Mountains

One of the Tarkine’s most outstanding landscape features are its mountain ranges, with the Norfolk Range and the Meredith range providing the two dominant ranges in the Tarkine region.

The Norfolk range rises spectacularly out of the Tarkine’s coastal heathland, dominating the landscape in the western Tarkine – with the creeks and rivers running off each side of the Norfolk range breaking up the expansive heathlands and buttongrass plains. This region is blanketed in a tapestry of heath and buttongrass moorland, pockets of forest types at differing stages of succession, and gorge-like drainage lines.

In the South of the Tarkine, the Meredith range, a granite mountain range, dominates the landscapes, with thick rainforests running off the gullies and slopes of the mountain range. The Meredith Range is an undulating granite plateau that comprises the largest area of exposed Granite in Western Tasmania. The geology of the granite range includes unique drainage formations off the range – with the result being peculiar and spectacular drainage patterns.

The Meredith and the Norfolk Ranges, especially on a clear day, offer spectacular 360 degree views of the Tarkine coast, across the vast rainforests of the Tarkine, south to Mt Heemskirk and Mt Zeehan, and inland to the mountains of the Cradle-Mountain National Park and World Heritage area.

A refuge for the Devil

The Tarkine is the home to the last disease free population of the Tasmanian Devil. The Tasmanaian Devil is being pushed to extinction by the fatal Devil Facial Tumour Disease. This disease has been estimated to have killed 80% of the Tasmanian Devil population in the past decade. As such the habitat of the Tarkine is critical to survival of this iconic species in the wild. Threats such as mining, logging and roading place the future of the Devil at risk.

New mines for the Tarkine?

New mines are being proposed for the Tarkine, and the campaign to prevent this onslaught of destruction is heating up. Many of these mines are Pilbara style open cut mines. Early successes in this campaign have seen off mine proposals at Keith River, Riley Creek and Nelson Bay River, but Venture Minerals are intending to press ahead with their proposed tin mine at Mt Lindsay. We will continue the fight to prevent this tragedy.