Simpsons Gap (

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Austral ...

: ''Rungutjirpa'') is one of the gaps in the

West MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...

in Australia's

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

. It is located 18 kilometres west from

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

, on the

Larapinta Trail The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in the Northern Territory of Australia. Its total length covers from east to west, with the eastern end at Alice Springs and the western end at Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest mou ...

. The gap is home to various plants and wildlife, including the black-footed rock-wallaby. It is the site of a permanent waterhole.

History

Rungutjirpa is an important spiritual place for the

Arrernte people The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia reg ...

, who have inhabited the Arrernte area since before European discovery. It was later visited by surveyor

Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn CE, SM, (1841 – 18 October 1924) was an Australian surveyor born in Ireland noted for his work in the Northern Territory surveying the Overland Telegraph Line. His middle name is occasionally spelt "Rutherdale". ...

in 1871 while he was searching for a better route for the

Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of ...

Tourism

Section 1 of the

begins at

Alice Springs Telegraph Station The Alice Springs Telegraph Station is located within the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve, four kilometres north of the Alice Springs town centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Established in 1872 to relay messages be ...

and ends at the waterhole at Rungutjirpa.

Gallery

File:Leaving Simpson's Gap.jpg, Leaving Simpsons Gap File:Rungutjirpa.JPG, Waterhole at Rungutjirpa File:Simpsons Gap GumTree.JPG,

Gum Gum may refer to: Types of gum * Adhesive * Bubble gum * Chewing gum * Gum (botany), sap or other resinous material associated with certain species of the plant kingdom ** Gum arabic, made from the sap of ''Acacia senegal'', an Old World tree s ...

at Simpsons Gap

References

{{reflist Canyons and gorges in the Northern Territory Tourist attractions in Alice Springs