Great Sandy Desert - WA

The Great Sandy Desert lies between the Kimberley and Pilbara regions in the north of Western Australia. It is the 2nd largest desert in Australia (the largest is the Great Victoria Desert, also in Western Australia and parts of SA).

The Great Sandy Desert contains vast areas of red sand plains and dune fields, many of which are longitudinal, as well as scattered rocky outcrops. Surface creeks are few. There are extensive chains of salt lakes associated with ancient buried river systems.

This region is mostly covered by spinifex grassland that contains abundant shrubs of acacia and grevillea. These shrubs tend to be more dense in the north of the GSD, where the climate is more monsoonal. The rocky uplands support acacia shrublands. Bloodwoods and desert oaks are scattered throughout.

The permanent freshwater of Paruku (Lake Gregory), which lies on the border between the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts, is one of Australia’s most important inland wetland systems for migratory shorebirds and waterbirds.

The northern sections of the Canning Stock Route run through the Great Sandy Desert.