What is the Great Sandy Desert?
The Great Sandy Desert is a huge desert in northwestern Western Australia, south of the Kimberley. It is Australia's second-largest desert, covering about 285,000 square kilometres.
The desert is dominated by long red sand dunes, many running east to west, along with salt lakes and spinifex. It stretches from the Pilbara and the Eighty Mile Beach coast inland toward the Northern Territory border.
Few roads cross it, but the historic Canning Stock Route runs along its eastern side. The desert is the traditional country of several Aboriginal peoples, and many Western Desert artists come from the region.
A crater from space
Wolfe Creek Crater, on the desert's northern edge, is one of the best-preserved meteorite craters in the world. It is about 880 metres wide and was formed when a meteorite struck around 120,000 years ago.
The Canning Stock Route, once used to drive cattle, is now one of Australia's toughest four-wheel-drive adventures, with about 1,850 kilometres of sand tracks and few supplies.
Did You Know?
Summer temperatures in the Great Sandy Desert regularly climb above 40 degrees Celsius.