Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve

The Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve is a place of international scientific interest as well as a place of cultural significance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people. Located about 175 kilometres from Alice Springs, it is also the site of a huge crater.

Take the short walk to a lookout at Tylers Pass on the adjacent ridge for a good vista of the landscape. 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.