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| Central Highlands (Tasmania) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Central Highlands |
| State | Tasmania |
| Caption | High country lakes and buttongrass plains |
| Area km2 | 5,252 |
| Population | 2,500 |
| Coords | 42°15′S 146°45′E |
Central Highlands (Tasmania) The Central Highlands are an elevated plateau region in the central north of Tasmania characterized by extensive moorland, glacially scoured lakes and upland plains. Renowned for its natural values, the area links major conservation reserves and supports cultural associations with Palawa peoples and colonial-era exploration such as expeditions by John Batman–era figures and nineteenth-century surveyors. The region informs state-wide water management schemes associated with the Hydro-Electric Commission (Tasmania) and has shaped recreational identities tied to trout angling, hiking along routes associated with Overland Track-style traditions, and winter sports near Mount Field National Park‑adjacent ranges.
The Central Highlands lie inland from the Derwent River basin and border the Western Tiers, Great Western Tiers, Central Plateau Conservation Area and parts of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Major lakes include Great Lake (Tasmania), Lake Echo, Lake Sorell and Arthurs Lake, which punctuate a patchwork of buttongrass plains, scrubby Eucalyptus regnans remnants and dolerite-capped ridgelines. Key localities and townships proximate to the highlands include Hamilton, Tasmania, Bothwell, Tasmania, Oatlands, Tasmania and Miena, Tasmania, while transport corridors connect to Hobart and Launceston via roads such as the Lyell Highway and Highland Lakes Road.
Bedrock is dominated by Jurassic dolerite intrusions that create columnar jointing on escarpments shared with the Gondwana-derived crustal history of Tasmania and the Australian continent. Quaternary glaciation carved U-shaped valleys and left moraine-dammed basins forming the region’s highland lakes, similar geomorphology to sites studied in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The plateau includes peaks such as Mount Ossa in adjacent ranges and features distinct periglacial landforms; karst and sedimentary sequences near Lake St Clair illustrate Palaeozoic sequences comparable to those charted by Charles Gould and later mapped by the Tasmanian Geological Survey.
The Central Highlands experience a cool temperate montane climate influenced by proximity to the Southern Ocean and orographic uplift from the Western Tiers. Weather patterns show frequent snowfalls in winter, cold summers and rapid changes resembling climates monitored at Dover, Tasmania and Smithton, Tasmania stations. Precipitation regimes feed reservoirs central to the Hydro-Electric Commission (Tasmania) infrastructure and affect peatland carbon dynamics studied in Australian highland research comparable to work by CSIRO and university groups at University of Tasmania.
Vegetation mosaics include buttongrass moorlands, alpine sedgelands, cold-climate wet eucalypt forest and patchy montane rainforest related to communities recorded in the Tasmanian Vegetation Classifications. Fauna includes endemic marsupials such as Tasmanian devil, Eastern quoll and Bennett's wallaby populations in peripheral zones; avifauna includes Tasmanian scrubwren, Black-faced cuckooshrike and migratory species that use wetland habitats like Great Lake (Tasmania). Aquatic ecosystems host introduced brown trout and rainbow trout that underpin angling but interact with native galaxiids conserved under listings by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (Tasmania). Conservation concerns encompass invasive plants, altered fire regimes and peatland degradation highlighted in assessments by organisations such as Bush Heritage Australia and research from the Australian National University.
Palawa peoples, including groups associated with the Big River and Central Highlands Palawa regions, have longstanding cultural connections to highland lakes, hunting grounds and songlines recorded in oral histories compiled by Aboriginal organisations like the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. European exploration intensified in the early nineteenth century during surveys by figures connected to the Van Diemen's Land Company and colonial administrators including George Arthur (colonial administrator). Colonial-era land use, convict-era impacts and nineteenth-century pastoral expansion around settlements such as Bothwell, Tasmania shaped present landscape legacies documented in archives held by the Tasmanian Archives.
Sparsely populated settlements support activities centred on hydroelectricity, pastoralism, aquaculture and tourism; hydroelectric infrastructure projects engineered by the Hydro-Electric Commission (Tasmania) transformed lake levels and access. Sheep grazing and highland agriculture persist on leasehold and freehold properties near Miena, Tasmania and Breona, Tasmania, while licensed trout fisheries drive local economies linked to outfitters in towns such as Hamilton, Tasmania and Brontë Park. Conservation leasing, carbon monitoring and land management programs are implemented by state agencies including the Parks and Wildlife Service (Tasmania) and non-government groups like Tasmanian Land Conservancy.
The Central Highlands adjoin protected areas including parts of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and numerous conservation reserves managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service (Tasmania). Popular recreation encompasses trout angling on Great Lake (Tasmania), bushwalking routes accessed from Derwent Bridge, four-wheel driving along controlled tracks, and seasonal snow sports supported by club huts affiliated with organisations such as the Federation of Tasmanian Sporting Clubs. Management balances visitor access, cultural heritage protection and species recovery programs coordinated with academic partners like University of Tasmania and federal policy agencies including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Category:Highlands of Tasmania Category:Regions of Tasmania