Yalata (/ˈjælətɑː/ yal-ə-TAH), in the isolated far west of South Australia, is both an Indigenous Protected Area and, within that, a township of the same name where an Aboriginal community lives.

The Atlas of South Australia describes the Yalata area as:[9]...sandy plain with deep sand and parabolic dunes.

The vegetative cover is open mallee scrub with a mixed understory of chenopod shrubs and grasses and low open woodland with a chenopod shrub understory.In the 2021 census, the Yalata Indigenous Protected Area, including the Yalata township, had a population of 313 and the township's population was 302 – an increase of 54 or 22 per cent from the 2016 census – of whom 277 were Aboriginal.

[10] Pitjantjatja was spoken as the primary language in 77.0% of homes in the Yalata area,[8] specifically a southern dialect.

[16] A group of Ooldea people who were in the process of moving themselves to Ernabella and many others were forcibly removed to Yalata, which was an environment quite alien to them.

[17] By 1969, many of the 300 people living at the mission were working on the nearby Colona Station[21] (which by around 2007 was part of the Yalata Indigenous Protected Area).

[17] The Maralinga Tjarutja native title land was handed back to the Anangu under legislation passed by both houses of the South Australian Parliament in December 1984 and proclaimed in January 1985.

[27] There is a caravan park to assist tourists passing through or visiting the Great Australian Bight for fishing or whale watching.

[29][30] The swimming pool reopened around 2024 after a period of closure, after much needed upgrades, including new rescue and safety equipment as well as new staff.