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landscape and natural beauty

A number of the Tarkine's landscapes are exemplary and include:

• The largest tract of temperate rainforest in Australia. Located in the Tarkine's north-east in the upper reaches of the Rapid, Keith, Donaldson and Savage Rivers, the vastness of this rainforest is impressive. The densely rainforested upper Savage River is exceptional due to its deeply incised gorge system.
• The Meredith Range - an undulating granite plateau comprising the Meredith Batholith, the largest exposed area of granite in western Tasmania. According to Sharples (1992a) it is "an outstanding example of joint-controlled topography on granitic rocks", and its geomorphology is typified by rectilinear drainage - a patterning that is both peculiar and spectacular.
• The Norfolk Range - a feature of the Western Coastal Platform characterised by an undulating to flat topography. This region is blanketed in a tapestry of heath and buttongrass (Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus) moorland, pockets of a variety of forest types at differing stages of succession, and gorge-like drainage lines.
• The Tarkine's coastline is broadly linear with a contrasting arrangement of jagged rocky headlands and cliffs, extensive dunal systems, long sandy beaches, small coves, lagoons, grassy woodland, coastal heathland and swamp. It includes Sandy Cape, a picturesque area with a high density of archaeological sites.

In so far as any undisturbed patchwork of diverse ecosystems and geomorphology can be considered beautiful or aesthetically pleasing, the Tarkine Wilderness undoubtedly qualifies.

The natural beauty of the region not only relates to the high degree of biophysical naturalness (Commonwealth of Australia 1997), but also to the changing nature of landscapes.

Any experience of natural landscapes depends on a range of factors including the season, weather, and the quality of ambient light. Nature's beauty has a somewhat elusive quality described by Smith (cited in Dixon 1982) as being "characterised by the complete dominance of nature". This is intrinsic to the human experience of the Tarkine Wilderness.

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