The mountain rises above the glacially formed
Dove Lake, Lake Wilks, and Crater Lake. It has four named summits.
In order of height they are Cradle Mountain, Smithies Peak,
Weindorfers Tower, and Little Horn.
The mountain itself is named after its
resemblance to a gold mining cradle.
Glacial
history
There have been at least three major ice ages in
Tasmania. The oldest occurred around one million years ago and the
most recent reached a peak 18.000 years ago.
During these
ice ages, ice sheets and valley glaciers dramatically changed the
landscape. Snow, ice and water carved, pushed, cut, carried,
dumped, eroded, abraded and sculpted the landscape that we see
today.
Geology
Cradle
Mountain has a distinctive appearance. This is caused by a special
type of rock which covers about 40% of Tasmania and is not found on
Australian mainland. It is one of the geological links between
Australia and eastern Antarctica. It is an igneous rock that was
formed about 170 million years ago when Gondwana began to break up.
Weaknesses in the earth’s crust let magma to intrude into
sub-surface cracks where it cooled and turned into this special
type of rock. Erosion removed the sedimentary rocks covering it and
today we can see the special shapes on the mountain
tops.
Walks and
orientation
The
area around the mountain has a large number of day walks, as well
as being one terminus of the Overland Track. The mountain is
frequently climbed by tourists, virtually year round. It is a
strenuous (recommended allotted time: 6.5 hours) return hike from
the Dove Lake car park. The climb up the rocky part of the mountain
involves scrambling over large boulders for several hundred metres.
The entire climb is exposed to any bad weather that may arrive
quickly and at any time.
Please inform beforehand about the
latest weather reports at the national park visitors’ centre
at the parks entrance. Do not risk climbing up in bad weather
conditions!!
From
the summit, there are spectacular 360° views, encompassing Dove
Lake, Barn Bluff and Mount Ossa.
There
is a parking area at Ronny Creek, the outlet of Lake Dove, which is
approximately 8 km from the national park visitors’
centre. There is also a boomgate at the parks entrance wich should
limit the number of park visitors. If this gate won´t open anymore
you can go by shuttle bus. The bus runs frequently between visitors
centre and Lake Dove.
In
addition to getting here by private transport or by hiking on the
Overland Track, there are also public bus services from Launceston
and Devonport to the Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre. Many tour
companies also stop here.
This
Earthcache
To log
this earthcache you will need to visit the published coordinates
and answer the following questions:
-
Describe in
your own words the color and shape of the rock formations at the
Cradle Mountain summit. What is the distinctive appearance of
Cradle Mountain??
-
Make a guess: Where does this appearance come
from??
-
What is the type of rock at the Cradle Mountain
summit which also covers 40% of Tasmania??
-
According to the metal plate on the summit: What
is the distance to Barn Bluff (..which also consists of the special
rock type and has similar distinctive
formations)??
You can log this cache as
soon as you have emailed your answers, no need to wait for
confirmation. Please include the name of this earthcache in the
email. If you want a reply please include your email address. Any
problems with your answers we'll be in touch. Feel free to take a
picture at the spot and upload it with your
log.
Again, be reminded, that this is a
dangerous alpine area where weather conditions can change rapidly.
Take care and be well equipped.
No cache in
the world is worth risking your
life!!
I hope you enjoy this
earthcache at this spectacular location. Happy
earthcaching!!
