NASA - Visible Earth, Nullarbor. The true Nullarbor is the light tan semi-circular area adjacent to the coast. Credit Jacques Descloitres. Image acquired by the Terra satellite on August 19, 2002

The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country immediately north of the Great Australian Bight. In general terms the Climate of a local or region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available Water, to the extent of hindering The Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay located off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. The word Nullarbor is derived from the Latin nullus for 'nothing' or 'no one' and arbor for 'tree', and is pronounced "NULL-uh-bore" (IPA: /ˈnʌləbɔr/). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about 200,000 km² (77,200 sq miles)^[1]. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 At its widest point, it stretches about 1,200 km from east to west between South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA). South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent.

History

Historically, the Nullarbor was inhabited by the semi-nomadic Spinifex Wangai Aboriginal people. The Spinifex people, or Pila Nguru, are an Indigenous Australian people whose traditional lands are situated in the Great Victoria Desert, in the Wangai, Wongai or Wankai is the name given by themselves to the 26 Aboriginal groups of the Goldfields of Western Australia. The average rainfall on the Nullarbor Plain is about 200 mm per year.

European settlers were determined to cross the plain, despite the hardships created by the nature of the Nullarbor. Although Edward John Eyre described the Plain as "a hideous anomaly, a blot on the face of Nature, the sort of place one gets into in bad dreams", he became the first European to successfully make the crossing in 1841. Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 30 November 1901 was an English land explorer of the Australian continent and a controversial Governor of Jamaica.

Eyre set out from Fowler's Bay in South Australia on 17 November 1840 with John Baxter and a party of three Aboriginal men. Fowlers Bay, formerly Yalata is a small coastal town in South Australia, located approximately north west of the state capital Adelaide. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year John Baxter (&ndash 29 April 1841) was a friend and companion of Edward John Eyre on his crossing of the Nullarbor Plain in 1840 - He was forced to return to Fowlers Bay by the death of three horses due to dehydration, and made a second departure on 25 February 1841. Dehydration ( hypohydration) is the removal of Water ( hydro in ancient Greek) from an object Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link

By 29 April, the party had reached Caiguna. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Caiguna is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. Lack of supplies and water led to a mutiny, and two of the Aborigines killed Baxter and made off with the party's supplies. Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the Military; or the Crew of any ship even Eyre and the third Aborigine, Wylie, continued on their journey, surviving through bushcraft and some fortuitous circumstances such as receiving some supplies from a French whaling vessel anchored at Rossiter. Wylie was an indigenous Australian originally from the tribes around Albany in Western Australia They completed their crossing in June 1841. For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link

A proposed new state Auralia (meaning "land of gold") would have comprised of the Goldfields, the western portion of the Nullarbor Plains and the port town of Esperance. Auralia was a proposed state that would have been formed out of the south eastern portion of the colony of Western Australia in the early twentieth century, and would have joined Its capital would have been Kalgoorlie.

The Wangai Aboriginal people were forced to abandon their homelands during the British nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s. British nuclear tests at Maralinga occurred between 1955 and 1963 at the Maralinga site part of the Woomera Prohibited Area, in South Australia. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Since then they have been awarded compensation and many have returned to the general area. In fact, many never left. Due to their isolation it was impossible to warn them all about the testing.

Cultural significance

Road sign

'Crossing the Nullarbor', for many Australians, is a seminal experience of the 'Australian Outback'. Outback or the Outback refers to remote arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can refer to any lands outside of the main Urban areas Stickers bought from roadhouses on the highway show 'I have crossed the Nullarbor', and can be seen on vehicles of dubious quality or capacity for long distance travel. The process of 'beating the crowds' on overbooked air services at the time of special sporting events can also see significant numbers of vehicles on the road.

Crossings in the 1950s and earlier were significant as most of the road back then was unmade dirt track. Round-Australia car trials (The Redex Trials) utilised the Nullarbor crossing for good photo shoots of cars negotiating poor tracks.

Geography

Escarpment near Eucla

The Nullarbor Plain is thought to be a former seabed. "Ocean Floor" redirects here For the 2001 song by Audio Adrenaline, see Lift (Audio Adrenaline album. The region is also the location of Nullabor Limestone and it has a reputation as a significant karst region ^[2]

One theory is that the whole area was uplifted by crustal movements, and since then, erosion by wind and rain has smoothed out most topographic features, resulting in the extremely flat terrain across the plain today. Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble Bedrock, usually Carbonate rock such as Limestone Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets The plain is a series of tiers. Each tier is flat and was formed when the sea level was much higher than it is today.

The southern ocean, in areas, blows through many subterranean caves resulting in blow holes up to several hundred metres from the coast. One such area open for public inspection are the Murrawijinie Caves, in South Australia. Most other caves can only be visited and viewed with Department of Environment and Conservation approval.

Vegetation in the area is primarily low saltbush and bluebush scrub. A large part of the Nullarbor Plain is now a National Park.

