| Freycinet National Park
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Nearest town/city: | Swansea |
| Coordinates: | 42°07′31″S 148°17′54″E / 42.12528°S 148.29833°E |
| Area: | 169 km² |
| Established: | 1916 |
| Visitation: | 200,000 [1] (in 2008) |
| Managing authorities: | Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Official site: | Freycinet National Park |
Freycinet is a national park on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, 125 km northeast of state capital city Hobart. Founded in 1916, Freycinet is Tasmania's oldest national park, along with Mt Field. Freycinet occupies a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula, which was named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet, and Schouten Island.
Bordering the national park is the small settlement of Coles Bay, and the largest close town is Swansea. Freycinet contains part of the rugged Tasmanian coastline and includes the secluded Wineglass Bay, voted by several travel authorities as one of the world's ten best beaches. Famous features of the park include its red and pink granite formations and a series of jagged granite peaks in a line, called The Hazards.
Within the park Federal Hotels owns and operates Freycinet Lodge.
Contents |
Flora and fauna
Mammals found at Freycinet include the Brushtail Possum, Ringtail Possum, Sugar Glider, Eastern Pygmy Possum, Little Pygmy Possum, Echidna, Wombats, New Holland Mouse, Swamp rat, Water rat, Tasmanian Bettong and the Long-nosed Potoroo.[2] The Tasmanian Devil was once common at Freycinet, but has seen a significant drop in density due to the facial tumour disease.[2]
49 Tasmanian Endemic species are found at Freycinet.[2]
Geology
Devonian Granite is the dominant rock type at Freycinet.[2] Orthoclase, a pink feldspar gives the mountains and coastline their characteristic pink tint.[2] Black micas and white quartz are also found.[2] The western side of Schouten Island is composed of Jurassic Dolerite.[2]
Climate
The park receives on average 600 mm (23.6 in.) of rain per year. It has a climate similar to that of France with on average more than 300 days of sunshine.[3]
| Weather data for Friendly Beaches | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.4 (98) |
37.0 (99) |
37.0 (99) |
31.4 (89) |
24.0 (75) |
21.0 (70) |
19.0 (66) |
23.5 (74) |
27.0 (81) |
32.7 (91) |
35.0 (95) |
37.0 (99) |
37.0 (99) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 22.8 (73) |
22.6 (73) |
21.4 (71) |
18.6 (65) |
16.1 (61) |
14.1 (57) |
13.7 (57) |
14.7 (58) |
16.7 (62) |
18.0 (64) |
19.5 (67) |
21.8 (71) |
18.3 (65) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 13.1 (56) |
13.2 (56) |
11.8 (53) |
9.6 (49) |
8.3 (47) |
6.4 (44) |
5.7 (42) |
6.1 (43) |
7.5 (46) |
8.6 (47) |
10.0 (50) |
11.6 (53) |
9.3 (49) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 6.0 (43) |
7.2 (45) |
5.3 (42) |
1.0 (34) |
-1.1 (30) |
0.0 (32) |
-0.5 (31) |
-0.1 (32) |
1.2 (34) |
1.2 (34) |
3.0 (37) |
5.5 (42) |
-1.1 (30) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 61.2 (2.41) |
60.3 (2.37) |
53.7 (2.11) |
50.3 (1.98) |
47.0 (1.85) |
36.2 (1.43) |
48.5 (1.91) |
48.7 (1.92) |
33.3 (1.31) |
65.2 (2.57) |
58.8 (2.31) |
36.6 (1.44) |
601.7 (23.69) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology [4] 16.08.2008 | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "Independent, tourism-related Web site for Tasmania". Michael Lichon. http://tassie.org.au/freycinet/. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g TASMAP - Freycinet National Park. DPIW.
- ^ Hema Maps (1997). Discover Australia's National Parks. Milsons Point, New South Wales: Random House Australia. pp. 364. ISBN 1975992472.
- ^ "Climate Statistics for Friendly Beaches" (in English). Australian Government. Bureau of Meteorology. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_092114_All.shtml. Retrieved 02 June 2009.
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