Which desert is crossed by Australia's Gunbarrel Highway?

Which desert is crossed by Australia’s Gunbarrel Highway? The answer is the Gibson Desert.

Australia’s Gunbarrel Highway is a remote outback track that crosses the Gibson Desert in central and western Australia. Parts of the route pass through the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve and connect isolated locations across a landscape of spinifex grass, sand plains, rocky ground and flood-prone claypans.

The track was built during the 1950s by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel Road Construction Party. It supported Australia’s weapons-testing and surveying work, linking remote areas around the Woomera range and the central desert. Beadell chose the name because he aimed to make sections of the road as straight as a gun barrel.

The Gunbarrel Highway is not a conventional sealed highway. It is an isolated, rough track requiring careful preparation, permits in some sections and substantial supplies. It is sometimes discussed alongside the Great Central Road, which now carries more practical through traffic. The Tanami, Simpson and Pedirka deserts are also Australian deserts, but they are not the intended answer here.