What is Lightning Ridge known for?
Lightning Ridge is an outback opal-mining town in northern New South Wales, famous as one of the world's main sources of black opal, a rare and valuable gemstone. It is also known for its quirky character and artesian bore baths.
Black opals have a dark body color that makes their flashes of color especially vivid. Lightning Ridge produces most of the world's black opal, and miners still dig shafts in search of valuable stones.
The town's name is said to come from a story about a farmer and his sheep being killed by lightning on the ridge in the 1870s.
Outback attractions
Visitors can join tours of underground mines, fossick for opals and visit opal shops. The town's car door tours use painted car doors to mark routes to attractions.
Lightning Ridge is home to the artesian bore baths, a public hot pool filled with naturally warm water from the Great Artesian Basin.
The area is also known for opalized fossils, including bones of dinosaurs and early mammals. The Australian Opal Centre showcases these unique fossils and gemstones. The town attracts miners and artists from many countries, giving it a colorful, multicultural community.