thumb|Little Sandy Desert crossed by the Canning Stock Route
thumb|Little Sandy Desert near Durba Spring
The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian bioregion in the 1990s.
History
Indigenous groups that have identified with the region include the Mandilara, an Aboriginal Australian group who are regarded as the traditional owners of the land. Today the group recognised as traditional owners are the Martu people.
Description
The Little Sandy Desert covers around and adjoins the Great Sandy Desert (, to the north) and the Gibson Desert (, to the east), all of which lie within the huge Australian Arid Zone which covers the centre of the Australian continent. It lies east of the Pilbara region, and north of Gascoyne, There are also two smaller communities at Parnngurr and Punmu.
- Carnarvon Range, aka Katjarra
- Calvert Range
- McKay Range
- Durba Hills
- Savory Creek
- Kumpupintil Lake (formerly Lake Disappointment)
- Rudall River headwaters
- Beyondie Camp
- Cooma Camp
- Savory Camp
Ecology
There is a high level of biodiversity among plants and animals, with some species threatened by various factors. The biogregions were developed by the Australian Government as an environmental planning tool in the 1990s, with IBRA7 defining "large geographically distinct bioregions based on common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation and species information".
Economy
There are almost no tourist facilities, and the environment is harsh. Only the most experienced travellers, who know how to survive without help in the desert, should visit. Few roads are signposted. At Katjarra, there are two camping spots, with shed tanks and long-drop toilets, and Indigenous rangers are available to show tourists the part of the range that is open to the public. known as Katjarra to the Martu people, covers around . It is a sacred and significant place for the Indigenous people, associated with the creator being sometimes termed the rainbow serpent, and it contains much ancient rock art. There are rock paintings of the bilby, the black-flanked rock-wallaby and a headdress made for ceremonial use, was given the name Serpent's Glen by dogger Peter Muir (father of artist and Indigenous rights activist Kado Muir) in 1965, "on account of the large number of snake drawings hereabouts and their obvious association with Aboriginal legends of Rainbow Serpents". The study, using archaeobotany to establish its findings, found that wattle had been collected throughout the whole history of the site, confirming its status as the oldest known site of continuous occupation in the Western Desert. The wood was used as firewood, food, bush medicine and for making tools, from the Pleistocene through to the Holocene eras,
In 2014, the Birriliburu traditional owners and rangers reopened Katjarra for the month of July, with the hope of opening it to the public each July in the future. Permits were issued for 70 visitors, with an access fee of $100 access fee per vehicle. It was also hoped that more Aboriginal people, especially young people, would visit to reconnect with their culture.