Tirari-Sturt stony desert
Encyclopedia
The Tirari-Sturt stony desert is a large dry World Wildlife Fund ecoregion
of southern Australia
.
to its southwest and the Flinders
and Gawler Ranges
to the south. The Tirari has more sand dunes than the Sturt Stony Desert and has also been the site of some important fossil findings. Towns of the ecoregion include the opal mining centre of Coober Pedy, famous for its underground dwellings. the climate is very hot with summer temperatures reaching 50°C.
The region consists of the Stony Plains, Gawler, Flinders Lofty Block and the Broken Hill Complex bioregions of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia
(IBRA).
and mulga
wooded scrubland. The region is home to a variety of wildlife that has adapted to the hot dry conditions including the Wedge-tailed Eagle
s, Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby and Western Gray Kangaroos of the Flinders Ranges.
The desert proper is uninhabitable and the environment there remains undamaged, while the greener fringe are used for sheep grazing.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Location and description
The Tirari-Sturt stony desert ecoregion contains the gibber plains (desert pavement) and red sands of the large Sturt Stony Desert, the Tirari DesertTirari Desert
The Tirari Desert is a desert in the eastern part of the Far North region of South Australia.-Location and description:The Tirari Desert features salt lakes and large north-south running sand dunes....
to its southwest and the Flinders
Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
and Gawler Ranges
Gawler Ranges
The Gawler Ranges are a range of stoney hills in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The Gawler Ranges National Park and Gawler Ranges Conservation Reserve are in the ranges north of Wudinna...
to the south. The Tirari has more sand dunes than the Sturt Stony Desert and has also been the site of some important fossil findings. Towns of the ecoregion include the opal mining centre of Coober Pedy, famous for its underground dwellings. the climate is very hot with summer temperatures reaching 50°C.
The region consists of the Stony Plains, Gawler, Flinders Lofty Block and the Broken Hill Complex bioregions of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia
Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia
The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts...
(IBRA).
Flora and fauna
As well as stony plain and sands there are areas of chenopod, malleeMallee (habit)
Mallee is the growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres...
and mulga
Mulga
Acacia aneura, commonly known as Mulga or True Mulga, is a shrub or small tree native to arid outback Australia of areas such as the Western Australian Mulga shrublands.-Description:...
wooded scrubland. The region is home to a variety of wildlife that has adapted to the hot dry conditions including the Wedge-tailed Eagle
Wedge-tailed Eagle
The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...
s, Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby and Western Gray Kangaroos of the Flinders Ranges.
The desert proper is uninhabitable and the environment there remains undamaged, while the greener fringe are used for sheep grazing.