Western Queensland Road Trip #12
In front of the visitor centre in Cunnamulla, crystal clear water sparkles in the sunlight as it tumbles from a pipe into a small storage pool. Drawn from an underground source far below the surface of the earth, the water first fell to earth as rainfall two million years ago.
The water comes from the Great Artesian Basin, the largest and deepest underground reservoir in the world. It covers one-fifth of subterranean Australia – 1,700,000 square kilometres beneath four Australian states and territories. In some places up to 3,000 metres deep, the basin has a capacity 130,000 times greater than Sydney Harbour. For people who live in inland Australia, this is often their only source of fresh water.
While it’s not possible to see the Great Artesian Basin, a journey through the Artesian Time Tunnel inside Cunnamulla’s visitor centre is a fascinating alternative. Going more than 100 million years back in time, the adventure begins in an old opal mine lift. The screen counts back through the centuries in a flash before the doors open to reveal an underground landscape of ancient sandstone, complete with fossils of dinosaurs and other creatures who lived in the area at that time.
Further along the tunnel sits an old opal miner, who comes alive to tell stories of life on the opal fields of western Queensland. Beyond the tunnel, displays explain how the Great Artesian Basin has enabled outback towns to flourish.
To access fresh water supply from the basin, most towns have a bore. Wells are drilled down into the earth until the aquifer is reached. Often the pressure of the water is enough to bring it to the surface, without the need for pumps. At first the water was allowed to flow freely, but now the supply is controlled. The bore at Eulo, 69 kilometres west of Cunnamulla, draws water from a depth of 223 metres. It’s hot and often smells of sulphur, but the residents are grateful to have a regular supply.
It’s not only outback towns who rely on the water. Farmers on the vast cattle properties of the west use the valuable resource for their stock. Bores like the one at Paddabilla provide welcome relief for cattle and other animals.
In some places, water from the Great Artesian Basin rises naturally to the earth’s surface. Where a weakness or fault occurs in the rock layers, the natural pressure of the trapped water forces it upwards, sometimes with tremendous energy.
In the Eulo region, a group of mud springs brings life to the desert. Even when no water flows, moisture in the soil allows plants and wildlife to flourish. A ring of flotsam around the spring shows how far the flow can extend.
In a landscape where every drop is precious, the water of the Great Artesian Basin is an asset treasured beyond measure.
I was thinking the farmers would be enjoying the purest, mineral rich water supply in the world – then you mentioned sulfur…… It’s a pretty amazing resource to have. I’d love to visit the Time Tunnel that would be really fascinating – and the ancient storyteller must be a hit too 🙂
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The water is full of minerals and is very soft. By the time it reaches households the smell is mostly gone, so it’s pretty good to use.
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Good to know 🙂
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This country never ceases to amaze me!
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We’re so lucky to live here!
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What a Godsend this must be, Carol! 🙂 🙂
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It makes all the difference to these western towns, Jo. The water is very soft and, apart from anything else, is great for washing your hair. 🙂
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‘I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair, and send him on his way…’ 🙂 🙂
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And with bore water, your hair will be super soft and silky! 🙂
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But if the rains stop won’t this source of water eventually dry up?
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There will always be rain from cyclones in the north to top up the supply and the drought isn’t in the area where the water seeps in, but in the area where the bores are. You made me curious and I looked it up, and the expectation is that with correct management the water supply shouldn’t run out. It’s a huge volume of water down there.
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Well let’s hope those cyclones don’t change direction! With the climate change you never know what will happen in the future.
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Cyclones are renowned for being unpredictable, but as long as they come and bring lots of rain it will do the job.
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How extraordinary . . . . .really hope it never runs dry
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It’s being carefully managed these days so it hopefully it will never run out.
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Fascinating history for someone like me who is not familiar with accessing water that way. It is raining here today, and I definitely wish I could share. 🙂
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We sure could do with some rain. The other night we heard rain on the roof for about two minutes. Just enough time to go outside to check if it really was raining and then it stopped. I’m pleased to know you enjoyed this post!
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I didn’t know that. It explains why the Eastern states are developed far and wide from the Eastern sea border, and why the West is pretty much a desert not much more than 100kms inland from the ocean. I wish they’d put a pipe-line down from the Ord so as existing towns could flourish, and new populations further inland could develop. But then again – I do love the isolation….
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We were so impressed by the development of the Ord River at Kunnanurra. Just goes to show what plenty of water can do. The sandalwood plantations were amazing.
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Even more precious now that summer is here!
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Definitely! The drought isn’t letting up any time soon.
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What a great post. So interesting.
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Thanks Susi. I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
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Wow!! 223 metres, it is amazing!
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It really is impressive. That’s why the water comes up so hot.
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I had no idea about this astounding water source. Truly like a life giving gold mine to the people of the area. Fascinating!
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Many of the small towns wouldn’t exist without the water supply.
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It’s only now we are realising how precious water is. I hate to think about the near future.
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There’s talk of building more dams and new pipelines but that will take time. Hopefully it rains soon.
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🤞
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Didn’t kow about your huge aquafier. Water is so necessary. Here in western US we are dependent on snow melt for our water. So far this winter is looking good for next summer’s water supply. Loved you post.
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Good to know you’ve got plenty of water.
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It must give residents some peace of mind to know that huge aquifer is there deep under the ground. I wonder if all opal mines are in dry areas such as these.
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As far as I know all the opal mining areas here are in drier parts. Opal is formed by underground water dissolving silica and settling in cracks in the layers of rock so the Artesian Basin area is ideal for opal mining.
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Very interesting article! Thanks!
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Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
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We have really hard water here in Florida. Hubby had to install a water softener especially for my hair. 👏🏻
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Our water is hard too but the water out west is almost too soft. Good for Mr AD2P!! 🙂
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Hello Carol.
Wow. This is really something different and special! I would also visit there. Thank you for this special report! I love it.
Have a good day!!
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Hi Matti. I’m so pleased you enjoyed this story. It’s a very different landscape from what you show on your blog. 🙂
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What a fabulous source of water. So important especially now. Interesting post Carol.
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Thanks Miriam. The artesian water is lifesaving.
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What an incredible natural resource – it is hard to imagine the size of it.
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Yes, but even at the size it is the water supply needs to be properly managed or it will diminish.
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