West MacDonnell National Park
Encyclopedia
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
(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...
), 1234 km south of Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. It extends along the MacDonnell Ranges
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory, are a long series of mountain ranges located in the centre of Australia , and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs...
west of Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
.
The popular extended walk, the Larapinta Trail
Larapinta Trail
The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in the Northern Territory, Australia. Its total length covers from East to West, with one end at Alice Springs and the other at Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest mountains...
, runs east-west along the linear park, following the West MacDonnell Ranges. The park includes many tourist attractions along its 250 kilometre length including Ormiston Pound
Ormiston Pound
Ormiston Pound is a ring of mountains punctuating the MacDonnell Ranges, in the West MacDonnell National Park, approximately 135 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia...
, the Ellery Creek Bighole, Glen Helen, Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Mount Sonder
Mount Sonder
Mount Sonder, or Rwetyepme, its Aboriginal name, is the fourth highest mountain in the Northern Territory, Australia at 1380 metres above sea level. Mount Zeil is the highest at 1531 metres, 27 kilometres to the west. It is west of Alice Springs along the MacDonnell Ranges in the West MacDonnell...
, Serpentine Gorge, the Ochre Pits
Ochre Pits
The Ochre Pits are a popular tourist destination in Australia's Northern Territory, approximately 50 kilometres west of Alice Springs along the Larapinta Trail....
and Redbank Gorge.
See also
- Protected areas of the Northern Territory (Australia)