What is the Gibson Desert?
The Gibson Desert is a large, dry desert in central Western Australia. It is known for red sandplains, gravel, low ridges and spinifex grasslands.
The desert covers about 156,000 square kilometres between the Great Sandy Desert to the north and the Great Victoria Desert to the south. It is one of the least populated parts of Australia.
It was named after Alfred Gibson, a member of Ernest Giles's 1874 expedition. Gibson disappeared in the desert after setting off alone on horseback and was never found.
Country and wildlife
The Gibson Desert is the traditional country of several Western Desert peoples, including the Pintupi. Protected areas help save rare animals such as the bilby and the black-flanked rock wallaby.
The Gibson Desert Nature Reserve covers a large area of the desert. Remote tracks such as the Gunbarrel Highway, built by surveyor Len Beadell in the 1950s, cross the region.
Did You Know?
Some Pintupi people living in the Gibson Desert had no contact with outsiders until 1984, when a family group known as the Pintupi Nine walked out of the desert.