Cradle Mountain is a landform meaning a key feature. It is located 144 km from Launceston, 83 km from Devonport and is the central feature to the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, part of Tasmania’s World Heritage Listed area. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Tasmania and is one of the major tourist sites in the state. The Cradle Mountain is composed of dolerite columns. The definite elongated shape is the section of the dolerite. An oceanic rock that withdraws beneath the surface of the earth as ledges (equal to the bed) or as walls (across the bedding planes).It is formed when the magma cools down. The first human settlement of the region occurred when the local Aboriginals moved into the highlands as the glaciers began to melt. The extensive button grass plains are a legacy of their extensive use of fire to clear pathways through the rugged terrain and to aid hunting by attracting animals to the tender shoots of the new vegetation.
Human impacts
The illegal cutting and removal of Huon pine trees and other valuable timbers. Wildfires are the genuine threat that could cause rapid, and major environmental impacts to the world heritage area.
The wildfires happen either frequently, too infrequently and when it is too hot. Hence, the exposure to fires is pending. This can cause significant long-term changes to the nature and level of vegetation, communities, as well as giving rise to serious risks to public safety, built association, and adjacent lands. The frequency and intensity of wildfires are likely to increase as a result of human-promotion of climate change.