Carnarvon Range (Western Australia)
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The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a
desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
region in the state of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, lying to the east of the
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
and north of the
Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gascoyne has about of ...
regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian bioregion in the 1990s.


History

Indigenous groups that have identified with the region include the Mandilara, an
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
group who are regarded as the
traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
of the land. Today the group recognised as traditional owners are the
Martu people The ''Martu'' (Mardu) are a grouping of several Aboriginal Australian peoples in the Western Desert cultural bloc. Name The Martu people were originally speakers of various Wati languages in the Western Desert dialect continuum whose identit ...
. The desert is crossed by the
Canning Stock Route The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek, Western Australia, Halls Creek in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna, Western Australia, Wiluna in the Mid West (Western Australia), ...
, an historic
stock route A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquial ...
created in the early 20th century.


Description

The Little Sandy Desert covers around and adjoins the Great Sandy Desert (, to the north) and the
Gibson Desert The Gibson Desert is a large desert in Western Australia, largely in an almost pristine state. It is about in size, making it the fifth largest desert in Australia, after the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami and Simpson deserts. The ...
(, to the east), all of which lie within the huge Australian Arid Zone which covers the centre of the
Australian continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts as Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and Eastern hemispheres, near t ...
. It lies east of the
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
region, and north of
Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gascoyne has about of ...
, and is part of the Western Desert. To the north the nearest large area identifiable is the
Karlamilyi National Park Karlamilyi National Park lies in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, northeast of Newman and north-northeast of Perth. Proclaimed an A Class Reserve on 13 April 1977, it is the largest national park in Western Australia. The park was in ...
.


Geography

Its landforms,
fauna and flora Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth. ...
are all similar to the Great Sandy Desert. The three deserts have low and highly variable rainfall, averaging annually, with most of it in summer. The
median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...
annual rainfall, based on the years 1890–2005, across the whole of the LSD is . and are subject to extreme heat. The landscape is dominated by red
sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
s,
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
mesas and rocky plains. The
Rudall River The Rudall River ( Wanman: ''Karlamilyi'') is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The entire length of the river is located within the boundaries of the Karlamilyi National Park, which straddles the Little Sandy Dese ...
has its
headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...
in the LSD, flowing northeast into the southern Great Sandy Desert, where it occasionally empties into Lake Dora, an ephemeral
salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...
. There are a few permanent water sources in the hills, and some waterholes left by the Canning Stock Route. The town of
Jigalong Jigalong is a remote Aboriginal community of approximately 333 people located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The traditional owners of the land are the Martu people. Location Jigalong is in the Pilbara region of Western Australia ...
is on the western edge of the desert, with a population of approximately 300 in 2016. The traditional owners of this area are recognised as the
Martu people The ''Martu'' (Mardu) are a grouping of several Aboriginal Australian peoples in the Western Desert cultural bloc. Name The Martu people were originally speakers of various Wati languages in the Western Desert dialect continuum whose identit ...
. There are also two smaller communities at
Parnngurr Parnngurr is a medium-sized Aboriginal community, located 370 km from Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. Parnngurr was originally known as Cotton Creek, the name of the ephemeral creek t ...
and
Punmu Punmu is an Aboriginal community, located 640 km south east of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. The Martu language, Manyjiljarra (pronounced Mun-dul-jar-ah), is the first languag ...
.


Locations

Some of the landforms and locations within the LSD include: * Carnarvon Range, aka Katjarra * Calvert Range * McKay Range * Durba Hills * Savory Creek * Kumpupintil Lake (formerly Lake Disappointment) *
Rudall River The Rudall River ( Wanman: ''Karlamilyi'') is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The entire length of the river is located within the boundaries of the Karlamilyi National Park, which straddles the Little Sandy Dese ...
headwaters * Beyondie Camp * Cooma Camp * Savory Camp


Ecology

There is a high level of
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
among plants and animals, with some species threatened by various factors. Only around 4.6% of the Little Sandy Desert bioregion is within a
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
, much of which is managed as an
Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...
, the Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), which stretches into the Gibson Desert, meaning that the land is looked after by its traditional owners. Most of the area is covered by hummock grasslands ( Triodia spp.), with a few
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s,
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
s,
grevillea ''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...
s, and bloodwoods ('' Corymbia chippendalei'') are found on sand hills. As of 2020 over 2000 plant taxa have been identified, with only two of these recognised as
threatened species A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
; over 550 of these are in the southern LSD, including 16 species of conservation significance. The bark of the birdflower is used by local people to make belts and sandals, while the spear tree is used for making spears for men and digging sticks for women. There are many reptiles and birds species, but many small- to medium-sized mammals have gone extinct, and many are threatened. There have been 103 bird species recorded in the Birriliburu IPA, and 116 within the whole desert, including the Australian bustard (''Aredeotis australis'') and bush stone-curlew (''Burhinus grallariu''). Threatened animal species include: * Greater bilby * Princess parrot * Kakarratul/northern marsupial mole * Australian bustard * Brush-tailed mulgara * Grey falcon Threats to biodiversity include
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
s,
feral animal A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...
s, weeds, and uncontrolled grazing. Feral camels destroy water sources, and along with donkeys, horses and rabbits help destroy the ecosystem by overgrazing. feral cats have reduced the populations of bilbies and mulgara.
Foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
are the main threats to mammals. Buffel grass threatens the native plant species, as it is tough, and burns hotter in the ever more frequent bushfires caused by
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. Bush Heritage Australia has done some plant and animal surveys in Katjarra.


