The territory of Australia is covered with deserts by about 40%. The rest of the continent is also arid. This is due to its climatic and geographical features.
Deserts of Australia are divided into several types: mountain, plain, clay and others. Rocky deserts account for about 13%, and sandy - 32%. There are several world-famous wastelands on the continent: Gibson, Victoria, Great Sandy and others.
General information
Where is the Gibson Desert? It is located in the state of Western Australia and partly in the Northern Territory near the Sveden Plateau (eastern and central part), on the western side it is limited by the Hamersley Range. There are several natural reservoirs in this territory - mostly saline lakes. In the southwest there is a system of small reservoirs (lakes), the Canning and Officer rivers also flow. The desert itselflocated between the saline lake Disappointment, which is a landmark of the entire continent, and Lake McDonald.
The Gibson Desert (pictured below) is surrounded by two others: Great and Victoria. It is believed that this territory appeared against the backdrop of the destruction of the glandular shell, which occurred in ancient times.
There are very few roads in the desert and one main settlement - Warburton. The territory has a wavy flat structure with the presence of island ranges. In addition to ferruginous rubble, there are sandy areas, places with red dunes and plains. The territory has the most Precambrian rock.
Information in numbers
How big is the Gibson Desert? It is about 1,55,530 sq. km. The territory is located at an altitude of 200 to 500 meters above sea level.
The climate in the wasteland is quite hot, the January temperature reaches +36 °С, and in winter it does not fall below +16 °С. The average annual rainfall does not exceed 200 mm.
First explorers
Discovered this territory in 1874. They called it then "a huge hilly wasteland of gravel." Indeed, almost the entire territory of the desert is covered with rubble and unsuitable for agriculture.
Later it was named after one of the members of the first expedition - Alfred Gibson. The leader of the campaign was Ernest Giles. Alfred died during the expedition (1873-1874), when he was looking for water and separated from the main group. There is no information left about this person other than a brief description of his appearance.
In 1897 Frank HannI had the idea to find water in the desert. Indeed, he had found her, and it was Lake Disappointment. But the water turned out to be completely unusable, which was a huge disappointment for the researcher. After all, he sincerely believed that there was fresh water in the desert, because the territory has many streams.
Flora
Despite the harsh conditions, vegetation can still be found in the Gibson Desert, although not as much as in other parts of the continent. There is very little rainfall, so the condition of the soil allows a very small number of plants to survive, which include: quinoa, veinless acacia, spinifex (grass). There are s altwort and wormwood.
To preserve the sparse vegetation and rare inhabitants of the wasteland, a reserve was created back in 1977.
Fauna
Some species of animals have been able to come to terms with the harsh living conditions in the Gibson Desert. Australian Avdotka, red kangaroos, Moloch lizards, striped wrens, emu ostriches, marsupial badgers, and mice live in this area. In the desert, you can find rabbits and camels, which were brought by Europeans.
Around the s alt marshes, birds gather in large numbers, especially after rain. These are honey flies, wedge-tailed eagles, budgerigars, Australian great bustards and some other types of birds.
However, many of them are on the verge of extinction, and not only because of the arid climate, but because of uncontrolled shooting by poachers. Categoryendangered species even included marsupial badgers, which once inhabited about 70% of the entire territory of the continent. They suffered the most because of their beautiful fur. The problem is that a pair of animals leaves behind only one or two cubs.
Population
For many, it will be a discovery that in such harsh conditions that are present in the Gibson Desert in Australia, people also live. These are the last indigenous inhabitants of the continent - Australian Aborigines from the Pintubi tribe. Until the end of the last century, they did not even make contact with Europeans, they completely preserved their way of life, which their ancestors lived. It is also surprising that the natives use these lands for pastures.
Since 1984, the tribe has been under special protection and close attention of researchers.
Interesting facts about representatives of the animal world
Unique animals live in the Gibson Desert. For example, red kangaroos are the largest representatives of the species. Animals can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h, while the average speed of other representatives of the genus of kangaroos is up to 20 km / h.
Another unique desert animal is the Moloch lizard. This is a small reptile, reaching no more than 22 centimeters in length, and its entire body is covered with sharp spikes. The lizard changes body color depending on the time of day, darkens at night and brightens during the day. It retains moisture thanks to the unique folds on its skin. Eats ants.
Interesting facts about people
The most interesting and mystical story related to the Gibson Desert took place in the 70s of the last century. During the period when a severe drought began, the explorer William Pesln equipped an expedition and went with water to the Mangiljara tribe, which did not want to contact the outside world. After a long journey, the people of the tribe were discovered, and people were even persuaded to go closer to the residential settlements. As a result, representatives of the Manjiljara tribe moved to the outskirts of the city of Wiluna, where they still live.
On the way, the tribe told the story of a couple in love who were expelled. According to the traditions of this people, marriages can only be concluded between representatives of different clans, but Varri and Yatungke violated it, for which they were expelled. Naturally, it is almost impossible to survive together in a deserted area, but everything happens for the first time. And the couple wandered the desert for about 30 years.
Pesln, after hearing what he heard, equipped a new expedition and, together with one of the representatives of the tribe named Mujon, went in search. In the end, they still managed to find a couple. They were taken to the outskirts of Wilun, where Warri and Yatungke reunited with their people again.
