What are the Flinders Ranges?

The Flinders Ranges are a chain of mountains in South Australia, stretching about 430 kilometres from Crystal Brook in the south to Mount Hopeless in the far north. They form the longest mountain range in South Australia and the most northerly extension of the country's south-east mountain country.

The ranges contain some of the most spectacular and ancient landscapes in Australia. Wilpena Pound, a vast natural amphitheatre about 17 kilometres long and 8 kilometres wide, is the most famous feature, formed by the erosion of an ancient seabed. The Heysen Trail, Australia's longest dedicated walking track at about 1,200 kilometres from Cape Jervis to Parachilna Gorge, runs through the heart of the Flinders. The trail is named after artist Hans Heysen, whose paintings of the Flinders helped establish them as an icon of the Australian Outback.

Geologically the Flinders are remarkably old. They preserve some of the best Ediacaran-period fossils in the world, recording multicellular life from about 575 million years ago. In 2022 the Ediacara Hills section of the Flinders was used to define the Ediacaran Period itself in the international geological time scale, the only period anchored by an Australian site. The ranges are also home to ancient Adnyamathanha rock art and Dreaming sites.

Most of the range is protected within Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park (jointly named in the Adnyamathanha language) and Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park to the north. The Adnyamathanha people are the Traditional Owners and run cultural tours alongside Parks SA. Visitors come for hiking, scenic drives, fossil viewing, and the night skies, with the ranges far from the light pollution of Adelaide. Wildlife includes yellow-footed rock-wallabies, emus, euros, and red kangaroos.