Editing Simpson Desert (section)

==Access==
No maintained roads cross the desert. The [[Donohue Highway]] is an unpaved outback track passing from near [[Boulia, Queensland|Boulia]] towards the Northern Territory border in the north of the desert.  Some tracks were created during seismic surveys in the search for gas and oil during the 1960s and 1970s. These include the French Line, the Rig Road, and the QAA Line. Such tracks are still navigable by well-equipped four-wheel drive vehicles that must carry extra fuel and water. Towns providing access to the South Australian edge of the Simpson Desert include [[Innamincka, South Australia|Innamincka]] to the south and [[Oodnadatta, South Australia|Oodnadatta]] to the southwest; and from the eastern (Queensland) side include [[Birdsville, Queensland|Birdsville]], [[Bedourie, Queensland|Bedourie]], [[Thargomindah, Queensland|Thargomindah]], and [[Windorah, Queensland|Windorah]]. The last fuel on the western side is at the Mount Dare hotel and store. Before 1980, a section of the [[Adelaide-Darwin railway|Commonwealth Railways Central Australian line]] passed along the western side of the Simpson Desert. The less travelled Madigan Line runs from Old Andado Station to Birdsville. The geographic centre of the desert can be reached by driving 80&nbsp;km north from the French Line via the Centre Line. The French Line is the most popular track used to cross the Simpson Desert. Most people chose to cross from west to east as prevailing winds assist in the crossing and the west sides of the dunes are less steep making ascents easier.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Lee |date=2016-04-14 |title=Driving across the Simpson Desert: How to cross the world's largest sand dune desert |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/traveller/inspiration/dune-busters-crossing-the-simpson-desert-20160407-go0wjx.html |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=Brisbane Times |language=en}}</ref>