The Remarkable Cave, southeastern Tasmania: its geomorphological development and environmental history

Abstract

The paper describes a sequence of slope and valley-fill deposits that occur ina fossil geo at Remarkable Cave on the Tasman Peninsula of southeastern Tasmania.These deposits overlie a cobble beach deposit on the floor of the geo which is believedto be of Last Interglacial age. The slope and valley-fi11 deposits predate 37,000 BPand an early Last Glacial age is suggested. Pollen from organic and charcoal-richhorizons suggest that the vegetation of the area was mainly a Leptospermum scrub orheath with local areas of Eucalyptus forest/woodland. Pomaderris apetala and Dicksoniaantarctica occurred in damp valleys. Fire was an important environmental factor duringthis time and probably contributed to the maintenance of sub-climax vegetationassociations and permitted severe episodic erosion of soil and regolith materials fromthe steep valley sides aft.er burning. The sea cave known as Remarkable Cave was mainlyformed during the last 6,000 years and is much younger than the geo which it intersects.