About this episode

Dr Jacqueline Halpin discusses Tasmania's geological history and its significance.

On today's episode of Wonder, Holly & Anthony are joined online by Dr Jacqueline Halpin from the University of Tasmania for an armchair geological tour of one of Australia's most spectacular and surprising places. If you've hiked the Overland Trail, wandered Salamanca, or stared up at kunanyi/Mt Wellington from the Hobart warf, this one is for you. Tasmania's geology is in-your-face, world-class, and wildly underrated! It turns out the rocks of Tasmania have a story that starts not on this continent, but in North America, 1.4 billion years ago. From the ancient quartzites of Rocky Cape (cousins to the Rocky Mountains), through violent continental collisions in the Cambrian, Devonian beach granites, Gondwana-breaking dolerites, and a Pleistocene ice cap that carved the deepest lake in Australia... Jacqui walks us through the extraordinary archive written into Tasmania's landscape. Find us at www.thegeoco.com.au | Instagram & TikTok: @thegeoco | Newsletter: thegeoco.substack.com GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

People in this episode

Hosts: Holly, Anthony

Guest: Dr Jacqueline Halpin

Topics covered

• geology
• Tasmania
• landscape
• continental collisions
• Pleistocene ice cap
• ancient rocks

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Tasmania

Places: Tasmania, North America, Rocky Cape, Hobart, kunanyi/Mt Wellington, Adelaide Plains, Australia

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Wonder podcast page.