Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is a
desert covering approximately 170,000 square kilometres in central
Australia, occupying an area bounded on the west by the
Finke River and the Mabel Range, the Adam Range to the north, the Georgina River and the Diamantina River to the east, and
Lake Eyre to the south. Rainfall is less than 200 mm a year.
Beneath the Simpson Desert lies the Great Artesian Basin,
waters from which rise to the surface both at several natural springs and artificial bores The flow of water to the springs has been substantially reduced in recent years by over-exploitation and may soon cease.
Encyclopedia
The
Simpson Desert is a
desert covering approximately 170,000 square kilometres in central
Australia, occupying an area bounded on the west by the
Finke River and the Mabel Range, the Adam Range to the north, the Georgina River and the Diamantina River to the east, and
Lake Eyre to the south. Rainfall is less than 200 mm a year.
Beneath the Simpson Desert lies the Great Artesian Basin,
waters from which rise to the surface both at several natural springs and artificial bores The flow of water to the springs has been substantially reduced in recent years by over-exploitation and may soon cease.
The Simpson Desert is an erg and contains the world's longest parallel
sand dunes, running north-south. These dunes are static, held in position by vegetation, and vary in size from 3 metres in the west to around 30 metres on the eastern side. The most famous dune,
Nappanerica, or, more popularly,
Big Red , is 40 metres in height.
The desert was named by
Cecil Madigan in 1939 after Allen Simpson, an Australian philanthropist, geographer, and president of the Royal Geographical Society of S.A. In 1845, explorer
Charles Sturt was the first
European to visit the region, but it was not until 1936 that Ted Colson became the first white man to cross the entire desert.
There are no roads through the desert. However, there are tracks navigable by well-equipped four-wheel-drives carrying extra fuel and water. These tracks follow shot lines made by geological teams looking for oil and other minerals in the 1960s and 1970s. They include the French Line, the Rig Road, and the QAA Line. Towns providing access include
Oodnadatta to the southwest, and
Birdsville in the east.
A section of the Commonwealth Railways
Trans-Australian line passes through the western side of the Simpson Desert.
References
See also
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