Wilpena Pound in the context of Hawker, South Australia


Wilpena Pound in the context of Hawker, South Australia

⭐ Core Definition: Wilpena Pound

Wilpena Pound ("Ikara" in the Adnyamathanha language) is a major natural amphitheatre of mountains located 429 kilometres (267 mi) north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia in the heart of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. Its fringe is accessible by a sealed road between the towns of Hawker to the south and Blinman in the northern Flinders Ranges.

It was used for grazing from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century and for cropping in the early twentieth century. Its tourism potential was recognised in 1949.

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Wilpena Pound in the context of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park

The Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park, formerly Flinders Ranges National Park, is a national park situated approximately 430 km (270 mi) north of Adelaide, Australia. It lies northeast of the small town of Hawker, in the northern central part of South Australia's largest mountain range, the Flinders Ranges, and covers an area of 95,000 ha (370 sq mi) between Hawker and Blinman. It is known for the land formation known as Wilpena Pound, while other well-known features include the Heysen Range and the Brachina and Bunyeroo gorges. The Heysen Trail and Mawson Trail pass through the park.

The whole park is part of the Flinders Ranges geological successions, where abundant and diverse arrays of fossils show how animal life began on Earth over a period of 350 million years. Within the park, on Enorama Creek, there is a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP, or "Golden Spike"), ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in 2004. The GSSP defines the lower boundary of the Ediacaran period, then recently recognised for the first time. As well as containing a large number of heritage-listed sites, Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park is one of a group of seven geographically separate areas that were submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for consideration as a World Heritage Site in 2021, and as of August 2025 remain on the tentative list.

View the full Wikipedia page for Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park
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Wilpena Pound in the context of Blinman

Blinman is a locality incorporating two towns in the Australian state of South Australia within the Flinders Ranges about 425 kilometres (264 mi) north of the state capital of Adelaide. It includes the highest surveyed town in South Australia, with a population in the 2021 census of 43. It serves as a base for large-acre pastoralists and tourism. Blinman is just north of the Flinders Ranges National Park, 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Wilpena Pound. It is named after Robert Blinman, the shepherd who discovered its mineral resource.

The two towns were Blinman and Blinman North until 1986, when Blinman was re-named Blinman South and Blinman North was re-named Blinman.

View the full Wikipedia page for Blinman
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