| LOCALITY |
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CONTINENTAL MAP |
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REGIONAL MAP |
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LOCAL IMAGES |
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| Gammon Ranges |
Gammon Ranges |
Gammon Ranges upthrust |
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Images courtesy of Col Grant,
Brisbane |
| Gammon Ranges aerial |
Lake Frome, south |
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MAP REFERENCES |
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Most detailed geological map is the 1:125,000 map in
Coats and Blissett (1971) |
| SAMPLE SATELLITE/AERIAL IMAGE |
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To be added |
| SAMPLE MARS SATELLITE IMAGE |
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To be added |
| IMAGE REFERENCES |
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| Arkaroola |
| DESIGNATION |
| Australia-SA_SE-Arkaroola |
| LONGITUDE |
| 139°10'E - 139°30'E |
| LATITUDE |
| 30°5'S - 30°5'S |
| LOCALITY AND OWNERSHIP |
| Owned by the Sprigg family of Arkaroola |
| ACCESS |
| Graded dirt road to Arkaroola resort and camping ground.
Four wheel drive elsewhere on property with permission of the Sprigg
family. There is an airstrip at Arkaroola. Excellent. |
| LOCAL CONTACTS |
| Doug Sprigg, diesel mechanic, son of
Reginald. Amateur astronomer/geologist, operates observatory, spends
significant time flying. |
| NEAREST SERVICES |
| Arkaroola tourist resort |
| RISKS |
| The area is rugged and vehicle access limited largely to
existing tracks. All areas are within a day's travel from Arkaroola. Main
risks are of physical injury from rough terrain. Nearest medical facility
is Leigh Creek. |
| GEOLOGY |
| The geology of Arkaroola is very complex and
has been used for many years as a teaching locality for undergraduate
geology students from the University of Adelaide. It consist of the
Neoproterozoic sediments and volcanics of the Adelaide fold belt, deformed
and intruded by the Mount Painter granite during the late Cambrian
Delarmarian orogeny. The area was uplifted again during the Miocene and
still experiences period earth tremors. Mesozoic and Cainozoic sediments
of the Lake Frome embayment onlap the bedrock to the east. |
| CLIMATE |
| Nearest BOM Weather Station: Leigh Creek |
| FLORA AND FAUNA |
| The flora and fauna of Arkaroola is typical of the northern
Flinders Ranges. More than 300 species of plant have been documented.
Vegetation typically consists of herbaceous grasslands on the flatter
parts with shrubs and spinifex on the hills. Large trees are confined to
watercourses. |
| HISTORY |
| Originally a pastoral lease, The area was extensively
explored for minerals with some mining taking place for gold, uranium,
copper, and precious stones. Arkaroola was bought by the Sprigg family and
converted into a privately run nature reserve and tourist resort. The area
was extensively explored for minerals with some mining taking place. |
| ANALOGUE VALUE |
| The most attractive features are the diverse geology and the
hot springs, which may be useful sites for research into extremophiles.
The area is too rugged and well vegetated to serve as a useful visual
analogue or as a Marsupial testing ground. Greater mobility may occur over
the plains to the east, although these are well-grassed pastoral lands.
Overall value: low. |
| REFERENCES |
- Coates, R. P. 1973. Copley 1: 250,000 geological explanatory notes.
Geological Survey of South Australia. Provides regional geological
context.
- Coats, R. P. and Blissett, A. H. 1971. Regional and economic geology
of the Mount Painter province. Geological Survey of South Australia
Bulletin 43. The definitive account on the geology of the area,
includes many maps.
- Sprigg, R. C. 1984. Arkaroola~Mount painter in the northern Flinders
Ranges, SA: the last billion years. Lutheran Publishing house,
Adelaide. An interesting and idiosyncratic popular account in Reg's
unique style of Arkaroola, its human and aboriginal, history, geology,
flora, fauna.
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