Abstract
WATER-SUPPLY IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA.—Recent investigations in the heart of Australia have given it a more promising aspect than it had of old. In Discovery for December, Mr. O. H. T. Rishbeth, in discussing the economic possibilities of Central Australia, points out that a considerable area, about 150,000 sq. miles, has an average elevation of some 2000 ft. and rises to 5000 ft. in the Macdonnell and Musgrove ranges. But even in this more elevated part of the far interior the rainfall seems to be less than 10 in a vear and very uncertain in its occurrence. The future of Central Australia depends on the possibility of securing a satisfactory water-supply. A great deal could be done by the conservation of surface waters by means of dams, etc., but subterranean water must be the chief source. Many quite shallow wells seem to run freely with good water, but these can scarcely be looked on as inexhaustible. Artesian wells are promising and the water, though highly mineralised, is valuable for pastoral purposes. When the water supply is assured and railway communications established, Mr. Rishbeth thinks this region has a future as a pastoral area. The carrying capacity and suitability of different parts for various animals must be tested; rabbits and dingoes must be systematically attacked, and stock routes with permanent wells opened up. Gold, mica, and wolfram are also known to occur, but difficulties of transport as well as lack of water have delayed mining.
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Research Items. Nature 110, 822–823 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/110822a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/110822a0