Pilbara in the context of "Juukan Gorge"

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⭐ Core Definition: Pilbara

The Pilbara (/ˈpɪlbərə/) is a large, dry, sparsely populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal people, its geography, its red earth, and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.

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In this Dossier

Pilbara in the context of Pilbara craton

The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The Pilbara Craton is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.8–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth, along with the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa. The youngest rocks are 1.7 Ga old in the historic area assigned to the Craton. Both locations may have once been part of the Vaalbara supercontinent or the continent of Ur.

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Pilbara in the context of Aboriginal Australian sacred site

An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status is derived from an association with some aspect of social and cultural tradition, which is related to ancestral beings, collectively known as Dreamtime (or the Dreaming/s), who created both physical and social aspects of the world. The site may have its access restricted based on gender, clan or other Aboriginal grouping, or other factors.

The sites are protected by various state- and territory-based legislation as part of Australian heritage laws, and the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 can be invoked as a "last resort" if the site is not considered adequately covered by legislation in the jurisdiction. The legislation also protects sites of archaeological, historical and cultural significance relating to Aboriginal peoples that may be unrelated to beliefs, and more commonly thought of as Aboriginal Australian heritage sites. States and territories maintain registers of sites of Indigenous significance with searchable online databases. Despite the legislation, some sites are still threatened by mining and other operations. One notable example in recent times was the culturally and archaeologically significant rock shelter at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara, destroyed by Rio Tinto's blasting in the course of mining exploration in May 2020.

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Pilbara in the context of Murujuga

The Burrup Peninsula, previously known as Dampier Island, is a former island of the Dampier Archipelago that is now connected to the mainland via a causeway. The peninsula and islands together are also known as Murujuga. The peninsula is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and contains the town of Dampier as well as the Murujuga National Park. The peninsula includes the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, an area designated as a World Heritage Site in July 2025. The area contains the world's largest collection of ancient (approximately 40,000–50,000 years old) rock art (known as petroglyphs).

There is ongoing political debate on whether industrial development on the Burrup is resulting in the physical destruction and disturbance of petroglyphs. The government and industry agree that there is no ongoing damage via atmospheric pollution, while independent academics disagree.

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Pilbara in the context of Carrion

Carrion (from Latin caro 'meat'), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Carrion may be of natural or anthropic origin (e.g. wildlife, human remains, livestock), and enters the food chain via different routes (e.g. animals dying of disease or malnutrition, predators and hunters discarding parts of their prey, collisions with automobiles).

Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eating animals include vultures, eagles, hyenas, Virginia opossum, Tasmanian devils, and coyotes. Many invertebrates, for example carrion beetles, burying beetles, blow-fly maggots, and flesh-fly maggots, also eat carrion. All of these animals, together with microbial decomposers, help to recycle nitrogen and carbon in animal remains.

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Pilbara in the context of Kimberley (Western Australia)

The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

The region was named in 1879 by government surveyor Alexander Forrest after Secretary of State for the Colonies John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley.

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Pilbara in the context of Triodia (plant)

Triodia is a large genus of hummock grass endemic to Australia. The species of this genus are known by the common name spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. Many soft-leaved Triodia species were formerly included in the genus Plectrachne. Triodia is known as tjanpi (grass) in central Australia, and have several traditional uses amongst the Aboriginal Australian peoples of the region.

A multiaccess key (SpiKey) is available as a free application for identifying the Triodia of the Pilbara (28 species and one hybrid).

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Pilbara in the context of Strelley Pool

Marble Bar is a town and rock formation in the Pilbara region of north-western Western Australia. It was the social centre of European settlers in the Pilbara region during the early 1900s, predating the construction of other towns now established.

The town is additionally noted for its extremely hot climate, having a mean maximum temperature second in Australia only to Wyndham.

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Pilbara in the context of Great Sandy Desert

The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion, located in the northeast of Western Australia straddling the Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions and extending east into the Northern Territory. It is the second largest desert in Australia after the Great Victoria Desert and encompasses an area of 284,993 km (110,036 sq mi). The Gibson Desert lies to the south and the Tanami Desert lies to the east of the Great Sandy Desert.

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Pilbara in the context of Little Sandy Desert

The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian bioregion in the 1990s.

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