The Barkly Tableland runs east from Tennant Creek towards the Queensland border and is among the most important cattle grazing areas in the Northern Territory.

Roughly the same size as the United Kingdom or New Zealand, the region consists largely of open grass plains and some of the world's largest cattle stations.

The Overlander's Way (Barkly Highway) retraces the original route of early stockmen who drove their cattle from Queensland through the grazing lands in the Northern Territory.

[3] Due to the length of the dry season, and very high evapotranspiration, the vegetation exhibits influences of a warm desert climate (Köppen: BWh, Trewartha: BWhb/BWhl).

[4] Tennant Creek gets 181.0 clear days annually, and its climate is comparable to Paraguay's vast, sparsely populated Gran Chaco region.

Additionally, over 70% of Tennant Creek's 494.7 mm (19.48 in) of annual precipitation occurs during this season,[6] and contributes to being in the Tropical Thorn Woodlands biome under the Holdridge Life Zones classification.

[7] Occasionally, flooding can pose a major risk in the area, such as during January 2022, where one person drowned in floodwaters at Seven Mile Bridge, to the north of Tennant Creek.

[8] The long dry season is characterised by warm to hot temperatures, little to no precipitation, very low relative humidity, and an abundance of sunshine.

Due to the prevailing winds are from the east to south-east, Tennant Creek is rain shadowed by the Great Dividing Range, where most precipitation from the Coral and Tasman Seas is dropped on the windward slopes near the Pacific Ocean.

During the midst of winter, nights are usually cool, averaging 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) in July, but the settlement has never experienced frost, only falling to 5.6 °C (42.1 °F) in June, placing Tennant Creek in Hardiness Zone 11.

Tennant Creek has developed from its rough, tough droving and gold mining days into a modern town with shops and a supermarket, accommodation, bars, clubs and restaurants, a regional hospital, schools and banking facilities.

The formations provide shelter to a variety of flora and fauna of the area and glow a rich red in the light of the early evening.

Another popular spot close to Tennant Creek is the Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park, best explored by four-wheel-drive vehicle.

[12] The first European explorer to pass through the region was John McDouall Stuart in 1860, on his unsuccessful first attempt to cross the continent from south to north.

The people of Tennant Creek enjoy modern facilities including reserves, sporting venues, galleries and a civic hall.

[citation needed] The nearby town of Elliot is the proposed site of a very large solar panel installation that is part of the Sun Cable project.

Tourism is a growing industry emphasising its location, history, scenery and cultural attributes, and provides tourists with an opportunity to experience the outback.

The exhibition Freedom, Fortitude and Flies in the social history museum at Battery Hill tells the story of mining in Tennant Creek through the eyes of women and children.

Tennant Creek has daily coach services from Darwin, Alice Springs, and previously Queensland (closed due to COVID-19).

In May 2005, Minemakers and ATEC signed an agreement to study a 250 km open access railway from Tennant Creek to Wonarah.

[22] This link would allow resources companies to gain access to both the Adelaide-Darwin (The Ghan) and Townsville-Mount Isa (The Inlander) lines.

Tennant Creek is an important social, cultural and business centre for many Aboriginal people of various language groups.

[26] Initiated by the Warumungu community of Tennant Creek in 1995, the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre was opened in 2003.

It is a purpose-built centre, which houses displays covering five topics: bush tucker and resources, Country, Language, History, and Punttu (family).

[citation needed] NRL Northern Territory administered Central Australian Rugby Football League With teams playing from Alice Springs and wider communities including Tennant Creek and Yuendumu.

[37] Over the past few years the rising number of sexual assaults (including on children), alcohol abuse, domestic violence and family disputes between locals despite such a small population has been raised by numerous media sources and identified as a region of legitimate concern in comparison to other states and isolated townships.