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N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in the
Northern Territory of Australia consisting of an area of low sand dunes, rocky outcrops, about east of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
. It is significant principally because of thousands of
Indigenous rock carvings.
Description
N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park is located in the eastern
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...
. It contains approximately 6,000 stone carvings, or
petroglyphs
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
, as well as a wide variety of rare Australian plant life.
The gorge was used by the Eastern
Arrernte people
The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia regi ...
, who called the area Ilwentje. It contains men's sacred sites, petroglyphs, shelter or occupation sites and art sites. The 6,000 stone carvings are believed to have been created in two separate periods, the first approximately ten thousand years ago, and the second approximately three thousand years ago. They could be created by using two different techniques: either by pounding a rocky surface with another rock, or by a fine pecking technique.
Significant plant life in the area includes the undoolya wattle and the peach-leafed poison bush.
northernterritory.com
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Gallery of rock carvings
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See also
* Protected areas of the Northern Territory
* Chambers Pillar
Chambers Pillar (Aboriginal name ''Idracowra'' or ''Etikaura'') is a sandstone formation some south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Formation
Erosion by wind and rain has left an isolated pillar of 350-million-yea ...
* Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve
Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Ghan.
Henbury craters are a result of one of the few impact events that have occurred in a populated area (few other e ...
* Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve
Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve is a protected area located south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in Australia. The reserve was established in 1990 to protect the unique sandstone formations and the Aboriginal art, artifacts and sacred ...
* Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter ...
* Watarrka National Park
* Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve
The Ewaninga Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia consisting of an area of low sand dunes, rocky outcrops and a claypan about south of Alice Springs. It is significant because of a large number of Ab ...
References
External links
Official webpageWebpage on the Protected Planet website
{{authority control
Nature parks of the Northern Territory
Protected areas established in 1962
1962 establishments in Australia
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal cultural history
Rock art in Australia
Arrernte