Karlu Karlu, the Devils Marbles
Huge round granite boulders balance on one another in the outback, a sacred place full of Dreaming stories.
What was reported
Karlu Karlu, also called the Devils Marbles, is a field of giant granite boulders beside the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. Many are rounded and balanced on each other, glowing red at sunrise and sunset.
It's a sacred site for the Warumungu, Kaytetye, Alyawarre and Warlpiri peoples, with Dreaming stories tied to the rocks.
Explanations offered
Geologists explain the boulders as granite that cracked into blocks underground, then weathered at the edges into rounded shapes as the surrounding rock wore away. Some have split clean in half from heating and cooling. The reserve is managed jointly with its traditional owners.
- When
- Shaped over millions of years
- Where
- Karlu Karlu, Northern Territory, Australia
- Witnesses
- Aboriginal traditional owners, and travellers
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.