Tnorala/ Gosse Bluff Conservation Reserve
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The Tnorala/Gosse Bluff Conservation Reserve is an enormous comet impact site and a place of significant international scientific interest. It also has great cultural and historical significance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people.
Description
Rising 180 metres above the desert, the crater is an astounding five kilometres in circumference. Much of the crater has eroded away, with the original bed of the crater now two kilometres below the surface.
The crater was created approximately 142 million years ago, when a huge comet struck Central Australia, leaving one of the largest impact craters in the world.
The reserve is of great significance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people, who believe Tnorala was formed when a group of women danced across the sky as the Milky Way. During this dance a mother put her baby aside in its wooden baby carrier. The carrier toppled over the edge of the dancing area and crashed to earth where it was transformed into the circular rock formation of Tnorala.
Camping and fires are not permitted within the reserve.
Map & Directions
175 kilometres west of Alice Springs, Alice Springs, Northern Territory 0870 Australia
Directions
Located about 175 kilometres South West from Alice Springs down Namatjira Drive.
