Tirari Desert, Desert region in Far North, South Australia.
The Tirari Desert is a sandy desert in northern South Australia, lying between Lake Eyre and the Strzelecki Desert. Long sand dunes run roughly north to south across flat ground that is broken up by salt lakes and very little plant cover.
European explorers began mapping the northern shores of Lake Eyre in the 1860s, which brought this desert into wider outside awareness. Those early expeditions were among the first to document the terrain and its salt lakes from a Western perspective.
The Dieri people are the traditional custodians of this land, and their connection to it goes back a very long time. Place names and oral traditions tied to specific landforms still reflect their presence across the desert today.
Access to the Tirari Desert is via unpaved tracks, and the only service stop along the way is a single roadhouse. Travelers should carry enough water, fuel, and food to cover long gaps between the few small towns in the area.
Fossil remains of animals that lived millions of years ago lie buried beneath the dunes of this desert, pointing to a time when the climate here was very different. Some of the species found here no longer exist anywhere on Earth.
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