View source for Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve

{{Short description|Protected area in the Northern Territory, Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name            = Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve
| photo           = Devils Marbles.jpg
| photo_caption   = A pair of balanced boulders at the site
| photo_alt       = 
| iucn_category   = V
| iucn_ref        = <ref name="CAPADnt2016terrestrial">{{cite web|title=Terrestrial Protected Areas by Reserve Type in Northern Territory (2016)|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/761994ab-42cc-4f24-952c-c21221861884/files/capad2016nt.xlsx|website=CAPAD 2016|publisher=Australian government|access-date=15 January 2018|date=2016}}</ref>
| coordinates     = {{coord|20|33|S|134|17|E|display=inline,title}}
| map             = Northern Territory
| map_alt         = 
| map_width       = 200px
| relief          = yes
| label           = Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve
| label_position  = 
| location        = [[Northern Territory]], [[Warumungu, Northern Territory|Warumungu]]<ref name="placenames">{{cite web |title=Place Names Register Extract for "Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve" |url=https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=23548 |website=NT Place Names Register |publisher=Northern Territory Government |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>
| established     = October 1961<ref name=register>{{cite web|title=Place Names Register Extract|url=http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=23548|work=Northern Territory Land Information System|publisher=Northern Territory Government|access-date=29 Jan 2014}}</ref>
| area_ha         = 
| area_km2        = 18.02
| area_ref        = 
| visitation_num  = 137,500<ref name="Visitors_by_year">{{cite web|title=Park Visitor Data|url=http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/manage/visitor|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory|year=2013|access-date=29 Jan 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104060638/http://www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/manage/visitor|archive-date=2014-01-04}}</ref>
| visitation_year = 2012
| visitation_ref  = 
| nearest_city    = Wauchope<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro">{{cite web|title=Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve Joint Management Plan - Introduction|url=http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/10093/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_introduction.pdf|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory (PDF file linked from "parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/manage/plans/tennant")|date=1 Feb 2009|access-date=29 Jan 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516093214/http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/10093/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_introduction.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-16}}</ref>
| nearest_town    =
| governing_body  = Traditional Aboriginal Owners and the [[Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory]]<ref name="DM_JMP_Foreword">{{cite web|title=Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve Joint Management Plan - Foreword|url=http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/10092/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_foreword.pdf|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory (PDF file linked from "parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/manage/plans/tennant")|date=1 Feb 2009|access-date=29 Jan 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516093208/http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/10092/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_foreword.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-16}}</ref>
| website         = {{official|parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/parks/find/devilsmarbles}}
}}
'''Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve''' is a [[protected area]] in the [[Northern Territory]] of [[Australia]] located in the locality of [[Warumungu, Northern Territory|Warumungu]]<ref name="placenames"/>  about {{convert|105|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Tennant Creek, Northern Territory|Tennant Creek]],  and {{convert|393|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Alice Springs]]. The nearest settlement is the small town of Wauchope located {{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south.<ref name=website>{{cite web|title=Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve|url=http://www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/parks/find/devilsmarbles|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory|year=2013|access-date=29 Jan 2014}}</ref> The hamlet of [[Wycliffe Well]] is located {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south.

The Devils Marbles are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] [[traditional owner]]s of the land, and the reserve protects one of the oldest religious sites in the world as well as the natural rock formations found there. ''Karlu Karlu'' is the local Aboriginal term for both the rock features and the surrounding area. The Aboriginal term translates as "round boulders" and refers to the large boulders found mainly in the western side of the reserve.<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" /> The English name for the boulders derives from a quote by [[John Ross (explorer)|John Ross]] during the 1870 [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line]] expedition, where he said "This is the Devil’s country; he’s even emptied his bag of marbles around the place!"<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" />

The area was originally named '''Devils Marbles Reserve''' in October 1961. The name was changed to ''Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve'' on 21 September 1979 under the ''Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act''.<ref name=register /> In 1980, the conservation reserve was listed on the now-defunct [[Register of the National Estate]].<ref name="NRE">{{cite AHD|148|Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, Stuart Hwy, Tennant Creek (sic), NT, Australia  - listing on the now-defunct  Register of the National Estate |date=21 October 1980|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>  In 1982, almost the entire reserve was registered as a sacred site by the [[Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority]].<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" />

Ownership of Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles was officially passed from the Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory back to the traditional owners at a ceremony held on the reserve in October 2008. The reserve is now leased back to the Parks Service under a 99-year lease and the site is jointly managed by rangers and traditional owners. Visitor access has not been affected,<ref name=website /> making it an [[Indigenous Protected Area]]. On 6 July 2011, the name ''Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve'' was assigned, corresponding with the joint management structure.<ref name=register />

