The village of Tibooburra is situated in the far northwest corner of New South Wales. Tibooburra owes its origin to the discovery of alluvial gold during the 1880s at the foot of the low ridges mainly to the west of the town. Together with the historic village of Milparinka to the south, Tibooburra represents a significant part of our colonial heritage. To learn more of this isolated and unique region, it is recommended that you examine Ruth Sandow's very informative and comprehensive web page.
One self-guided tour is available for the area about Tibooburra village, and another for the Tibooburra region. Tour 1 focuses on the ancient, 490 million year old sedimentary and volcanic rocks and the 420 million year old granitic rocks near Tibooburra village, and the younger, gold-bearing rocks which overlie them. Tour 2 travels outward from Tibooburra to focus on the younger sedimentary rocks and surface alluvial and wind blown deposits. Both tours take you through some unique and beautiful arid country, and explain the landforms and their significance. The tours are recommended for the cooler months of the year!
One of the most fascinating rock forms from the Tibooburra-Milparinka region are concretions. These very collectable and photogenic rocks are plentiful in some areas. To enable visitors to appreciate the wonder of concretions, we have compiled a downloadable guide to the characteristics and occurrence of these rocks in the local region.
A range of beautiful, complex and intriguing concretions occur throughout certain geological settings in the region. Many concretions are made from brown ironstone, whilst others are made of calcium carbonate or silica. They show diverse forms, some of which are beyond description.