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Hay Plains


Did I mention before that the land was flat .... nah that wasn't flat! Did I say the trees were getting shorter ... ooops they've gone! You are looking at a 360 degree view of the Hay Plains ... 90 degree turn with each shot.

The blurb says "The Hay Shire has the distinction of being one of the flattest sections of land in the world with a difference in elevation of only 17 metres between the highest and lowest points. Intersected at Hay by the Sturt, Mid-Western and Cobb Highways, the terrain is flat, almost treeless saltbush plain."

Here's a closeup of the land. The funny thing is ... sheep apparently like to eat the unpalatable looking plants as Hay is at the centre of one of the best wool growing merino regions of Australia.

Comments

  1. I really like the contrast between the earth of the Hay Plains and that beautiful blue sky. Fabulous!

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  2. The photos give a really really good impressions of where you have been wayfaring.

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  3. In terms of flatness this could be parts of the Oklahoma Texas panhandle, or a good bit of south western Kansas. No quite so arid however. With irragation they grow a lot of corn, soy beans, and head feed up there.

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  4. Astounding photographs, Joan. It just seems to go on forever. Inland SA/NT is about as vegetation free, except red.

    You realise that sheep have very few brains, yes? I used to live on a sheep farm, well sort of. They would have to be one of the dumbest animals on this planet.

    I reckon Bill's comment about the panhandle and SW Kansas prove the point about the unreasonable use of water. There are some parts of this planet that simply should not be used by man. The cost in terms of resources wastage is too high.

    However, I also note that the Hay plain is not irrigated. But an equivalent area in SW Qld is.

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  5. Megan and Martina, thanks

    TG, panhandle what an interesting word! Looked up some images on the web and it does look flat.

    Julie, this River Run is going to keep us mulling over water isses. Been discussing with my in-house expert but I can't get all the stuff he sprouts about the economics and law of the matter into simple enough statements to write down yet.

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  6. Yes, I could sense all those background conversations. I would be interested to learn.

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  7. How were the flies?
    Looks like bad fly country.

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  8. Letty, certainly a lot more flies than we see around here but not overwhelming. I think that in general flies these days are nowhere near as bad as they were in the 1970s ... the CSIRO has done a lot of work with dung beetles and things that has made a big difference.

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