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Alice Springs is a town in the Australian Northern Territories located in the center of the Australian continent. The city is located along the Todd River, which is often dry, close to the MacDonnell Range mountains, 1,500 kilometers north of Adelaide, and 1,500 kilometers south of Darwin. In 1862 the explorer John McDouall Stuart, passed from here to head of an expedition during his third and final attempt to cross the center of Australia, up to the north coast.
The city developed in 1872 with the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin. A decade later (1887), gold was discovered in the plain of Arltunga, located 100 kilometers east. This discovery caused a great development for the city. Then in 1929 the construction of the railway line to Adelaide was completed.
The city was originally called Stuart, in honor of the explorer John McDouall Stuart. Alice Springs was the name given to the first telegraph station, of the small European settlement of Stuart in central Australia. But on August 31, 1933 the village of Stuart was officially renamed Alice Springs.
Today its population is over 23 thousand inhabitants (2016 census). This makes Alice Springs the second largest settlement in the Northern Territory. In this city, Australian Aborigines make up about 18% of the population.
WHAT TO VISIT NEAR ALICE SPRINGS
Alice Springs Desert Park introduces the visitor to the original Australian desert environment, here you can see the typical desert animals: kangaroos, emus, snakes, birds, fish etc.
Around the city are the MacDonnel Ranges, a long series of mountain ranges located east and west of the city. These mountains are formed by parallel ridges and contain pools of water, spectacular gorges and a rich animal fauna. The rock formations also house Aboriginal paintings and are important in the cultural tradition of the Australian Aborigines.
STADLEY CHASM
Located 50 km from Alice Springs in the West MacDonnell Ranges, Standley Chasm is a sandstone gorge carved by the floods. This erosion led to the formation of an 80m deep canyon. A path leads to the canyon where you can see some examples of wildlife, including birds and wallabies.
SIMPSONS GAP
The Simpson Gap is located in the West MacDonnell Ranges just 20 km west of Alice Springs. The place was named after the surveyor McMinn in 1871, when he explored the possible routes for the Overland Telegraph Line. Even at Simpsons Gap there is a chance to see the wallabies of the rocks.
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