Galería de Minerales FMF

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Country Map Photo

The Northern Territory occupies the central position in the northern section of the Australian continent. Its coastline meets the Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north. To its west lies Western Australia, while South Australia forms its southern border. Queensland defines its eastern boundary. This diverse geography gives the Northern Territory ever changing landscapes, from tropical coastlines in the north to the arid desert regions in the south. The El Sherana mine is located in the South Alligator River valley region of the Northern Territory. The insert shows the geographical location of the Northern Territory in relation to the rest of the continent.

It is interesting to note that the term “Alligator” in reference to the Alligator Rivers’ Region of the Northern Territory and its three main rivers (East, South, and West Alligator), originated from a mistake made by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King. During his ground-breaking explorations between 1818 and 1822, he encountered numerous crocodiles in the estuaries of these rivers. In his journals, he noted the abundance of these large reptiles and mistook them for alligators, a species not indigenous to Australia. Thus he named the rivers "Alligator Rivers." Despite the scientific inaccuracy, the name stuck and is still used today to describe the region. (Author: silvia)