Tanami, Northern Territory — interactive Google street map, satellite and terrain views, Street View, live local weather conditions and 7-day forecasts, real-time local and world news, and an editorial description of Tanami, in the Central Desert Region local government area.
| Locality | Tanami |
| Territory | Northern Territory (NT) |
| Local Government Area | Central Desert Region |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) - no daylight saving |
| Remoteness | Very Remote Australia |
| Latitude | -19.85321 |
| Longitude | 130.51282 |
| Population | 517 |
| Density | 0.0 /km² |
| Area | 70395.8 km² |
| Elevation | 417 m |
| Postcode | 0872 |
| Area Code | 08 |
| Distance to Darwin | 822 km south |
Tanami is a locality in the Central Desert Region local government area of Northern Territory, Australia. It is a small community with a population of 517. The locality covers an area of 70395.8 km², giving a population density of about 0.0 people per km². It sits at an elevation of around 417 m above sea level. It lies approximately 822 km south of Darwin. Tanami is located at 19.8532°S, 130.5128°E. It observes Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) - no daylight saving. Postcode: 0872. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Very Remote Australia.
Tanami lies under a sky that stretches, immense and unblinking, over a land of ochre and rust. It lies 551.2 km north-west of Alice Springs, NT (from Alice Springs, NT: bearing 320°T), and is situated 169.6 km south of Lajamanu. The earth here is a vast canvas of spinifex, its brittle needles catching the harsh, brilliant sunlight, and scattered mulga, their sparse foliage a testament to endurance. Low, weathered mesas rise like ancient sentinels from the flat, cracked plains, their surfaces etched by millennia of wind and the occasional, violent downpour. The air itself feels thin and dry, carrying the scent of dust and the faint, sweet perfume of unseen desert wildflowers after rain. In the late afternoon, as the sun begins its slow descent, the landscape transforms, the colours deepening to shades of bruised plum and molten gold, a fleeting, breathtaking spectacle before the vast, star-dusted darkness descends.
The story of Tanami is intrinsically linked to the ancient tracks of the Warlpiri people, who have traversed this country for countless generations, their connection to the land a living, breathing entity. More recently, the pulse of prospectors and miners has echoed across these plains, drawn by the promise of gold and the raw, unyielding wealth of the earth. While the boom-and-bust cycles have shaped its character, a quiet resilience persists in Tanami, a steady hum of life focused on what the land can provide. The local economy, though modest, often leans on the hardy traditions of pastoralism, where cattle endure the immense distances, and the enduring allure of the desert, which draws a particular breed of traveller seeking its profound solitude and raw beauty.
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This page provides an interactive Google map of Tanami, Northern Territory with street, satellite and terrain views and integrated Street View imagery. Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorially written description provides background on Tanami, in the Central Desert Region local government area.
Detailed location data for Tanami includes the postcode (0872), telephone area code (08), and local government area (Central Desert Region), with an ABS remoteness classification of Very Remote Australia. These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Australian city, town or locality.
Location data is drawn from Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020) and enriched with GeoNames and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, matched by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Tanami is identified even where the name is shared across multiple localities.
| Page generated | June 2026 |
| Location data | Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020); enriched with GeoNames and ABS 2021 Census data, matched by coordinate proximity |
| Description | Editorial description generated with AI assistance from verified Geoscape, ABS and GeoNames location data. |