Interesting Facts About The Devils Marbles

The devil s marble is one of the most widely considered symbols of australia s outback.

Interesting facts about the devils marbles.

Many of them seem impossibly balanced on top of each other just like the two marbles in the famous picture. The devils marbles are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the traditional aboriginal owners ree 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 literally translated as round boulders are a collection of gigantic rounded granite boulders many of which are precariously balanced on top of one another. Karlu karlu is the local aboriginal term for both the rock features and the surrounding area.

While there are fire places provided you ll need to bring in your own wood and there s also no water supplied just pit toilets. The marbles have great importance for the aboriginal people. The devils marbles or karlu karlu as they are known by the local warumungu aboriginals are a collection of huge red rounded granite boulders. Marbles are small ball shaped toys that have a diameter averaging 1 3 to 2 5 centimetres 0 5 to 1 inch but they can be as big as 7 6 centimetres 3 inches and as small as 0 1 of a centimetre 0 03 of an inch.

As the devils marbles first started to take its form magma erupted from nearby volcanos. Actually they vary in size from 50 cm up to six metres across and they are strewn across a large area. What are the devils marbles and how were they formed. These huge granite boulders jut upwards from the dusty red landscape.

The rocks are a traditional aboriginal sacred site to the local tribe. The devil s marbles are a formation of naturally rounded and oval boulders located south of tennant creek in australia s northern territory. They believe that the rocks are the eggs of the rainbow serpent. Over time they then become seperate rocks.

The people of warumungu call the devils marbles karlu karlu as it means round boulders. Karlu karlu or the devils marbles is a living cultural landscape and the traditional country for the warumungu kaytetye alyawarra and warlpiri people. Camping at the devils marbles reserve is permitted for a small fee 3 30 per person when we were there november 2011 but it is basic. The devils marbles are giant rocks located in the aboriginal country of warumungu in northern territory that stand upon a mountain made up of many other rocks.

They pepper the devils marble conservation reserve which sprawls out for 100 kilometres to the south of tennant creek. Marbles are most commonly made of glass although steel ceramic plastic or clay is sometimes used. Devil s marbles are recognized by the local warumungu aboriginals. In fact they were called devils marbles the reserve covers over 1 800 hectares just under 4 500 acres across a wide shallow valley which is strewn with spherical rocks of iron tinged granite.

Over the decades the ceremonies and stories related to the marbles have largely been lost but the site is still very important to the tribe. In teresting facts how were the devils marbles formed.