Mole Creek Karst


The Mole Creek Karst is today mostly covered by the Mole Creek Karst National Park, which was founded in 1996. The area contains over 300 known caves and sinkholes. Other typical karst features are gorges, large underground streams and springs.

The Ordovician limestones of this area were formed mostly as coral reef in a shallow, oxygene rich sea. But in deeper parts of the sea was also formed limestone as the result of the accumulation of microscopic marine organisms, it has layers called bedding.

This area is famous for its numerous caves and also for its fauna and flora. This includes a number of invertebrate cave fauna such as Cockerills cave beetle (Tasmanotrechus cockerilli), the cave harvestman (Hickmanoxyomma gibbergunyar) and the extremely rare cave false scorpion (Pseudotyrannochthonius typhlus). This three troglobionts are endemic to the Mole Creek karst and are listed in the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.