Australia's Himalayan Mountains: The Geological Story of the Petermann Ranges

Beneath the red dust of central Australia lies the forgotten story of a vanished mountain range that once rivaled the Himalayas. The Petermann Ranges, now little more than subdued ridges near the Northern Territory’s western edge, were born from a violent geological upheaval over 550 million years ago during the Petermann Orogeny. This intraplate orogeny shattered the ancient crust of the Musgrave Province, thrusting deep rocks skyward and forming east–west mountain chains across Australia’s interior. But just as quickly as they rose, these mountains were torn down by erosion, leaving behind iconic sedimentary features like Uluru and Kata Tjuta — geological monuments built from the debris of those lost peaks. Explore how tectonic forces, sedimentation, and time shaped one of Australia’s greatest but least known geological epics.