Milners Pile
Designation:
Australia-SA_Milners_Pile
Location:
| Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|
-28.850040° | 138.515244° |
Locality and ownership:
Etadunna Station SA Pastoral Lease 2437.
Access:
From Dulkannia Station, travel approx 20km NNW along the Birdsville Track
Local contacts:
Nearest services:
Maree.
Risks:
Surface firmness is deceptive. There are animal burrows of considerable size.
Terrain:
gibber plain, low relief creek olf
General:
Site descriptions:
- Very low-relief gibber plain. Surface is dry but soft. The gibber pavement is typically 1 pebble thick. The surface consists of zones of coarse (2-4cm), fine (1-2cm) and sparse (< 50% covered) gibbers. The coarse and fine zones are typically slightly raised, while the sparse zones are slightly depressed with dessication cracks. The gibbers consist of angular, iron-stained, silcreted sandstone. The giobber suface is locally buried by patches of wind-blown silt colonised by vegetation. Beneath the gibber surface are dry orange loams. “Crab holes” indicate local subsurface tunnel erosion.
- Low relief creek olf sinous shape 2m across and 40 cm deep. The channel floor consists of coarse, pebbly sand. The channel has migrated to the north, leaving behind a lateral floodplain covered by silt about 40m across. The creek drains to the west.
- Milners Pile itself consists of a residual pinnacle of iron-stained silcreted sandstone to pebbly sandstone with conglomerate lenses of mudflakes and quartz pebbles. Occassional black nodules of haematite cemented sandstone are weathering out. The cairn of the top of the pile contains boulders of white “ant’s-nest” silcrete. These are probably of local derivation, but were not seen on the site.
Climate:
Flora and fauna:
Small saltbush on windblown silt drifts.
History:
The pile itself is a navigation marker built by Ralph Milner, a 19th century pastoralist who attempted the first droving of sheep from Adelaide to Darwin in 1863. Following the path of explorer McKinley he reached Coopers Creek during a prolonged drought and was caught there for seven years, during which time his wife died and he lost a thousand head of sheep.
Analogue value:
The surface firmness is deceptive. A 4WD vehicle sinks about 2 cm into gibber surface but does always break through. Large amounts of fine dust would be thrown up by any disturbing operation on the surface. Friable, subsiding surfaces of this kind are rarely found in North American alanlog sites. The presence of a high mound with a known geographical location on an otherwise almost featureless plain could be useful in a scenario involving navigation by landmarks.
References:
- van Oosterzee, P. A 2000. Field Guide to Central Australia. Marleston, SA: J.B. Books.
Map reference:
Geology
Help the MSA!
This week @ NASA
