Willandra Lakes Region

The Willandra Lakes Region is an archaeological and geomorphological landscape in south-eastern Australia noted for its sequence of former lake basins, lunette dunes and rich Pleistocene archaeological deposits. It contains significant evidence for early human occupation and past environmental change.

The area contains dry lake basins, crescent-shaped lunette dunes and open plains where archaeological deposits and preserved hearths, tools and skeletal remains have been investigated. Interpretive trails and visitor exhibits highlight the palaeoenvironmental record and Aboriginal heritage.

Over the late Pleistocene and Holocene the lake system underwent cycles of filling and drying, and human populations occupied the landscape repeatedly; excavations have recovered artefacts and human burial remains that are tens of thousands of years old.

The Willandra Lakes Region lies in south-western New South Wales, Australia, encompassing a series of former lakes and surrounding dune systems in an otherwise semi-arid plain.

• Ancient human remains: Human skeletal remains and burial materials recovered from the site have provided some of the oldest direct evidence of Homo sapiens occupation in Australia, with dates around 40,000 years before present.

What to See #

• Lake Mungo: A major dry lake basin featuring ancient shoreline lunettes that preserve archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records, including hearths and human remains.
• Willandra Lakes system: A wider system of former lakes and wetlands whose sediments and dunes record environmental change and early human occupation over tens of thousands of years.