Mount Read, Tasmania
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Mount Read is a mountain located in the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
region of
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, Australia, and is at the north west edge of the
West Coast Range The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The range has had a significant numb ...
. With an elevation of
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
, Mount Read has had as colourful a history, similar to that of Mount Lyell, with mines, settlements and other activities on its slopes for over a hundred years.


Geology

The main copper and gold ore bearing deposits in the West Coast Range are known to occur in the
Mount Read Volcanics The Mount Read Volcanics is a Cambrian volcanic belt that exists in Western Tasmania. It is a complex belt due to folding, faulting and a range of tectonic events. It is a productive mineralised belt that has profitable copper-silver and gold pr ...
relating to the complex geology of the area. Mineralisation and deposits were being identified well beyond the life of the original mines utilised on Mount Read. To the south east of Mount Read are many features of glaciation in the
Tyndall Range The Tyndall Range, commonly called ''The Tyndalls'', is a mountain range that is part of the West Coast Range located in the Western region of Tasmania, Australia. The main focal point for the range is Mount Tyndall which lies at the northern ...
as well as glacial lakes of Lake Westwood, Lake Selina, and Lake Julia.


Hercules Haulage

The Hercules Mine on Mount Read was connected by a haulage incline to Williamsford and then to the
North East Dundas Tramway The North East Dundas Tramway was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge tramway (industrial), tramway, that ran between Zeehan and Deep Lead (now Williamsford, Tasmania, Williamsford) on the West Coast, Tasmania, West Coast of Tasmania. Opening ...
. The haulage was self-acting and long and high with a maximum gradient of 1 in 5. The mine was in production in the late nineteenth century. It had a major strike in 1906. The mine produced well into the mid twentieth century. The mine site had ceased operation and was subject to cleanup processes in the early 2000s. The Hercules Gold and Silver Mining Company was an operating company that ceased in 1916. The Mount Read and Rosebery Mines Limited started as an ex-Mount Lyell offshoot, absorbed by EZ by 1925.


Mount Read township

The community, mainly known in early sources as the Mount Read township surrounding the Hercules minesite had various struggles for services and facilities.
Situated at 1000 metres Mount Read (township) was the most elevated town which has existed in Tasmania


Huon pine

Despite extensive historic mining and human activity on its slopes, Mount Read has unique and significant stands of
Huon pine ''Lagarostrobos franklinii'' is a species of conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It is often known as the Huon pine or Macquarie pine, although it is actually a podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a true pine (Pinace ...
forests on its slopes. The southern slopes of Mount Read have been identified as a special habitat enclosed in the Lake Johnston Nature Reserve.http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=6330 Summary of Lake Johnston Nature Reserve – Site Development Plan 2001


Climate

Mount Read has an alpine
subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: Cfc), bordering on a
tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ET). It currently has a
Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...
automatic weather station An automatic weather station (AWS) is an automated version of the traditional weather station, either to save human labour or to enable measurements from remote areas. An AWS will typically consist of a weather-proof enclosure containing the data ...
in place, and it scores well in extreme weather conditions. Its extreme rainfall records for Autumn 2006 put it on a par with the Lake Margaret rainfall – which was still apparently recorded till 30 June 2006 by Hydro employees, but not appearing on the BOM website. It has one of the highest annual rain day amount in the world at 282 days, topping Cherrapunji in India, but falling behind
Mount Waialeale Mount Waialeale is a shield volcano and the second highest point on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. Its name literally means "rippling water" or "overflowing water" The mountain, at an elevation of , averages more than of rain ...
in Hawaii and
López de Micay López de Micay () is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. The Colombian meteorological service IDEAM reports an average annual precipitation of , potentially making it the wettest inhabited place in the world; however, som ...
in Colombia, which have 335 and 315 rainy days respectively. Its monthly temperature averages are comparable to those of Reykjavik in Iceland.
Snowfalls Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
are highly frequent and often very heavy, occurring at all times of the year.


See also

* List of highest mountains of Tasmania *
North East Dundas Tramway The North East Dundas Tramway was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge tramway (industrial), tramway, that ran between Zeehan and Deep Lead (now Williamsford, Tasmania, Williamsford) on the West Coast, Tasmania, West Coast of Tasmania. Opening ...
*
Montezuma Falls The Montezuma Falls (formerly Osbourne Falls), a horsetail waterfall on a minor tributary to the Pieman River, is located on the West Coast Range of Tasmania, Australia. Naming The falls draws its name from Montezuma (1466-1520), an Aztec emper ...
*
West Coast Tasmania Mines The mines of the West Coast of Tasmania have a rich historical heritage as well as an important mineralogical value in containing or having had found, specimens of rare and unusual minerals. Also, the various mining fields have important roles ...
* List of oldest trees


References


Further reading

* * Pink, Kerry. ''The west coast story : a history of Western Tasmania and its mining fields'' Rev. ed. Zeehan, Tasmania : West Coast Pioneers' Memorial Museum, 1984. * * *


External links


Bureau of Meteorology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Mount Mountains of Tasmania Mount Read Mount Read Mount Read Tasmanian forests West Coast Range Huon Pine