Mawson plateau

Typical Mawson Plateau terrain; rolling hills, with sparse vegetation interspersed with numerous eroded granite boulders.

Waterhole on the Granite Plateau Creek; the more permanent of these waterholes support small populations of Purple Spotted Gudgeon.

Eroded sandstone column on the central plateau.

Granite cliff overlooking Saucepan Creek.

Eroded granite boulders near the Granite Escarpment.

The Mawson Plateau (30°00′06″S 139°25′00″E) is part of the northern Flinders Ranges, located on the Mt Freeling pastoral lease in South Australia, 140 km east of Lyndhurst and northeast of Arkaroola Sanctuary.

Geography

The Mawson Plateau is an undulating 71 km² granite plateau of about 600/750m altitude. It is dissected by Saucepan Creek and the Granite Plateau Creek; both are tributaries of the Hamilton Creek. The plateau is bounded by the Hamilton Creek on the north and west, the Granite Escarpment on the east and Freeling Heights in the south.

Fauna

Mammals are sparse on the plateau, but there are small populations of euros, short-beaked echidnas, yellow-footed rock wallabies and a few species of bats. Feral goats are rare.

Reptiles have fared better than mammals and there are numerous species of snakes, skinks and dragons.

Some of the rockholes along Saucepan Creek and the Granite Plateau Creek contain permanent water and support small populations of purple spotted gudgeon, numerous species of frogs and water spiders.