Great Victoria Desert, Sand desert across Western and South Australia.
The Great Victoria Desert is a desert in Western Australia and South Australia with red sand dunes, scattered shrubs, and shallow salt lakes. The landscape shifts between open flats and rolling sand ridges that cover much of the southern inland.
Ernest Giles crossed this area in 1875 and named it after Queen Victoria of England. Later, military nuclear tests took place here and changed the western desert zone for decades.
Several groups have lived in this sandy expanse for thousands of years and know water sources and food plants that travelers without local knowledge would never recognize. Their routes and stories continue to shape how people understand the desert today and appear in place names and landmarks across the dunes.
Temperatures reach around 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in summer and drop to about 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) in winter, with rain falling rarely and irregularly. Anyone visiting this area should carry large amounts of water, fuel, and spare parts because supply points are widely separated.
Some salt lakes in this desert glow pink when certain algae multiply in the water and reflect sunlight in a particular way. This color only appears under certain conditions and often stays visible for a short time.
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