Birksgate Range

The Birksgate Range is a scattered range of mountains in the northwest of South Australia. It is located on the northeastern edges of the Great Victoria Desert, spreading for about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Iltur in the southeast to Watarru in the northwest. The northern portion of it is located within the Watarru Indigenous Protected Area. The range consists of scattered protrusions of granitic rock that have been weathered into rounded and rugged hills. They are not visibly connected to each other, with each outcrop being separated by flat expanses of plains and sand dunes. The mountains are fairly low in elevation; they are highest at the northern end.

Birksgate Range
Location of the Birksgate Range in South Australia
Highest point
Elevation580 m (1,900 ft) 
Geography
CountryAustralia
StateSouth Australia
Range coordinates27°01′56″S 129°52′21″E [1]

The most prominent peaks in the range are Mounts Lindsay (819 metres (2,687 ft)) and Wooltarlinna, at the northeastern end of the range, near Watarru. Further southwest are Mounts Holder and Sir Thomas (773 metres (2,536 ft)). From here the range spreads southeast along the edge of the desert, and the hills generally become lower and more widely dispersed. Mount Poondinna (678 metres (2,224 ft)) is the highest peak in the central part of the range. Mounts Cheesman and Yaroona (also spelled Yaruna) are further to the southeast. The southern end of the range is at Iltur (Coffin Hill).

The Birksgate Range was named by the explorer David Lindsay, who led the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition across the Great Victoria Desert between April 1891 and March 1892. He named the range for the man who funded and equipped their expedition, Sir Thomas Elder. "Birksgate" was the name of Elder's house in Adelaide.[2][3]

References
  1. "Search results for 'Birksgate Range' with the following datasets selected - 'Suburbs and localities', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. David Lindsay; Thomas Elder; L. A. Wells (1893). Journal of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition, 1891–2. Adelaide: C. E. Bristow, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. p. 51.
  3. "The Elder Expedition: Mapping out the interior". The West Australian. Perth: Charles Harper, West Australian Newspaper Company, Ltd. 23 February 1893. p. 2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.