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John McDouall Stuart in 1860 was the first white man to pass this way. As a result of his endeavors, a telegraph line was erected between Adelaide and Darwin. This telegraph line and its wireless stations linked Australia and Asia. Explorers attempting to cross Australia between East and West knew, when they reached the line that settlements were not far away. The settlement may only have had a staff of four but it was "civilized contact". The ranges were named after Sir Richard MacDonnell (the Governor of South Australia at the time) by John McDouall Stuart, whose 1860 expedition reached them in April of that year. The Horn Expedition investigated the ranges as part of the scientific expedition into central Australia. Other explorers of the range included David Lindsay and John Ross.
350-300 million years ago a mountain building event created the MacDonnell Ranges. Since that time, folding, faulting and erosion have shaped the range and created numerous gaps and gorges. The ranges are composed of many rock types, but are most famous for their red quartzite peaks and gorges. Other rock types include granite, limestone, sandstone and siltstone. Some of the valleys of the range contain fossil evidence of the inland sea that once covered central Australia.
The region consists of sandy plains with some areas of rocky highland. These plains have a dry climate but do get some rain in both summer and winter. This area contains the remote city of Alice Springs while the grasslands are home to a number of Indigenous Australian communities or are used for cattle grazing. The habitats consists of thick, tough spinifex grassland with some wooded areas of myall and desert oak (Acacia coriacea). The region and the MacDonnell Ranges in particular are home to a number of specialized endemic plant species including the Cabbage Palms of Palm Valley in Finke Gorge National Park. Overgrazing by cattle and introduced animals including horses, donkeys and rabbits are a threat to habitats.
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Annual Yellowtop Senecio gregorii
Serpentine Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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John McDouall Stuart in 1860 was the first white man to pass this way. As a result of his endeavors, a telegraph line was erected between Adelaide and Darwin. This telegraph line and its wireless stations linked Australia and Asia. Explorers attempting to cross Australia between East and West knew, when they reached the line that settlements were not far away. The settlement may only have had a staff of four but it was "civilized contact". The ranges were named after Sir Richard MacDonnell (the Governor of South Australia at the time) by John McDouall Stuart, whose 1860 expedition reached them in April of that year. The Horn Expedition investigated the ranges as part of the scientific expedition into central Australia. Other explorers of the range included David Lindsay and John Ross.
350-300 million years ago a mountain building event created the MacDonnell Ranges. Since that time, folding, faulting and erosion have shaped the range and created numerous gaps and gorges. The ranges are composed of many rock types, but are most famous for their red quartzite peaks and gorges. Other rock types include granite, limestone, sandstone and siltstone. Some of the valleys of the range contain fossil evidence of the inland sea that once covered central Australia.
The region consists of sandy plains with some areas of rocky highland. These plains have a dry climate but do get some rain in both summer and winter. This area contains the remote city of Alice Springs while the grasslands are home to a number of Indigenous Australian communities or are used for cattle grazing. The habitats consists of thick, tough spinifex grassland with some wooded areas of myall and desert oak (Acacia coriacea). The region and the MacDonnell Ranges in particular are home to a number of specialized endemic plant species including the Cabbage Palms of Palm Valley in Finke Gorge National Park. Overgrazing by cattle and introduced animals including horses, donkeys and rabbits are a threat to habitats.
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Annual Yellowtop Senecio gregorii
Serpentine Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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Apple Bush Pterocaulon sphacelatum
Gosse Bluff West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFAustralian Bluebell Wahlenbergia gracilis
West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFAustralian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi
Serpentine Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFBlunt-leaf Cassia Cassia helmsii
West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFBudgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus
Finke River Glen Helen West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCaper White Belenois java ssp. teutonia
Serpentine Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCatTails
Narrow-leaved Cumbungi Typha domingensis
Finke River Glen Helen West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCentral Bearded Dragon Pogona vitticeps
Glen Helen West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCockatiel Leptolophus (Nymphicus) hollandicus
Glen Helen West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCommon Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera
Roma Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFCommon Urnisa Urnisa guttulosa
Roma Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges.
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FFDesert Bloodwood Eucalyptus centralis
West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFDesert Oak Allocasuarina decaisneana
Gosse Bluff West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFDesert Rose Gossypium australe
West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFDiamond Dove Geopelia cuneata
Roma Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFDwarf swainsona Swainsona phacoides
West MacDonald Ranges
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FFFinke River Vista Glen Helen West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFGosse Bluff Vista West MacDonnell Ranges
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FFGrey-headed Honeyeater Lichenostomus keartlandi
Serpentine Gorge West MacDonnell Ranges
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