Simpson Desert

Coordinates: 24°34′S 137°25′E / 24.57°S 137.42°E / -24.57; 137.42

Ted Colson's expedition across the Simpson Desert in 1936

The Simpson Desert from space by NASA's Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), showing dust storm on 16 December 2007

Big Red, Simpson Desert. Photo by Paul Hanly, 10 September 2007

The Simpson Desert occupies approximately 176 500 square kilometres of central Australia^[1][2]. It is located within, and near the common boundaries of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland states of Australia.^[3] It is bounded to the west by the Finke River and Mabel Range, to the north by the Adam Range, to the east by the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers, with Lake Eyre to the south. Average annual rainfall is less than 200 mm.

The Simpson Desert is underlain by the Great Artesian Basin, water from which rises to the surface at numerous natural springs, including Dalhousie Springs, and at bores drilled along stock routes, or during petroleum exploration. As a result of exploitation by such bores, the flow of water to springs has been steadily decreasing in recent years.

The Simpson Desert is an erg which contains the world's longest parallel sand dunes.^[4] These north-south oriented dunes are static, held in position by vegetation. They vary in height from 3 metres in the west to around 30 metres on the eastern side. The most famous dune, Nappanerica, or, more popularly, Big Red (named by Simpson Desert traveller Dennis Bartell), is 40 metres in height.^[5]

The explorer Charles Sturt,^[6] who visited the region from 1844-1846, was the first European to see the desert, but it was not until 1936 that Ted Colson became the first white person to cross it in its entirety. The name Simpson Desert was coined by Cecil Madigan^[7], after Alfred Allen Simpson, an Australian philanthropist, geographer, and president of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.

No maintained roads cross the desert. However, there are tracks that were made during seismic surveys in the search for gas and oil during the 1960s and 1970s. These include the French Line, the Rig Road, and the QAA Line. Such tracks are still navigable by well-equipped four-wheel-drive vehicles which must carry extra fuel and water. Towns providing access to the edge of the Simpson Desert include Oodnadatta to the southwest, and Birdsville in the east. Last fuel on the western side is at the Mount Dare hotel and store. Before 1980, a section of the Commonwealth Railways Central Australian line passed along the western side of the Simpson Desert. Within the Simpson, the ruins at Dalhousie Springs, Dalhousie Springs, Purnie Bore wetlands, Approdinna Attora Knoll and Poeppel Corner (where Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory meet) are popular landmarks.

Because of the excessive heat and inadequately experienced drivers attempting to access the desert in the past, it has been decided to close the Simpson Desert during the summer of 2008-2009 — to save unprepared "adventurers" from themselves ^[8]

References

See also

4WD touring in the Simpson Desert requires careful preparation.

• Simpson Desert National Park
• Simpson Desert Conservation Park
• Simpson Desert Regional Reserve
• Australasia ecozone
• Ecoregions of Australia
• List of deserts by area

External links

• Into the Simpson Desert: audio blog at the National Museum of Australia
• Aerial Video footage of the Simpson Desert
• Rainer's Outback Guide
• Diamantina Outback information
• Across Australia Motorbike Tour
• The Bibliography of Aeolian Research