- General information about Gibson Desert
- Interesting Facts
- Features of flora and fauna
- The tribe that managed to survive in the Gibson Desert
The Australian continent has presented many mysteries to mankind. One of them is associated with the extraordinary climate of this part of the world and a large number of desert areas, including the Gibson Desert. Its location was the state of Western Australia, from a geographical point of view, the lands are located south of the so-called Tropic of Capricorn.
Interestingly, the closest neighbors of this desert are its “colleagues”: the Great Sandy Desert adjoins it from the north, and the Great Victoria Desert is located to the south. Many tourists have the feeling that this is one large territory, and the Australians gave the names of each area only because there were more toponyms on the map of the continent.
General information about Gibson Desert
The area of this desert is more than 155 thousand kilometers, the borders of the territory coincide with the borders of the plateau. It is composed of Precambrian rocks, the top cover is natural rubble, formed as a result of the destruction of the ferruginous shell. One of the first explorers of the Gibson Desert was given such a characteristic of the land - "a huge hilly gravel desert."
Scientists have determined the average height of the desert - 411 meters above sea level. From the west, it is bordered by the Hamersley ridge, and there are long sandy ridges that run parallel to each other. The same ridges can be observed in the eastern part of the desert, there are also remnant ridges, their height reaches 762 meters above sea level.
In the central part of the desert, the relief is more or less even; the presence of several salt lakes on the territory of the desert is also noted. The largest of them is Disappointment, located simultaneously on the territory of two deserts - Gibson and Bolshaya Peschanaya (this can be seen in the photo or video). The area of the lake is about 330 square kilometers.
Interesting Facts
The desert got its name in honor of one of the explorers, however, in its history this is a sad fact, since a member of the expedition, Alfred Gibson, died in these territories, trying to find water.
The Gibson Desert has been inhabited by Australian aborigines since time immemorial. They used the territory of the desert for grazing.
European scientists drew attention to the desert in the second half of the 19th century, then the first attempts were made to cross it, to conduct research on the relief, soil, rivers, flora and fauna in order to develop and adapt to human needs. The date of the discovery of these desert areas has not been precisely established, scientists say that it happened in 1873 or in 1874. But they name the leader of the first expedition, whose members were able to "conquer" the desert (cross it). The pioneers were the British under the leadership of Ernest Giles.
Features of flora and fauna
Representatives of the wildlife kingdom are naturally present in these territories, although there are not as many of them as in other regions of the Australian continent. This is due to the peculiarities of the local climate, which is characterized by an almost complete absence of precipitation. It rains irregularly, extremely rarely, the total amount of incoming moisture is not more than 250 mm.
The lack of moisture affects the state of the soil, which, accordingly, determines, in turn, the presence of certain plants that can survive in such difficult conditions. The most widespread is the veinless acacia, it grows well, quinoa and the cereal spinifex, which is well-known in these places.
Interestingly, the number of animal species in the Gibson Desert is much larger than the flora. Scientists in order to preserve the local fauna in 1977 created a reserve on the territory of the desert, it also bears the name of Gibson.
Among the inhabitants of the reserve, the following animals can be noted that have adapted to the harsh conditions of life in the desert: red kangaroos; striped herbal wrens; Moloch; emu ostriches; Australian avdotkas; big bilbies (which are, however, on the verge of extinction).
In the area of local saline lakes, especially immediately after the precipitation falls, you can see a fairly large number of birds that flock here in search of food and protection from the dry climate.
The tribe that managed to survive in the Gibson Desert
It was a discovery for Europeans that there are indigenous inhabitants on the territory of the plateau and desert. The aborigines belong to the so-called Pintubi tribe. They are the last indigenous inhabitants of the Australian continent who managed to maintain their own way of life, and until the end of the twentieth century did not make contact with European explorers and settlers. Since 1984, the tribe has been under the scrutiny of scholars who are trying to preserve the national traditions of the Aborigines. This moment is essential for the preservation of Australia's traditional culture and its presentation in a variety of cultural projects.
