| Strzelecki Desert | |
|---|---|
 Strzelecki Desert,South Australia. | |
 | |
| Area | 80,250 km2 (30,980 sq mi) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Australia |
| States |
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| Coordinates | 27°41′S140°25′E / 27.69°S 140.41°E /-27.69; 140.41 |
TheStrzelecki Desert/tʃəˈlɛtski/ is located in theFar North Region ofSouth Australia,South West Queensland and westernNew South Wales. It is positioned in the northeast of theLake Eyre Basin, and north of theFlinders Ranges. Two other deserts occupy the Lake Eyre Basin—theTirari Desert and theSimpson Desert.
It is named after the Polish explorerPaweł Edmund Strzelecki byCharles Sturt.[1] Sturt was the first non-indigenous explorer in the area in late 1845, followed by the ill-fatedBurke and Wills expedition in 1861.
The desert covers 80,250 km2 making it the seventh largest desert in Australia.[2] TheDingo Fence,Birdsville Track, theStrzelecki Track, theDiamantina River,Cooper Creek and theStrzelecki Creek all pass through the Desert. The desert is characterised by extensivedune fields and is home to threewilderness areas.
Much of the desert is preserved within theStrzelecki Regional Reserve in South Australia.[3] Parts of the eastern sections of the desert are protected by theSturt National Park inNew South Wales. A population of the endangeredDusky Hopping Mouse lives in the desert.
The Cobbler Sandhills nearLake Blanche is a section of the Strzelecki Desert where the dunes are replaced by small eroded knolls, mostly with vegetation on the top. This area provided great difficulty for early attempts to cross the desert by car, and the name relates to the sheep which were the most difficult to shear, known as the "cobblers".
