Tirari Desert
Tirari Desert | |
---|---|
Area | 15,250 km2 (5,890 sq mi) |
Geography | |
Country | Australia |
State | South Australia |
Region | Far North |
Coordinates | 28°22′S 138°07′E / 28.37°S 138.12°E |
The Tirari Desert is a 15,250 square kilometres (5,888 sq mi)
Location and description
The Tirari Desert features
It is located partly within the runs through the centre of the desert.The adjacent deserts of the area include Simpson Desert which lies to the north while the Strzelecki Desert is to the east and the Sturt Stony Desert runs aligned with the Birdsville track to the north east.
The desert experiences harsh conditions with high temperatures and very low rainfall (mean annual rainfall is below 125 millimetres (4.9 in)).[6]
Access and stations
The main vehicular access to the desert is via the unpaved
The Tirari Desert region has a number of large cattle stations which are stopping points on the Channel Country aviation mail run.[8]
Dulkaninna Station has been run by the same family for 110 years, has 2,000 cattle and breeds horses and kelpies.[8] Etadunna Station to the north is a 1-million-acre (4,000 km2) cattle station with 2500 cattle.[8] The station environs include a number of heritage sites include Bucaltaninna Homestead ruins, the Woolshed ruins and Canny
Further north again is Mulka Station which also has a number of heritage sites including homestead ruins at Apatoongannie, Old Mulka and Ooroowillannie. The Mulka Store ruins is listed as a state heritage place on the South Australian Heritage Register.[9]
Vegetation
The vegetation of the dunefields of the Tirari Desert is dominated by either Sandhill Wattle (
The interdune
The vegetation on the floodplains varies with the capacity of the land to retain floodwaters, and the frequency of inundation. In drier areas, species including Old Man Saltbush (
The intermittent watercourses and permanent waterholes associated with tributaries of Cooper Creek support woodland dominated by River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Coolibah (Eucalyptus coolabah).[11]
As at 2008, the Tirari Desert is included in
Fossils
The desert includes the Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area, a 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) area on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate with significant Tertiary period vertebrate fossils.[14]
History
The area was first explored by Europeans in 1866 and was previously settled by a small tribe of Aboriginals, the
Dieri people
The Tirari Desert has been part of the
Missions
In the 1860s two Aboriginal missions were established near the Cooper Creek crossing of the Birdsville Track. The Moravians established a short-lived mission at Lake Kopperamanna in 1866. This was closed in 1869 due to drought conditions and poor relations with the local indigenous community.[18][19]
Bethesda Mission was established by German
European exploration
On an 1866 expedition to determine the northern limit of Lake Eyre,
See also
- Deserts of Australia
- Lake Eyre Basin
- List of deserts by area
References
- ^ Geosciences Australia – Deserts
- ISSN 2391-5447.
- ^ "Lake Eyre 1". South Australian Film Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
- S2CID 129806389.
- ^ "Lake Eyre National Park". Department for Environment and Heritage. 2007. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
- .
- ^ "The Birdsville Track". Outback Australia. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
- ^ a b c "West Wing Aviation Mail Runs". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Heritage of the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracks" (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ a b c "South Australian Arid Lands Biodiversity Strategy Draft" (PDF). The Department for Environment and Heritage (Federal Government of Australia) and South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ a b "South Australian Arid Lands Biodiversity Strategy Draft" (PDF). The Department for Environment and Heritage (Federal Government of Australia) and South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
- ^ "South Australian Arid Lands Biodiversity Strategy Draft" (PDF). The Department for Environment and Heritage (Federal Government of Australia) and South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Tirari-Sturt stony desert". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area, Etadunna via Marree, SA, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate (Place ID 10686)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 October 1980. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "Claimant application summary". National Native Title Tribunal. 2006. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
- ^ South Australia native title claim. Edward Landers (2001)Dieri People native title claim[cartographic material] : NNTT SC97/004 and Federal Court SG6017/1998. South Australia. Dept. for Environment and Heritage. Environmental and Geographic Information Scale ca. 1:550 000 (E 137⁰00'--E 141⁰30'/S 26⁰30'--S 30⁰10') [Adelaide] : Environmental and Geographic Information, Dept. for Environment and Heritage, Map of Tirari Desert region including Lake Eyre and Strzelecki Recreational Reserve. "Native title claim boundary sourced from NNTT and current as at 27 February 2001". "Mapped: 9 July 2001".
- ^ Tindale, Norman (16 December 2003) [1974]. "Tirari (SA)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia (1974). South Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 11 January 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ ISBN 1-86450-187-1. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- ^ "Moravian Missionary Brothers". SA Memory. State Library (South Australia). Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Killalpaninna Mission site (Lutheran)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Taking it to the edge: Land: JW Lewis : Lake Eyre". Taking it to the edge - exploration in South Australia. State Library (South Australia). 22 May 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "South Australian Parliamentary Paper no. 19". 1876. Retrieved 27 June 2008.