The Nullarbor is known for extensive meteorite deposits, which are extremely well-preserved in the arid climate. A meteorite is a natural object originating in Outer space that survives an impact with the Earth 's surface In particular, many meteorites have been discovered around Mundrabilla, some up to several tonnes in weight. Mundrabilla is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia, on the Nullarbor Plain, west of Eucla and This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. ^[3]

According to the USDA, the Nullarbor's soils are considered to be mainly Aridisols. Aridisols (or desert soils) are a soil order in USA soil taxonomy. (see map)

Climate

Rainbow over the Nullarbor Plain

The prevailing climate across the Nullarbor is typical of a desert, characterised by arid to semi-arid conditions, with maximum daytime temperatures of up to 48. 5 °C (119. 3 °F), although nights can see freezing conditions. The mean annual rainfall at Cook is 179. Cook ( is a Railway station and crossing loop on the Standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Adelaide to Perth, with no inhabited 7 mm (7 inches) [1].

Transport

The need for a communications link across the continent was the spur for the development of an east-west crossing. Once Eyre had proved that a link between South Australia and Western Australia was possible, efforts to connect them via telegraph began. In 1877, after two years of labour, the first messages were sent down the new telegraph line, boosted by a series of eight repeater stations along the way. A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and Retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power or onto the other side of an obstruction The line operated for about 50 years before being superseded; relics of it are still visible.

The Trans-Australian Railway railway line crosses the Nullarbor Plain from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta. The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Port Augusta (post code 5700 ( is the fifth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Construction of the line began in 1917, when two teams set out from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia, meeting in the centre of the Plain at Ooldea, an uninhabited area noted for a water supply. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Ooldea is a tiny settlement in South Australia. It is on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, 863 km west of Port Augusta on the Trans-Australian This original line suffered severe problems with track flexing and settling in the desert sands, and journeys across the Plain were slow and arduous. The line was entirely rebuilt in 1969, as part of a project to standardise the previously disparate rail gauges in the various states, and the first crossing of the Nullarbor on the new line reached Perth on 27 February 1970. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Indian Pacific is a regular passenger train crossing the Nullarbor from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide

The Nullarbor Plain viewed from the Indian Pacific. Route The route leaves East Perth Station and travels first along a dual gauge section of the Midland suburban line and east to Kalgoorlie, then following Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a Route The route leaves East Perth Station and travels first along a dual gauge section of the Midland suburban line and east to Kalgoorlie, then following

The Eyre Highway, which connects Norseman in Western Australia to Port Augusta, was carved across the continent in 1941. Location Named after Edward John Eyre the Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia. Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth At first it was little more than a rough track, but was gradually sealed over the next thirty years. The last unsealed section of the Eyre Highway was finally sealed in 1976. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike the railway, though, it crosses the plain at its southernmost edge rather than through the centre. Only a small portion of the highway is actually in the Nullarbor.

The railway line holds the record for the longest straight section of railway in the world (478 km), while the road contains the longest straight piece of tarred road surface in Australia (146. 6 km).

Most of the inhabited areas of the Nullarbor Plain can be found in a series of small settlements located along the railway line, and in small settlements along the Eyre Highway that provide services to travellers, mostly spaced between one and two hundred kilometres apart. The town of Cook, in South Australia, was formerly a moderately thriving settlement of about 40 people, with a school and a golf course. Cook ( is a Railway station and crossing loop on the Standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Adelaide to Perth, with no inhabited South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country However, the scaling back of railway operations at the town resulted in its virtual desertion, and it now has a permanent population of just four.

Biogeography

The IBRA regions, with Nullarbor in red

Nullarbor is a biogeographic region under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA). Biogeography is the study of the distribution of Biodiversity over Space and Time. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ( IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Government's Department ^[4][5]

Limits

Frequently The Nullarbor is expanded in tourist literature and web based material to a context of all land between Adelaide, South Australia to Perth, Western Australia^[6] - so that caution must be made as to understanding the correct limits in web based and other materials. Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia.

See also

• Nullarbor Nymph
• Great Australian Bight

References

Further reading

• Bolam, A. G. (Anthony Gladstone), 1893-1966. The trans-Australian wonderland Melbourne : Modern Printing, (many editions in the early 20th century)
• Edmonds, Jack (1976)Nullarbor crossing : with panorama photographs by Brian Gordon. Perth. West Australian Newspapers, Periodicals Division. ISBN 0909699097

External links

• Nullarbor Net
• Across The Nullarbor Travel story by Roderick Eime
• Information about crossing the Nullarbor
• Eyre Bird Observatory
• Climate charts
• History of the rail crossing
• Mundrabilla meteorite information
• Nullarbor Plain xeric shrublands (World Wildlife Fund)
• Crossing the Nullarbor by Car
• Caverns give up huge fossil haul BBC News Online, 2007-01-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate Retrieved 2007-01-25
• aerial video footage of the Nullarbor Plain
• Photo Essay on Driving Australia's Nullarbor Plain
• Governmental Biodiversity Assessment of the Nullarbor Plain