Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a national park and has a total area of 115.50 km², which includes a marine area of 18.78 km² off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 km in length from north to south and, at its widest, is about 13 km west to east. At its closest point (Point Lesueur), the island lies four kilometres off the east coast of Tasmania. The island was named in 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman after Maria van Diemen, wife of Anthony van Diemen, the governor general of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia. The island was known as Maria's Isle in the early 19th century.
For two periods during the first half of the 19th century, Maria Island hosted convict settlements. The island's first convict era was between 1825 and 1832 and its second - the probation station era - between 1842 and 1851. Among those held during the second era was the Irish nationalist leader William Smith O'Brien, exiled for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion. His cottage still exists in the nearby former penal colony Port Arthur to where he was deported after his time on Maria Island.
It is recommended that you allow 2 hrs for the return trip out to the painted Cliffs. You can take a stroller as we did, just be mindful the path is a little steep at times and quite bumpy.
The geology of Maria Island is of great interest as it contains features from many geological ages. The Triassic sandstones of the Painted Cliffs is one such feature.
Although this sort of rock formation is not uncommon, it is rare in a natural situation for it to be so extensively and beautifully exposed. The wonderful patterns are caused by ground water percolating down through the already formed sandstone and leaving traces of iron oxides, which have stained the rock formation. This probably occurred millions of years ago in a monsoonal climate.
More recently, sea spray hitting the rock face has dried, forming crystals of salt. These crystals cause the rock to weather in the honeycomb patterns that you see. Wave action has also created some interesting features. Rock fragments moved around by the water have gradually worn small potholes and notches into the cliff face, eventually resulting in the undercutting of the cliff. This is a continual process and as you walk further along you can see how quite recently the cliff top has collapsed, plunging sandstone blocks and she-oaks down to the sea.
There is no evidence of direct glacial activity found within any Permian Strata at Maria Island. The occurrence of a granite gruss below pre-Parmeener uncorformity indicate that the basement rocks were subjected to deep weathering and mass wasting. Such features suggest that the area of present-day Maria Island was beyond the limit of glaciation.
The listed Co-ordinates will bring you to the cliffs. Please be mindful of the tides as access to the cliffs can vary. Low tide is the best time to see them and the easiest time to access them to obtain the info needed. There are no visitors signs here with information.
To log this Earthcache you will need to answer the following;
Q1 What colours do you see in the different layers and how many layers can you count?
Q2 In your own words, describe the texture of the cliffs without touching them.
Please email the answers before submitting your discovery. If answers are not submitted, your log will be deleted.
Na'wal
Please feel free to upload a photo from your experience here. I hope you enjoyed the views and the color of this amazing place 