Great Sandy Desert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location of deserts in Australia

This article is about the Australian desert. There is another desert called "Great Sandy Desert" in Oregon, US.

The Great Sandy Desert is a 360,000 square kilometres (141,000 mi²) expanse in northwestern Australia. This vast region of Western Australia is sparsely populated, without significant settlements. The Great Sandy Desert is a flat area between the rocky ranges of the Pilbara and the Kimberley. To the southeast is the Gibson Desert and to the east is the Tanami Desert. Only on the coast are there isolated sheep stations; the remainder of the region is largely uninhabited.

Rainfall is low throughout the coast and far north. Areas near the Kimberley do have an average exceeding 300 mm (12 in), but the rainfall is patchy with many drought years often ending in a monsoonal cloud mass or tropical cyclone. Like many of Australia's deserts, rainfall does seem high by desert standards, because even in the driest parts rainfalls rarely drop below 250 mm (10 in). A massive evaporation rate makes up for the higher than normal desert rainfall. This region is one which gives rise to the heat lows which help drive the NW monsoon. Almost all rain comes from monsoonal thunderstorms or the occasional tropical cyclone rain depression.

Thunderstorm days average 20-30 through most of the area, but in the north bordering the Kimberley, 30-40 per annum is the average.

Summer daytime temperatures are some of the hottest in Australia. The range on the northern border near the Kimberley at Halls Creek is around 37 to 38 °C ( 99 to 100 °F ), but this would be indicative of the low end of the range. Regions further south would average 38 to 42 °C (100 to 108 °F) except when monsoonal cloud cover is active. Several people have died in this region after their vehicles have broken down on remote tracks. Winter is short and warm, temperatures range from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), by late August it is hot again.

Frost does not occur in most of the area. The regions bordering the Gibson Desert in the far south east may record a light frost or two every year. Away from the coast winter nights can still be chilly in comparison to the sun drenched warm days.

The historic Canning Stock Route traverses the southeastern portions of the Great Sandy Desert. The Rudall River National Park and Lake Dora are located in the southwest. Little economic activity occurs in the desert, mines, most importantly the Telfer gold mine, Nifty copper mine and the Kintyre Uranium Deposit, and cattle stations occur in the far west.

The vegetation of the Great Sandy Desert is dominated by spinifex.

The first European to cross the desert was Peter Warburton in 1873.

[edit] See also

List of deserts by area

[edit] References

Burbidge, A.A. and N.L. McKenzie. (editors)Wildlife of the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Wildlife Research Centre [and] Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, 1983. ISBN 0-7244-9307-7