The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

, is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

located in southern

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 ...

. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .IBRA Version 6.1
data The range is a long series of mountains in central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, consisting of parallel ridges running to the east and west 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'' A ...

. The mountain range contains many spectacular gaps and gorges as well as areas of Aboriginal significance. The ranges were named after Sir Richard MacDonnell (the Governor of South Australia at the time) by

John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...

, whose 1860 expedition reached them in April of that year. The Horn Expedition investigated the ranges as part of the scientific expedition into central Australia. Other explorers of the range included David Lindsay and John Ross. The MacDonnell Ranges were often depicted in the paintings of Albert Namatjira.

Geography

The highest peaks are

Mount Zeil Mount Zeil () is a mountain in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Mount Zeil in the western MacDonnell Ranges. It is the highest peak in the Northern Territory, and the highest peak on the Australian mainland west ...

with an elevation of AHD, Mount Liebig at AHD, Mount Edward at , Mount Giles at and Mount Sonder at AHD; the five highest mountains in the Northern Territory. The headwaters of the

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, Finke and Sandover rivers form in the MacDonnell Ranges. The range is crossed by the

Australian 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 ...

, the Stuart Highway and the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor at the Heavitree Gap, a water gap created by the Todd River, at the southern entrance to Alice Springs.

Geology

Some 300-350 million years ago a mountain building event created the MacDonnell Ranges. Since that time, folding, faulting and erosion have shaped the range and created numerous gaps and gorges. The ranges are composed of many rock types, but are most famous for their red

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

peaks and gorges. Other rock types include

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

and

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...

. Some of the valleys of the range contain fossil evidence of the inland sea that once covered central Australia.

Ecology

Part of the Central Ranges xeric scrub

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

of dry scrubby grassland, the ranges are home to a large number of endemic species that includes the centralian tree frog '' Litoria gilleni''. This is mostly due to the micro climates that are found around the cold rock pools.

Tourist attractions

The West MacDonnell National Park was established in 1984 to protect the numerous parks and reserves of the range, including internal residents inside the range. It also facilitated the development of the

Larapinta Trail The Larapinta Trail is an extended walking track in the Northern Territory of Australia. Its total length covers from east to west, with the eastern end at Alice Springs and the western end at Mount Sonder, one of the territory's highest m ...

. To the east of Alice Springs, within an hour's drive, are sites important to the local

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 reg ...

, many of which contain examples of Aboriginal

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...

. These include Emily Gap, Jessie Gap,

Trephina Gorge Trephina Gorge is a gorge in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Hart in the East MacDonnell Ranges about east of Alice Springs. The gorge is named after the Trephina Creek which is believed to be named after ...

and N’Dhala Gorge. To the west of Alice Springs is the

—a world-class, long distance bush walking trail that runs along the backbone of the range. Along the trail are Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, Ochre Pits, Ormiston Pound,

Redbank Gorge Redbank Gorge (commonly Red Bank Gorge), is a Canyon, gorge located in the Northern Territory, Northern Territory of Australia, 156 km west of Alice Springs. It is situated at the bottom of Mount Sonder. The gorge is part of the West MacDonnell N ...

, Glen Helen Gorge, Mount Sonder and Mount Giles.

Gallery

File:West MacDonnell National Park.JPG, From the Larapinta Trail near Glen Helen File:Ellery_Creek.jpg, Ellery Creek Big Hole File:A221, West MacDonnell National Park, Australia, Ellery Creek reflects River Red Gum trees, 2007.jpg, Ellery Creek and river red gum trees File:Ochre Pits.jpg, Ochre pits File:Simpsons Gap.jpg, Simpsons Gap File:A160, West MacDonnell National Park, Australia, Serpentine Gorge, 2007.JPG, Serpentine Gorge

References

External links

Arrernte art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonnell Ranges IBRA regions Mountain ranges of the Northern Territory Biogeography of the Northern Territory