The Pinnacles Desert is deep within the , in Western . It is another worldly landscape with thousands of jagged Limestone pillars piercing the desert sands, some over five meters tall.

The Pinnacles are an ever changing spectacle with desert and 5 coastal winds moving sand dunes, constantly rearranging the face of this incredible site. Smaller pinnacles disappear, buried under the sand, only to re- emerge days later as the winds change direction.

In 1650 when the Dutch explored this part of , they thought at first that these incredible spires were the remains of a lost ancient city!

10 Aboriginal History and Myths [...] This area was important to the semi nomadic Aboriginal tribes because of water. They would come to this place when the seasonal Nambung River made a chain of waterholes through part of the park. The water then disappears into a cave system, 15 and these waterholes and caves were essential to the survival of Aboriginal life.

There are many myths about this sacred place and it was said that Aboriginal people avoid the Pinnacles as they thought the standing stones were fossilised ghosts.

According to an Aboriginal legend, in ancient times some young men used to walk along a desert path to this sacred place reserved for women. The gods, to punish 20 them, buried them alive. As death approached the young men asked forgiveness from the gods. They brandished their weapons through the sand, and are now stuck forever in the form of limestone spikes.

In fact, for thousands of years, the area has been a sacred place for Indigenous women and 'women's business' as the Aborigines call it. Women gathered at this 25 place to camp, give birth, hold ceremonies and forage for food.

https://www.aboriginalartuk.com/single-post/2017/11/25/Sacred-Places-The- Pinnacles