Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy Umoona South Australia
Town centre
Coober Pedy
Coordinates	29°0′40″S 134°45′20″E / 29.01111°S 134.75556°E / -29.01111; 134.75556
Population	1,437 (UCL 2021)[1]
Established	1915
Postcode(s)	5723
Location	846 km (526 mi) NW of Adelaide 688 km (428 mi) S of Alice Springs
LGA(s)	District Council of Coober Pedy
Region	Far North
State electorate(s)	Giles
Federal division(s)	Grey
Mean max temp[2] Mean min temp[2] Annual rainfall[2] 27.8 °C 82 °F 14.2 °C 58 °F 144.2 mm 5.7 in
Localities around Coober Pedy: Mount Willoughby Mount Willoughby Mount Barry Anna Creek Mount Clarence Station Coober Pedy Anna Creek Mount Clarence Station Ingomar Ingomar Mount Douall
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[3]

Coober Pedy (/ˈkuːbər ˈpiːdi/) is a town in northern South Australia, 846 km (526 mi) north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. A blower truck is raised above the town sign, representing the importance of opal mining to the town's history. Coober Pedy is also renowned for its below-ground dwellings, called "dugouts", which are built in this fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.

The name "Coober Pedy" is thought to derive from the Kokatha-Barngarla term kupa-piti, which translates to "whitefellas' hole", but in 1975 the local Aboriginal people of the town adopted the name Umoona, which means "long life" and is also their name for the mulga tree.