Mount Isa Area

John Campbell Miles found a silver-lead outcrop here in 1923, and the mine that grew from it still ranks among the biggest and richest on Earth. Tour the Hard Times Mine, a working replica run by real miners, for a proper sense of the industry the whole town runs on. Each August, the world's third-largest rodeo brings riders and crowds from across the country. A few hours out, Boodjamulla's Lawn Hill Gorge cuts turquoise water through red rock, and the World Heritage Riversleigh Fossil Fields hold some of the richest fossil mammal deposits anywhere. Out here, the outback hides some very deep history, above ground and below.