Tasmania, a verdant island in one of the most isolated latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. Situated on the 42nd parallel it represents one of the remotest and oldest land forms on Earth (we share this latitude only with the South Island of New Zealand and Chile). This location on the globe sees its prevailing atmospheric conditions as predominantly Westerly, called the Roaring Forties.
These winds bring moisture-laden air from the Great Southern Ocean to fall as rain across Tasmania, The mountainous Western portion of the Island receiving up to 2 metres of rain annually. This is the environment where the rainforests that contain the Leatherwood trees occur.
Geographically the Island represents one of the oldest landforms on earth, and as such has many unique species of fauna and flora.
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