ACRES Image Gallery

MARREE MAN Marree, South Australia Landsat 5 TM, Path 99/80, 28 June 1998   © GEODATA 2000 This picture of the "Marree Man" (left) was produced from a Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) image acquired on 28 June, 1998 using bands 1,4 and 7.

The area is an eroded plateau to the south and east of the dryland salt lake, Lake Eyre, about 600km north of Adelaide, South Australia. The terrain consists of sparse grassland overlying red soil. The nearest town is Marree, a small village roughly 20 km to the east.

The figure is about 4km tall and was made by scraping off the vegetation and exposing the underlying surface. Surveyors speculate that the figure was made by bulldozer using GPS measurements for control. So far, no one has assumed responsibility for the unusual artwork and, in spite of investigation, the artist(s) has never been found.

Due to its location, the figure was termed "Marree Man" by the press which gave wide coverage to the event at the time.