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 in a 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 believed to be of Last Interglacial age. The slope and valley-fi11 deposits predate 37,000 BP and an early Last Glacial age is suggested. Pollen from organic and charcoal-rich horizons suggest that the vegetation of the area was mainly a Leptospermum scrub or heath with local areas of Eucalyptus forest/woodland. Pomaderris apetala and Dicksonia antarctica occurred in damp valleys. Fire was an important environmental factor during this time and probably contributed to the maintenance of sub-climax vegetation associations and permitted severe episodic erosion of soil and regolith materials from the steep valley sides aft.er burning. The sea cave known as Remarkable Cave was mainly formed during the last 6,000 years and is much younger than the geo which it intersects.