==Features==
[[Image:A185, Northern Territory, Australia, Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, 2007.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.7|A naturally split boulder]]
The ''Devils Marbles'' are large [[granite|granitic]] boulders that form the exposed top layer of an extensive and mostly underground granite formation. The natural processes of [[weathering]] and [[erosion]] have created the various shapes of the boulders. Some of the boulders are naturally but precariously [[balancing rock|balanced]] atop one another or on larger rock formations, while others have been split cleanly down the middle by natural forces. The boulders are situated in a wide and shallow desert valley, and are found in scattered groups mainly in the western side of the reserve. A short access road leads directly into the boulder fields from the [[Stuart Highway]].<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" />

Being one of the most widely recognised symbols of Australia’s outback, the Devils Marbles are also one of the most visited reserves/places in the Northern Territory.<ref name="DM_JMP_Foreword" /> The Parks and Wildlife Service recorded 96,172 visitors in 2007.<ref name="DM_JMP_Visitors">{{cite web|title=Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve Joint Management Plan - Managing Visitors|url=http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/10096/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_managingvisitor.pdf|publisher=Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory (PDF file linked from "parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/manage/plans/tennant")|date=1 Feb 2009|access-date=29 Jan 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516093234/http://parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/10096/devils_marbles_JMplan_feb09_managingvisitor.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-16}}</ref> The visitation count increased to 137,500 by 2012.<ref name="Visitors_by_year" /> The peak season is in the cooler months from May to August.<ref name="DM_JMP_Visitors" /> The reserve is one of the main tourist attractions in the [[Barkly Tableland|Barkly region]] since it is easily seen and accessed just off the Stuart Highway, the major north/south road connecting [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] and Alice Springs, and points further south.<ref name="DM_JMP_Visitors" />

The Devils Marbles are accessible all year round with a network of pathways, information boards and a basic camping area. Rangers offer a program of live events at the site as part of their ''Territory Parks Alive'' program between May and September each year.<ref name=website />

==Aboriginal significance==
Karlu Karlu are culturally and spiritually significant objects of the local Aboriginal people. Most of the conservation reserve is a Registered Sacred Site, protected under the ''[[Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989]]''. Although Karlu Karlu is within country originally belonging to the [[Alyawarre]] people, all of the other local Aboriginal groups, which include the [[Kaytetye people|Kaytetye]], [[Warumungu people|Warumungu]] and [[Warlpiri people|Warlpiri]] people, also have spiritual connections and responsibilities for the area.<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" />

Accounts of local Aboriginal people believing the boulders to be eggs of the mythical Rainbow Serpent are incorrect.<ref name="DM_JMP_Visitors" /> In reality, a number of traditional [[Dreaming (spirituality)|Dreaming]] stories (none of which are about serpents) have Karlu Karlu as their setting, hence its great importance as a sacred site. These stories are alive and well and are passed on from generation to generation of [[traditional owners]]. Only a handful of stories are considered suitable to tell to uninitiated visitors.

One of the main [[Dreamtime|Dreaming]] stories for the area which can be told to the public relates to how Karlu Karlu was created. This tradition tells of ''[[Arrange]]'', the Devil Man, who came from a hill nearby and travelled through the area. Whilst walking along, Arrange made a hair-string belt which is a kind of traditional adornment worn only by initiated men. As he was twirling the hair to make strings, he dropped clusters of hair on the ground.

The clusters turned into the big red boulders at Karlu Karlu that have become so famous today. On his way back to his hill, Arrange spat on the ground. His spit turned into the granite boulders in the central part of the reserve. Arrange finally returned to his place of origin, a hill called ''[[Ayleparrarntenhe]]'' where he remains today.<ref name="DM_JMP_Intro" />

