Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert National Park (Australia)

Photo credit: Bill Doyle, The Wilderness Society South Australia

In November 2021, the South Australian Government signed a proclamation formally establishing the nearly 8.9 million acre (3.6 million hectare) Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert National Park. The new park is the largest in Australia—equivalent in size to four Yellowstone National Parks—eclipsing the Northern Territory’s Kakadu National Park by nearly 2.5 million acres.

The Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert National Park, the largest protected area ever created with the help of Wyss philanthropy, is located in the far north of the state, just south of its border with the Northern Territory and Queensland. It safeguards a vast swath of one of the world's best examples of parallel dunal desert, extensive playa lakes, spinifex grasslands, and acacia woodlands. The park is home to more than 150 species of wildlife, including dingos, several raptor species, dunnarts, and Australia's largest lizard, the perentie.