Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Full moon at the Dunes

The world's oldest civilisation was discovered in this location known as Mungo Lake. A recent discovery has revealed that Aboriginal Australians are the oldest known civilization on Earth, with ancestries stretching back roughly 75,000 years. Known as the Mungo Man, he is the world's oldest man, found here in this location. Mungo is truly spectacular with its alien-like landscapes and is significantly sacred, culturally and historically. Mungo Lake was a lake 50,000 years ago but the area has since dried up revealing the lunettes and strange rock formations that were sitting at the bottom of the lakes. Many of these lunettes had disappeared and will continue to disappear due to erosion and to a certain extent, tourists' footprints. Due to its fragile ecosystem, Mungo Lake is only accessible through a guided walk with a licensed tour guide. I'd joined several of these tours during full moon and captured this shot when it was nearing the end of the tour. Almost everyone had returned to base. The sun was setting in the west while the moon was rising at the same time in the east. The lunettes were illuminated by both the sun and moon. I used long exposure, lowest ISO and a tripod to capture this shot.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2020
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Australia
Copyright: © Callie Chee