| Type: | protected | ||||||||
| Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park | |||||||||
| State: | tas | ||||||||
| Iucn Category: | II | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | -42.4094°N 146.0319°W | ||||||||
| Relief: | yes | ||||||||
| Map Type: | nomap | ||||||||
| Image2 Alt: | Interactive map showing Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in Tasmania | ||||||||
| Nearest Town Or City: | Strathgordon | ||||||||
| Area: | 4463.42 | ||||||||
| Established: | 1908 | ||||||||
| Managing Authorities: | Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service | ||||||||
| Url: | https://parks.tas.gov.au/explore-our-parks/franklin-gordon-wild-rivers-national-park | ||||||||
| Footnotes: |
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Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers is a national park in Tasmania, 117 km west of Hobart. It is named after the two main river systems lying within the bounds of the park - the Franklin River and the Gordon River.
The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park lies between the Central Highlands and West Coast Range of Tasmania in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.[1]
It is bisected by the only road to pass through this area - the Lyell Highway.
The genesis of the Wild Rivers National Park was in the earlier Frenchmans Cap National Park which had the Franklin River as its boundary on the northern and western borders. Frenchmans Cap is a dominant feature in the region, and can be seen on the skyline from the west and north of the park.[2]
The Gordon and Franklin Rivers were the subject of one of Australia's largest conservation efforts. The Franklin Dam was part of a proposed hydro-electric power scheme that had been in the plans of The Hydro for some time. The enthusiastic endorsement by Robin Gray's Liberal Government would have seen the river flooded. It became a national issue for the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, led by its director at the time, Bob Brown.
Despite being given heritage status, the catchments and rivers remain at risk.
The Lyell Highway winds for 56 kilometres through the heart of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.