Coober Pedy, South Australia

Coober Pedy is a small town in South Australia. It is famous for the opals which have been mined there since 1915. The town was first settled after opals were first discovered. The town is about half way between Adelaide and Alice Springs, on the Stuart Highway. The highway was named after the explorer John McDouall Stuart, who was the first Europen person to see the area in 1858. 
The area around Coober Pedy is very dry, treeless flat desert. It has a hot desert climate (BWh in the Koeppen climate classification). The town has about 1700 people, many of whom live in underground houses to keep out of the heat. The name comes from two Aboriginal words which mean "white men in holes in the ground."