Karlu Karlu
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Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve Northern Territory |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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 Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve
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| Nearest town or city | Wauchope |
| Coordinates | 20°33′S 134°17′E / 20.550°S 134.283°ECoordinates: 20°33′S 134°17′E / 20.550°S 134.283°E |
| Established | October 1961 |
| Area | 18.02 km2 (7.0 sq mi) |
| Visitation | 137,500 (in 2012) |
| Managing authorities | Traditional Aboriginal Owners and the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory |
| Website | Karlu Karlu |
| See also | Protected areas of the Northern Territory |
Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve is located 105 km (65 mi) south of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia and 393 km (244 mi) north of Alice Springs. The nearest settlement is the small town of Wauchope located 9 km (5.6 mi) to the south.
The Devils Marbles are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the traditional Aboriginal owners 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. The origin of the English name for the same boulders is the following quote:
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. In 1982, almost the entire reserve was registered as a sacred site by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.
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. On 6 July 2011, the name Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve was assigned, corresponding with the joint management structure.
The Devils Marbles are large 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 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.
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Wikipedia