Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park, part of which was formerly Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park, Simpson Desert Conservation Park, and Simpson Desert National Park, is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

located in the far north of the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, near its border with

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. it is the largest

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in Australia, covering .

Location

The park is about north of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and above north-east of the town of

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...

History

The conservation park occupied land within the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The Wangka ...

in the gazetted locality of the same name. It was bounded by the borders of the Northern Territory and

to its north and by the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Regional Reserve to its west, south and east. The land within the boundaries of the conservation park first obtained protected area status on 14 December 1967 as a national park proclaimed under the ''National Parks Act 1966'' as the Simpson Desert National Park. On 27 April 1972, the national park was reconstituted as the Simpson Desert Conservation Park upon the proclamation of the '' National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972''. As of 2018, it covered an area of . On 2 August 2018, the conservation park's name was altered by the Government of South Australia to Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park. In an unprecedented move, the park and the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve were closed to public access by the state government from 1 December 2008 to 15 March 2009 due to extreme heat during the Australian summer. The conservation park was classified as an IUCN Category Ia protected area In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. The conservation park, along with the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve and Witjira National Park, was described as a protected area representing one of the world's best examples of dunal

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

. A wide variety of desert flora and fauna are protected in a landscape of varied dune systems, extensive

playa lake A dry lake bed, also known as a playa (), is a basin or Depression (geology), depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappears when evaporation processes exceed recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered b ...

s, spinifex grasslands and

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

woodlands. These trees soak up water from underground water springs.

National park

A new national park was created by combining the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park with the Regional Reserve in November 2021, creating Australia's largest national park. At , Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence. it is double the size of

Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded l ...

, and four times the size of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

in the US.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert National Park National parks of South Australia 1967 establishments in Australia 2021 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 1967 Protected areas established in 2021 Far North (South Australia) South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

Location

History

National park

See also

References

External links