Transcript physical-features-of-australia-Gilbert

Political & Physical
Features of Australia
1) Pick up an Australian Physical Features
Chart on the back table.
2) Write down your homework.
3) Take out your Australia Map!
Australia’s Political
Features
Australian Territories and States
(8 total)
States: Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia,
Western Australia, New South Wales,
Queensland
Territories: Northern Territory and Australian
Capital Territory
Tasmania
 Island off the southeast coast
of the mainland
 Almost half of Tasmania is
unspoiled land that is
protected by the government
Tasmanian Devil?
Victoria
 State closest to Tasmania in the
Southeast part of the mainland
 Capital is Melbourne; it’s the
most urban state in Australia!
 The many rivers of the region are
a good source of fresh water for
farming
South Australia
 State in south-central Australia
 The Great Victoria Desert is
located here…
Western Australia
 Largest state; makes up 1/3 of
the mainland
 Most of Western Australia is
desert (Great Victoria Desert &
Great Sandy Desert are
located here)
Great Sandy Desert
New South Wales
 North of Victoria, on the eastern
coast
 Has more people than any other
Australian state. The capital,
Sydney, is the most populated
city in Australia – 3.5 million
people live there!
 Australian Capital Territory is
located here
Sydney, New South Wales
Queensland
 Second largest state; 7 times the size
of England!
 In the northeastern part of the
mainland
 Great Barrier Reef is located off its
coast in the Coral Sea
 More than half of Queensland’s
population lives in the capital:
Brisbane
Brisbane
Northern Territory
 Northern coast of the
mainland, between Western
Australia and Queensland
 Largest population of
Aborigines in Australia
Australian Capital Territory
 Located in New South Wales
 The national capital, Canberra,
is located here
Canberra (Australia’s Capital)
Australia’s Physical Features
Australia…
 The only country on the world’s smallest
and flattest continent
 Has Earth’s oldest and least fertile soils
 Includes Tasmania, an island south of
the mainland
 Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific
Oceans
 Huge desert plains stretch across
the country’s middle--central
Australia’s climate is hot and dry
(Only Antarctica get less rainfall
per year!)
 Milder climates along the
southeastern and southwestern
coasts
 Most Australians live in the
southeastern coastal region
Great Barrier Reef
 World’s largest coral reef!
 Lies off the northeast coast of
Queensland--over 1,200 miles
long
 Contains an amazing variety of
marine life including:
 400 types of coral
 1,500 species of fish
 4,000 mollusks (snails, clams, octopi,
& squid)
 Also includes rare species like the
sea cow and the large green turtle
Great Barrier Reef from satellite
Coral Sea
 An important source of coral for the
Great Barrier Reef
 Part of the Pacific Ocean
 Off the northeast coast of Australia
 When the earth’s crust moved millions
of years ago, it created the Coral Sea
and the Great Dividing Range (largest
mountain range in Australia)
 Coral Sea islands are scattered over
thousands of miles of ocean where no
one lives except for a small group of
weather specialists
Ayers Rock
 A huge, reddish rock located
in the center of Australia
 It’s a monolith, which is a
single, large rock sticking out
of the earth
 Appears reddish because its
iron content “rusts” at the
surface
 Nearly 12 stories high and
almost 6 miles wide!
Ayers Rock
 Aborigines call it “Uluru”, which is its
official name
 European surveyor visited the rock
in 1873 and named it after Sir Henry
Ayers, an English government
official in South Australia
 In 1950, Australia created UluruKata Tjuta National Park around
Ayers Rock in the southwest corner
of the state called Northern Territory
Great Victoria Desert
Stretches through the states of
South Australia and Western
Australia
Receives only 8 to 10 inches of
rain each year, and it never
snows!
Some grasslands in the desert
along with sandhills and salt
Great Victoria Desert
 First Europeans to cross the desert
named it after British Queen
Victoria in 1875
 160,000 miles long protected
wilderness area
 Very few Australians live here
because it’s too hot and dry