Topography and Landscape
The predominant feature of the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park and associated reserves is their mountainous character. These mountains are commonly divided by deep valleys which together form the source of five of the most important river systems of the State, the Forth, the Mersey, the Derwent, the Murchison and the Mackintoch. Within the park there are numerous lakes of glacial origin, ranging in size from the 22 square kilometre Lake St Clair in the south to tiny tarns. At the northern and southern end of the park the terrain is relatively gentle with hills at an elevation of c1000 metres. Within a few kilometres, however, there are mountains, especially at the northern end, rising as high as 1500 metres. Further south there is a considerable area of exposed high plateau at about 1000 metres. (A similar high plateau occupies much of the south-east part of the park east of Lake St Clair.) South of this again there are more mountains, generally of the order of 1500 metres, they include Mount OSSA, which has a height of over 1600 metres and so is the highest in Tasmania. Geology and Geomorphology Three main solid rock stratigraphic units comprise the greater part of the reserves. They are: 1) a Precambrian basement of metamorphosed sediments; 2) Dominantly Permian and Triassic marine and terrestrial sediments; and 3) Jurassic dolerite. Essentially the geology of the area consists of a complexly folded Precambrian basement overlain, with violent unconformity, by gentle dipping sediments of dominantly Permian and Triassic age. Immense sheets of dolerite were intruded into these Permo-Triassic rocks and along the Permian-Precambrian unconformity. Soils Alpine humus soils are characteristic of most of the park. These are associated with periglacial solifluction deposits. Such soils are at c600m and above, but where slopes are sufficient they may go well below this. These deposits consist of boulders and fragments mainly of dolerite in an earthly matrix which is usually coloured a strong brown. Its texture varies with the source from sand to clay but within any profile it changes little with depth. Vegetation The park gains much of its attraction from the varied colours and forms of its plants and plant communities. Highly complex topography and geology, high relative relief and consideration variation in fire history and drainage all contribute to a high species diversity.
The park is one of the major strongholds of Tasmanian endemic species. Endemic higher plant species constitute from 40 to 55% of the known alpine floras of the park, which contains at least 68% of the higher plant species rainforest species recorded from alpine areas in Tasmania. Most of the endemic rainforest species are also found in the park as many of the endemics of EUCALYPTUS forest and woodland, scrub, grassland and sedgeland. The alpine vegetation of the park is highly diverse and has largely missed the widespread disturbance by fire that has occurred elsewhere in the area. The Cradle Plateau has vegetation typical of the western siliceous mountains and Mt Oakleigh has vegetation typical of the eastern, relatively dry, dolerite mountains. Almost all the alpine areas are characterised by the abundance of fire-susceptible species such as the grymnosperms and deciduous beech. Rainforest communities dominated by ATHROTAXIS SELAGINOIDES and A.CUPRESSOIDES have one of their major strongholds in the park, having been drastically reduced in area elsewhere by firing. Some large areas of tall ecualpt forest dominated by EUCALYPTUS DELEGATENSIS are found in the park, in different development stages after fire. The only reserved E. RODWAYI woodlands are found in the south of the park, which also contains some of the few reserved areas of E. Paucifloa woodland and forest in the State. Subalpine grassland, a vegetation type largely degraded elsewhere by domestic stock grazing and frequent firing, is found in small pockets in the park, the most notable being Waldheim and Pelion Plains. | | History: Not Available | | Condition and Integrity: | | Park vegetation is largely free of fire disturbance, except for southern end. Current usage of tracks exceeds physical carrying capacity. High level of use also carries a high potential of fire. | | Location: | | About 126,062ha, 2km north of Derwent Bridge. Generally bounded by Courtney Hill, Lake Hanson, Hansons River, Forth River, Mt Oakleigh, Lake Ayr, Mt Pelion East, Mersey River, Jupiter Mountains, Travellers Rest Lake and River, Mt Rufus, Pyramid Mountain, George Creek, Bluff River, Fury River and Mt Remus. | | Bibliography: | PEAKS & HIGH PLACES - IAN BOSS-WALKER
G. BERGMAN - WEINFORFER, HERMIT OF CRADLE MOUNTAIN
M. MCKELVEY - CRADLE COUNTRY
NPWS - CRADLE MT - LAKE ST. CLAIR NATIONAL PARK
M. SHARLAND - TASMANIAN NATIONAL PARKS
M. MORCOMBE - AUST NATIONAL PARKS |
Report Produced: Wed Jan 31 17:49:38 2007 |
