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Tasmania

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Australian Caves and Karst Systems

Part of the book series: Cave and Karst Systems of the World ((CAKASYWO))

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Abstract

Australia’s island state, Tasmania, contains many of the country’s deepest, wettest and coldest cave systems, most closely resembling those of the cooler, wetter parts of Europe and North America. It comprises over 400 islands between Boundary Island, near the Victorian coast, and Macquarie Island 1900 km to the south. These islands contain many significant karst and pseudokarst systems, with carbonate and non-carbonate caves; the most extensive and complex being in the central-western region of the main island. Most are impounded karsts, with few significant systems draining directly to the sea. Caves are often spectacularly decorated with carbonate and sulfate speleothems and contain complex clastic sediment sequences, including Permian to Devonian aged palaeokarst deposits. Quartz crystal-lined passages in some dolomite caves suggest early hypogene development—Australia’s only large, active hypogene karst system is found at Smithton in the north-west. Karst systems reflect strong environmental gradients, with climate, hydrology and vegetation controlled by steep, high-relief topography interspersed with rain shadows in inland valleys. For its size, Tasmania’s bedrock geology is very diverse, with rocks from all major periods represented. The most complex karst systems and largest caves are found in Neoproterozoic dolomites and Palaeozoic (commonly Ordovician) limestones of the centre-west, whilst karst is also developed in Permian, Tertiary and Quaternary limestones. The older carbonates are commonly overlain by flat-lying Permo-Triassic sediments, thick Jurassic dolerite sills and Tertiary basalt flows, which control ingress of surface water as stream knickpoints retreat. Many karst areas have been affected by multiple Plio-Pleistocene glacial advances, which have produced Australia’s only glacio-karst systems. Non-carbonate caves include sea caves, weathering caves, lava tubes, and mazes in periglacial slope deposits. Archaeological and palaeontological deposits in caves dating from the peak of the last glacial provide evidence for the southernmost human occupation in the world and the distribution of Pleistocene megafauna. Caves contain a very diverse invertebrate fauna, reliant on regular nutrient inputs from surface streams.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Ecology and Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia

    Ian Houshold

  2. 45 Gormanston Road, Moonah, TAS, 7009, Australia

    Alan Jackson

Authors
  1. Ian Houshold
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  2. Alan Jackson
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Correspondence to Ian Houshold .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Genetics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    John Webb

  2. Department of Environment and Genetics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Susan White

  3. Newcastle and Hunter Valley Speleological Society, Broadmeadow, NSW, Australia

    Garry K. Smith

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Houshold, I., Jackson, A. (2023). Tasmania. In: Webb, J., White, S., Smith, G.K. (eds) Australian Caves and Karst Systems. Cave and Karst Systems of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24267-0_4

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