Freycinet National Park
Encyclopedia
Freycinet is a national park on the east coast of Tasmania
, Australia
, 125 km northeast of Hobart. It occupies a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula
, named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet
, and Schouten Island
.
Bordering the national park is the small settlement of Coles Bay
, and the largest close town is Swansea
. Freycinet contains part of the rugged Tasmanian coastline and includes the secluded Wineglass Bay, voted by several travel authorities as one of the world's ten best beaches. Famous features of the park include its red and pink granite formations and a series of jagged granite peaks in a line, called "The Hazards
".
Founded in 1916, Freycinet is Tasmania's oldest park, along with Mount Field National Park
.
Within the park Federal Hotels owns and operates Freycinet Lodge.
was once common at Freycinet, but has seen a significant drop in density due to the Devil facial tumour disease
.
Granite
is the dominant rock type at Freycinet. Orthoclase
, a pink feldspar
gives the mountains and coastline their characteristic pink tint. Black micas and white quartz are also found. The western side of Schouten Island is composed of Jurassic Dolerite.
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 125 km northeast of Hobart. It occupies a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula
Freycinet Peninsula
Freycinet Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Tasmania, Australia. It is located north of Schouten Island, at . It is the site of Freycinet National Park....
, named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet
Louis de Freycinet
Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet was a French navigator. He circumnavigated the earth, and was one of the first to produce a comprehensive map of the coastline of Australia.-Biography:...
, and Schouten Island
Schouten Island
Schouten Island is a 28 km2 island in eastern Tasmania, Australia. It lies 1.6 kilometres south of Freycinet Peninsula and is a part of Freycinet National Park.-History:...
.
Bordering the national park is the small settlement of Coles Bay
Coles Bay, Tasmania
Coles Bay, the hub of Tourism on Tasmania's east coast, is an Australian town on the east Coast of Tasmania located 192 km north east of Hobart and 209 km south east of Launceston, being the main entrance point for visitors to the Freycinet National Park...
, and the largest close town is Swansea
Swansea, Tasmania
-Demographics:According to the 1996 census, the town's population was 495. Of the population, 25.1% were above the age of 65 - making it the Tasmanian town with the largest percentage of over-65-year-olds.-References:...
. Freycinet contains part of the rugged Tasmanian coastline and includes the secluded Wineglass Bay, voted by several travel authorities as one of the world's ten best beaches. Famous features of the park include its red and pink granite formations and a series of jagged granite peaks in a line, called "The Hazards
The Hazards
The Hazards are a rugged mountain chain in the Freycinet National Park on Tasmania's east coast. They are positioned between Coles Bay, Tasmania and Wineglass Bay and are said to be named after local whaler, African-American Captain Richard Hazard....
".
Founded in 1916, Freycinet is Tasmania's oldest park, along with Mount Field National Park
Mount Field National Park
Mount Field National Park is a national park in Tasmania, Australia, 64 km northwest of Hobart. The landscape ranges from eucalyptus temperate rainforest to alpine moorland, rising to 1,434 metres at the summit of Mount Field West....
.
Within the park Federal Hotels owns and operates Freycinet Lodge.
Fauna
Mammals found at Freycinet include the Brushtail Possum, Ringtail Possum, Sugar Glider, Eastern Pygmy Possum, Little Pygmy Possum, Echidna, Wombats, New Holland Mouse, Swamp rat, Water rat, Tasmanian Bettong and the Long-nosed Potoroo. The Tasmanian DevilTasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
was once common at Freycinet, but has seen a significant drop in density due to the Devil facial tumour disease
Devil facial tumour disease
Devil facial tumour disease is an aggressive non-viral transmissible parasitic cancer—which likely originated in Schwann cells—that affects Tasmanian devils. The first "official case" was described in 1996, in Australia...
.
Geology
DevonianDevonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
Granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
is the dominant rock type at Freycinet. Orthoclase
Orthoclase
Orthoclase is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock. The name is from the Greek for "straight fracture," because its two cleavage planes are at right angles to each other. Alternate names are alkali feldspar and potassium feldspar...
, a pink feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
gives the mountains and coastline their characteristic pink tint. Black micas and white quartz are also found. The western side of Schouten Island is composed of Jurassic Dolerite.