What is the Sturt Stony Desert?

The Sturt Stony Desert is an arid region in central Australia, lying mostly in the north-east of South Australia and extending into south-west Queensland and the Northern Territory. It covers about 29,750 square kilometres and is named after the explorer Charles Sturt, who described its harsh stony surface in 1845.

The desert is dominated by gibber plains, vast flat surfaces covered in wind-polished pebbles known as gibbers. These stones, often the colour of deep red ochre, sit on a thin crust over clay subsoil and reflect heat with such intensity that summer surface temperatures can exceed 70 degrees Celsius. Sturt described the gibber plains as the most fearful land he had ever seen and turned back from his attempt to reach the centre of the continent in despair.

Ephemeral rivers including Cooper Creek and the Diamantina River cross the Sturt Stony Desert during rare flood events, transforming the otherwise barren plains into temporary lakes and grasslands. When the floodwaters reach Lake Eyre / Kati Thanda further south, they trigger spectacular wildlife events including pelican breeding colonies and fish movements. The Channel Country in adjacent western Queensland operates on the same boom-and-bust hydrology, supporting some of the largest cattle stations in the country.

The Sturt Stony Desert is sparsely populated. Innamincka and Birdsville on the edges are the best-known small settlements. Tourism centres on the Birdsville Track (the historic stock route from Marree to Birdsville), the Strzelecki Track, the annual Birdsville Races horse-racing carnival, and the Big Red dune at the western edge of the Simpson Desert. Aboriginal nations including the Yandruwandha, Yawarrawarrka, Diyari, and Wangkangurru peoples are the Traditional Owners.