Bioregion

The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is an interim Australian bioregion no. 63, covering . The biogregions were developed by the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
as an environmental planning tool in the 1990s, with IBRA7 defining "large geographically distinct
bioregion A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries, but by distinct characteristics such as plant and animal species, ecological systems, soils and landforms, Human settlement, human settlements, and ...
s based on common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation and species information".


Economy

There are almost no tourist facilities, and the environment is harsh. Only the most experienced travellers, who know how to survive without help in the desert, should visit. Few roads are signposted. At Katjarra, there are two camping spots, with shed tanks and long-drop toilets, and Indigenous rangers are available to show tourists the part of the range that is open to the public.
Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
for copper and gold, and some exploration for
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
, are the main economic activities. There is limited grazing for stock animals in the east.


Carnarvon Range/Katjarra

The Carnarvon Range(s), known as Katjarra to the Martu people, covers around . It is a sacred and significant place for the Indigenous people, associated with the creator being sometimes termed the
rainbow serpent The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the Creator deity, creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many List of Australian Aboriginal group names, different Aborigina ...
, and it contains much ancient rock art. There are rock paintings of the bilby, the black-flanked rock-wallaby and a
headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or fo ...
made for ceremonial use, created using
ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...
s and
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
, and it is one of the largest such sites in Australia. Over 25,000 lithic artefacts have been located at the site. Katjarra is fairly close to Well 5 on the Canning Stock Route, and had been frequently visited by travellers and tourists; access had also opened up from Wiluna in the 1970s owing to
pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...
s and mining interests nearby, Over time, there had been loss of or damage to thousands of Aboriginal artefacts, including
grinding stone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...
s. The federal government created an
Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...
of of the Central Desert an Indigenous Protected Area in 2008, handing over management of the land to the traditional owners. The mountain was closed to the public, as part of the Birriliburu IPA, in 2008, which gave time to plan for future tourism and to do
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
research and
ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
surveys.


Karnatukul

The rock art and archaeological site at Karnatukul was given the name Serpent's Glen by dogger Peter Muir (father of artist and Indigenous rights activist Kado Muir) in 1965, "on account of the large number of snake drawings hereabouts and their obvious association with Aboriginal legends of Rainbow Serpents". The site was, until recently, estimated to have been inhabited for up to 25,000 years, and known as the site of the oldest continuous recorded occupation in the Western Desert cultural region. The Martu people used to congregate at Katjarra when other water sources had dried up. However, a study published in September 2018 showed that humans had in fact occupied the site around 47,830 Cal BP. This and other recent studies, which were done at the request of the native title holders, shed new light on the concept of
deep time Deep time is the concept of geological time that spans billions of years, far beyond the scale of human experience. It provides the temporal framework for understanding the formation and evolution of Earth, the development of life, and the slo ...
, as well as the
social geography Social geography is the branch of human geography that is interested in the relationships between society and space, and is most closely related to social theory in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenome ...
of arid zones. The study, using
archaeobotany Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...
to establish its findings, found that wattle had been collected throughout the whole history of the site, confirming its status as the oldest known site of continuous occupation in the Western Desert. The wood was used as firewood, food,
bush medicine Bush medicine comprises traditional medicines used by Indigenous Australians, being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous people have been using various components of native Australian flora and some fauna as medicine for t ...
and for making tools, from the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
through to the
Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
eras, and more than 100 species were used across the continent by other Aboriginal peoples. Karnakatul shows one of the earliest uses of firewood, and habitation continued through times of extreme climate change, when the desertification occurred as the polar ice sheets expanded. In 2014, the Birriliburu traditional owners and rangers reopened Katjarra for the month of July, with the hope of opening it to the public each July in the future. Permits were issued for 70 visitors, with an access fee of $100 access fee per vehicle. It was also hoped that more Aboriginal people, especially young people, would visit to reconnect with their culture.


See also

*
Deserts of Australia Deserts cover about , or 18%, of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, they are primarily distributed throughout ...
*
List of deserts by area This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above . See also * Desert * Desertification * List of deserts, List of deserts by continent * Polar desert * Tundra * United Nations Convention to Combat D ...


References


Further reading

* Thackway, R and I D Cresswell (1995) ''An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia : a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program'' Version 4.0 Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Reserve Systems Unit, 1995.


External links


Great Sandy Desert
Map showing boundaries and various landmarks {{Coord, -25.26, 121.86, dim:300000_region:AU, display=title Biogeography of Western Australia Deserts of Western Australia IBRA regions Pilbara