Strzelecki Desert

The Strzelecki Desert, with an area of 80,250 square kilometers, the seventh largest desert in Australia. It is for the most part in South Australia. The desert was named in 1845 by the explorer Charles Sturt after the Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki.

Location

The Strzelecki Desert extends across three Australian states, through Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. It extends from the boundary of the Australian state of New South Wales to the north- east to the Cooper Creek and is bounded to the west by the Flinders Ranges. In the southeast part of the desert is located in Queensland

Climate

The Strzelecki Desert is arid and subtropical. It is one of the driest areas in Australia. Precipitation falls during the summer months and are accompanied by thunderstorms. In the years 1890-2005, the average rainfall per year 125 mm.

Landscape

The rivers Diamantina River, Cooper Creek and the Strzelecki Creek flow through the Strzelecki Desert. The place Birdsville is in the northwest of the desert and it reached the Birdsville Track and the Diamantina River.

Large dune fields, bush and grassland characterize this desert. In this landscape grow endemic grasses and bushes. In the desert center are adjacent to the Lake Eyre salt lakes Lake Hope, Lake Callabonna and Lake Frome.

Infrastructure

The Bore track leads through the Strzelecki Desert red sand dunes and over Lehmuntergründe. This road was built to develop the gas fields in the desert, passing pipelines and wells. The Strzelecki Track leads past oil and gas fields that lie at Moomba. A part of the Birdsville Track crossing the desert. Routes can be traveled by vehicles with four-wheel drive.

Bore track with a view to the desert

By Strezlecki Desert leads a part of the Dingo Fence.