Simpsons Gap ( Arrernte: ''Rungutjirpa'') is one of the gaps in the

West 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 .< ...

in Australia's

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. It is located 18 kilometres west from Alice Springs, on the Larapinta Trail. The gap is home to various plants and wildlife, including the black-footed rock-wallaby. It is the site of a permanent waterhole.

History

Rungutjirpa is an important spiritual place for the Arrernte people, who have inhabited the Arrernte area since before European discovery. It was later visited by surveyor

Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn CE, SM, (1841 – 18 October 1924) was an Australian surveyor born in Ireland noted for his work in the Northern Territory surveying the Overland Telegraph Line. His middle name is occasionally spelt "Rutherdale". ...

in 1871 while he was searching for a better route for the

Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...

Tourism

Section 1 of the Larapinta Trail begins at

Alice Springs Telegraph Station The Alice Springs Telegraph Station is located within the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve, four kilometres north of the Alice Springs town centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Established in 1872 to relay messages be ...

and ends at the waterhole at Rungutjirpa.

Gallery

File:Leaving Simpson's Gap.jpg, Leaving Simpsons Gap File:Rungutjirpa.JPG, Waterhole at Rungutjirpa File:Simpsons Gap GumTree.JPG, Gum at Simpsons Gap

References

{{reflist Canyons and gorges in the Northern Territory Tourist attractions in Alice Springs