Tanami desert - wikipedia Tanami desert Tanami Desert Desert track, 2004 Country Australia State Western Australia, Northern Territory Area 184,500 km ( 71,236 sq mi ) Biome Desert The IBRA regions, with Tanami highlighted in red The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has a rocky terrain with small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory 's final frontier and was not fully explored by Australians of European descent until well into the twentieth century. It is traversed by the Tanami Track. The name Tanami is thought to be a corruption of the Walpiri name for the area, `` Chanamee '', meaning `` never die ''. This referred to certain rock holes in the desert which were said never to run dry. Under the name Tanami, the desert is classified as an interim Australian bioregion, comprising 25,997,277 hectares ( 64,240,670 acres ). Contents 1 Biological resources 2 Mineral resources 3 Local indigenous groups 4 Southern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links Biological Resources According to government commissions, the Tanami desert is uniquely `` one of the most important biological areas to be found in Australia particularly as it provides refuge for several of Australia 's rare and endangered species. '' The species that are found include : Western chestnut mouse ( Pseudomys nanus ) Little native mouse ( Pseudomys delicatulus ) Long - tailed planigale ( Planigale ingrami ) Significant bird species include : Grey falcon ( Falco hypoleucos ) Australian painted snipe ( Rostratulas ) Freckled duck ( Stictonetta naevosa ) Mineral Resources There are several mines in the Tanami Desert including : The Granites gold mine Coyote Gold Mine Local indigenous groups The Tanami Desert is a Kukatja and Walpiri country. The Tjurabalan live at the edge of the desert. Southern Tanami indigenous protected area In July 2012, 10,000,000 hectares ( 25,000,000 acres ) of the desert area ( 38 % of the total bioregion ) was declared an indigenous protected area or conservation zone. See also Australia portal Geography portal Deserts of Australia List of deserts by area Notes Jump up ^ Environment Australia. `` Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ( IBRA ) and Development of Version 5.1 - Summary Report ''. Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Australian Government. Archived from the original on 2006 - 09 - 05. Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 31. Jump up ^ IBRA Version 6.1 data Jump up ^ `` Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ( IBRA7 ) regions and codes ''. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Commonwealth of Australia. 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013. Jump up ^ Gibson, David F ( 1986 ). `` A biological survey of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory ''. Technical report 072 - 9990 ( 30 ). Alice Springs : Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory : 79. ISBN 0 - 7245 - 0836 - 8. Jump up ^ Morton, S. R ; et al. ( 1995 ). `` Refugia for biological diversity in arid and semi-arid Australia ''. Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 4. Australian Government : Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 23 March 2012. Jump up ^ Elias, Derek J ( 2001 ). Golden dreams : people, place and mining in the Tanami desert ( Ph. D thesis ). Australian National University. Jump up ^ `` Australia declares Tanami ' largest ' conservation zone ''. BBC News. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Jump up ^ `` Aboriginal desert reserve bigger than Tasmania ''. Australian Geographic. AAP. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Jump up ^ Horn, Allyson ( 10 July 2012 ). `` Traditional owners to manage conservation zone ''. ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Jump up ^ Horn, Allyson ( 10 July 2012 ). `` Australia 's largest conservation zone declared '' ( transcript ). Lateline. Australia : ABC1. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Jump up ^ `` Southern Tanami declared a conservation zone '' ( Press release ). Central Land Council. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013. References Kelly, Kieran, ( 2003 ) Tanami : on foot across Australia 's desert heart Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia, 2003. ISBN 0 - 7329 - 1188 - 5 Thackway, R and ID Cresswell ( 1995 ) An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia : a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program Version 4.0 Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Reserve Systems Unit, 1995. ISBN 0 - 642 - 21371 - 2 External links Australian government paper on environmental conditions Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ( IBRA ) Arnhem Coast Arnhem Plateau Australian Alps Avon Wheatbelt Ben Lomond Brigalow Belt North Brigalow Belt South Broken Hill Complex Burt Plain Cape York Peninsula Carnarvon Central Arnhem Central Kimberley Central Mackay Coast Central Ranges Channel Country Cobar Peneplain Coolgardie Coral Sea Daly Basin Dampierland Darling Riverine Plains Darwin Coastal Davenport Murchison Ranges Desert Uplands Einasleigh Uplands Esperance Plains Eyre Yorke Block Finke Flinders Lofty Block Furneaux Gascoyne Gawler Geraldton Sandplains Gibson Desert Great Sandy Desert Great Victoria Desert Gulf Coastal Gulf Fall and Uplands Gulf Plains Hampton Indian Tropical Islands Jarrah Forest Kanmantoo King Little Sandy Desert MacDonnell Ranges Mallee Mitchell Grass Downs Mount Isa Inlier Mulga Lands Murchison Murray Darling Depression Nandewar Naracoorte Coastal Plain New England Tablelands Northern Kimberley New South Wales North Coast New South Wales South Western Slopes Nullarbor Ord Victoria Plain Pacific Subtropical Islands Pine Creek Pilbara Riverina Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields South East Coastal Plain South East Corner South Eastern Highlands South East Queensland Southern Volcanic Plain Stony Plains Sturt Plateau Subantarctic Islands Swan Coastal Plain Sydney Basin Tanami Tasmanian Central Highlands Tasmanian Northern Midlands Tasmanian Northern Slopes Tasmanian South East Tasmanian Southern Ranges Tasmanian West Tiwi Cobourg Victoria Bonaparte Victorian Midlands Warren Wet Tropics Yalgoo Bioregions of the National Reserve System World deserts Desert Desertification List of deserts List of deserts by area Africa Algerian Bayuda Blue Chalbi Danakil Djurab Eastern Ferlo Farafra ( White ) Kalahari Libyan Moçâmedes Namib Nubian Nyiri Owami Richtersveld Sahara Tanezrouft Ténéré Western Asia Ad - Dahna Akshi Arabian Aral Karakum Aralkum Badain Jaran Betpak - Dala Cholistan Dasht - e Kavir Dasht - e Khash Dasht - e Leili Dasht - e Loot Dasht - e Margo Dasht - e Naomid Gurbantünggüt Gobi Hami Indus Valley Judaean Karakum Katpana Kharan Kumtag Kyzylkum Liwa Lop Maranjab Muyunkum Nefud Negev Polond Ordos Qaidam Ramlat al - Sab'atayn Rub ' al Khali Russian Arctic Registan Saryesik - Atyrau Syrian Taklamakan Tengger Thal Thar Ustyurt Plateau Wahiba Sands Australia Gibson Great Sandy Great Victoria Little Sandy Nullarbor Plain Painted Pedirka Simpson Strzelecki Sturt 's Stony Tanami Tirari Europe Accona Bardenas Reales Błędów Cabo de Gata Deliblatska Peščara Hálendi Monegros Oleshky Oltenian Sahara Ryn Stranja Tabernas North America Alvord Amargosa Baja California Black Rock Carcross Carson Channeled scablands Chihuahuan Colorado Escalante Forty Mile Gran Desierto de Altar Great Basin Great Salt Lake Great Sandy Jornada del Muerto Kaʻū Lechuguilla Mojave North American Arctic Owyhee Painted Desert Red Desert Sevier Smoke Creek Sonoran Tonopah Desert Tule ( Arizona ) Tule ( Nevada ) Yp Yuha Yuma South America Atacama La Guajira Los Médanos de Coro Monte Patagonian Sechura Tatacoa Oceania Zealandia : Rangipo Desert Polar regions Antarctica Arctic Greenland North American Arctic Russian Arctic Project Commons Coordinates : 20 ° S 130 ° E ﻿ / ﻿ 20 ° S 130 ° E ﻿ / - 20 ; 130 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tanami_Desert&oldid=800757295 '' Categories : Biogeography of Western Australia Deserts of Western Australia IBRA regions Deserts of the Northern Territory Tanami Desert Hidden categories : Geobox usage tracking for other type All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Azərbaycanca Български Català Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto فارسی Français Gàidhlig Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Suomi Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 September 2017, at 13 : 43. 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Question: where is the tanami desert located in australia
Answer: Northern Territory and Western Australia