- Linda Valley
Linda Valley is a valley in the West Coast Range of
Tasmania . It was earlier known as the Vale of Chamouni. It is between Mount Owen and Mount Lyell.Linda Valley is the location of two historical settlements, Linda and Gormanston. These settlements were close to the Mount Lyell mines and workings, at the western edge of
Lake Burbury , and east of the oldMount Lyell Mining and Railway Company operations.The terminus of the
North Mount Lyell Railway was at Gormanston and the Comstock Tram was proposed to circumnavigate Mount Lyell but was never completed.The valley suffered from extensive bushfires in the early twentieth century, and as a consequence the forested valley became denuded. Large numbers of tree stumps line the Mount Lyell slopes in the valley a hundred years after the fires.
The valley is the site of extensive evidence of glaciation in the West Coast Range with a particular stage known as the Linda Glacial stage [ Kiernan, Kevin (1983) "Weathering evidence for an additional glacial stage in Tasmania" Australian Geographical Studies Volume 21 Issue 2, Pages 197 - 220 (from abstract: An early cold climatic phase–the Linda Glacial Stage–is recognised on the basis of this weathering evidence which also indicates that there have been at least two more recent Glacial Stages of decreasing severity, termed here the Henty and Margaret Glacial Stages respectively. ]
The valley's glacial morraine
is the only
Late Pliocene site with plant fossil assemblages in Tasmania and one of only a few in Australia" [ [http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=14287 Australian Heritage Database ] ]The valley has been part of recent mineral exploration lease areas - however prospective mineral deposits have not been located to date, possibly due to the glacial morraine: -
Much of the area of EL 13/99 Linda is covered by a variable thickness of Quaternary glacial deposits that mask the underlying bedrock geology [ http://www.mrt.tas.gov.au/mrtdoc/tasxplor/download/01_4558/1399_200104_02_MainReport.pdf ]
Notes
References
*
* Whitham, Charles. "Western Tasmania: A Land of Riches and Beauty.":2003 edition - Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown. :1949 edition - Hobart: Davies Brothers. OCLC|48825404;ASIN [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMPZ80 B000FMPZ80] :1924 edition - Queenstown: Mount Lyell Tourist Association. OCLC|35070001;ASIN [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008BM4XC B0008BM4XC]
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