==Formation==
[[File:Karlu Karlu 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Suspended boulder]]
The Devils Marbles constitute a [[erosion|degraded]] [[nubbin (landform)|nubbin]].<ref name=Twidale1995>{{cite journal |last=Twidale |first=C.R.|author-link=Charles Rowland Twidale |date=1995 |title=Bornhardts, Boulders and Inselbergs |journal=Cadernos do Laboratorio Xeolóxico de Laxe |volume=20 |pages=347–380 }}</ref> The formation is made of [[granite]] and are part of the top layer of a formation which penetrates the ground from below, like little geological islands in the [[desert]], surrounded by large amounts of [[sandstone]]. The granite was formed millions of years ago as a result of the hardening of [[magma]] within the Earth's crust. Thick layers of sandstone on top of the granite exerted extreme downward pressure on the granite. After some time, [[Tectonics|tectonic]] forces caused folding of the Earth's crust in the area, which lifted the granite and fractured the sandstone, allowing the granite to come closer to the surface. As the pressure diminished, the granite expanded causing cracks to form, and then the larger formations began to separate into big, square blocks.<ref name=form>{{cite web|title=Weathering: Types of Weathering|url=http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo101/weather.htm|publisher=Georgia Perimeter College/Pamela J. W. Gore|date=5 Feb 2002|access-date=29 Jan 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510224332/http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo101/weather.htm|archive-date=2013-05-10}}</ref>

The next phase of the formation of the Marbles started when the blocks were exposed to [[water]].<ref name=form /> The surface of the blocks began to decay under the influence of the water and a layer of loose material surrounded the individual blocks. When the blocks came to the surface completely, the loose material was [[erosion|eroded]] away by water and wind.

The rounding of the granite blocks is a result of [[Weathering#Biogeochemical weathering|chemical]] and [[Weathering#Physical weathering|physical (also called mechanical) weathering]].<ref name=form /> Chemical processes cause the surface of the blocks to expand and contract, resulting in thin layers of rock coming off the boulder in a process called [[exfoliation joint|exfoliation]]. This process rounds the granite block because the chemical processes have more effect on areas with edges. The rock begins to look like it is made of layers like an [[onion]]. Only the outer few centimetres are affected by chemical weathering in a process called [[spheroidal weathering]].

The boulders are affected more deeply by the extreme temperature differences between day and night in the arid desert region where the reserve is located. During daylight hours the rocks expand slightly and after nightfall they contract slightly, repeating the process every 24 hours. These repeated cycles of expansion and contraction, called [[Weathering#Thermal stress|thermal stress weathering]], create cracks which sometimes go so deep that the boulder is completely split in half.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paradise, T. R.|doi=10.1130/0-8137-2390-6.39|title=Petra revisited: An examination of sandstone weathering research in Petra, Jordan in Special Paper 390: Stone Decay in the Architectural Environment|year=2005|isbn=0-8137-2390-6|volume=390|pages=39}}</ref>

[[Image:Devils Marbles 4 Steps.PNG|thumb|center|800px]]

==Controversy==
[[Image:Flynn grave Alice Springs.jpg|thumb|right|John Flynn's Memorial with the replacement boulder, Alice Springs, 2002]]
One of the boulders was removed from the reserve in 1952 and taken to [[Alice Springs]] to form a memorial to [[John Flynn (minister)|John Flynn]], the founder of the [[Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia|Royal Flying Doctor Service]]. The boulder was chosen as a symbol of his link to the [[outback]], but it became the source of a lengthy controversy. The boulder had unwittingly been removed from a sacred site of the Aboriginal women of the area. Eventually, after more than 45 years of negotiations, a boulder swap was arranged and the sacred boulder was removed from the grave and returned to its original place on 4 September 1999. The grave is now marked with a similar but non-sacred boulder donated by the [[Aranda people|Arrernte]] people.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Flynn Memorial |url=http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/johnflynnm.htm |publisher=Flinders Ranges Research |access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref>

For more information see: [[John Flynn's Grave Historical Reserve (Alice Springs)]].



== Historic images ==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Dowling 051.jpg|Karlu Karlu between 1938 and 1948
File:Jessie May Gunn 023.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 024.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 025.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 026.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 027.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 029.tif|The Stuart Highway running nearby to Karlu Karlu in 1946
File:Jessie May Gunn 042.tif|Karlu Karlu in 1946
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Chambers Pillar]]
* [[Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve]]
* [[Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve]]
* [[Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve]]
* [[Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park]]
* [[Watarrka National Park]]
* [[West MacDonnell National Park]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve}}
* [http://www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/parks/find/devilsmarbles Official site]
* {{cite news|url=http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/0632.html |title = New Light on Flynn's Grave|date=1999-09-08|work=Alice Springs News}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.nt.gov.au:8080/nreta/parks/manage/joint/news/rainbow.html|title=Devil's Marbles handover ceremony}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141016145451/https://www.nearbing.com/es/knowledge/a-hombros-de-gigantes.html Similar rocks in the antipodes (Spain)]

{{Protected areas of the Northern Territory|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Conservation reserves in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Rock formations of Australia]]
[[Category:Sacred rocks]]
[[Category:Northern Territory places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate]]
[[Category:Tennant Creek]]