The Walls of Jerusalem National Park is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

located in the Central Highlands region of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The park is located approximately northwest of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, east of the

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania ( Australia), northwest of Hobart. The park contains many walking trails, and is where hikes along the well-known Overland Track usually begin. Maj ...

, and west of the Central Plateau Conservation Area. It is south of

Mole Creek, Tasmania Mole Creek is a town in the upper Mersey Valley, in the central north of Tasmania, Australia. Mole Creek is well known for its honey and accounts for about 35 percent of Tasmania's honey production. The locality is in the Meander Valley Coun ...

, and Rowallan Lake. The national park forms part of the

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...

. The locality of Walls of Jerusalem is in the local government areas of Central Highlands (36%) and Meander Valley (64%) in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The locality is about north-west of the town of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Etymology and history

The park takes its name from the geological features of the park which are thought to resemble the walls of the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. As a result, many places and features within the park also have

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

references for names, such as Herods Gate, Lake Salome, Solomons Jewels, Damascus Gate, the Pool of Bethesda. According to local legend, a prophet roams the wilderness, cursing the nations of the walkers who enter the park.

Features

The most prominent feature of the park is King Davids Peak 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''. Th ...

. Much of the walking track consists of raised boards, from Wild Dog Creek through to Dixon's Kingdom, with the purpose of protecting the fragile alpine vegetation. Walking tracks elsewhere in the park consist of rock, rocky earth, grassland and marsh. Looking east from Mt Jerusalem - Walls of Jerusalem

Looking east from Mt Jerusalem - Walls of Jerusalem

In film

Some scenes for the second episode of the BBC documentary series ''

Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. Envi ...

'' were filmed here.

Geography

The locality has an area of , all of which is occupied by the national park.

Road infrastructure

The C171 route (Mersey Forest Road) runs south just outside the north-western boundary (in the locality of

Mersey Forest The Mersey Forest is a network of woodlands and green spaces being created across Merseyside and North Cheshire by a wide-ranging partnership of different organisations including local authorities, community groups and businesses. The Mersey Fore ...

) to the Walls of Jerusalem car park, where it ends.

References

External links

{{Authority control National parks of Tasmania Central Highlands (Tasmania) Protected areas established in 1978 Wilderness areas of Tasmania 1978 establishments in Australia Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Localities of Central Highlands Council Localities of Meander Valley Council Towns in Tasmania