The Mann Ranges are a
mountain range in
central Australia
Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...
. It is located in the far northwest of
South Australia, with a small section running over the border into the
Northern Territory. It is part of the
geological region known as the
Musgrave Block, which also includes the
Petermann and
Musgrave Ranges. Mountains in this region were formed in the
Petermann Orogeny (600–550 million years ago).
This area is part of the
traditional country of the
Pitjantjatjara nation. They associate it with the
Dreaming of , a major
creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*'' Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
*Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
*Creationism, the belief that ...
spirit. He is said to have created the landforms while travelling through the area in the Dreamtime, and his route forms a network of
songlines that are spiritually important to native people. The largest communities in the area are
Kaṉpi and
Nyapaṟi.
The first
European person to visit the area was
William Gosse William Gosse may refer to:
*William Gosse (explorer) (1842-1881), Australian explorer
*William Gosse (surgeon), his father, medical practitioner in South Australia
* William Gosse (MP) for Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgwater was ...
in 1873. With the help of local Aboriginal people, Gosse and his team explored the Mann Ranges after seeing the range from the top of
Uluṟu. From the Mann Ranges, he went west to the
Tomkinson Ranges, but turned back rather than trying to cross the
Great Victoria Desert. He came back to the Mann Ranges and then went eastward to the Musgrave Ranges.
References
Mountain ranges of South Australia
Mountain ranges of the Northern Territory
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