Transcript Physical Features of Australia

Geographic Features of
Australia
Unit 10 Notes
Bennett
I. Australia’s Political
Features
Australia…
Is divided into 2 territories and 6 states:
States: Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia,
Western Australia, New South Wales,
Queensland
Territories: Northern Territory and
Australian Capital Territory
Tasmania
What: Island that is protected by the
government
Where: Island off the southeast coast
of the mainland
Tasmanian Devil?
Victoria
What: State closest to Tasmania
Where: 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
What: State in south-central
Australia
Where: The Great Victoria Desert is
located here…
Western Australia
What: Largest state; makes up 1/3rd
of the mainland
Where: Most of Western Australia is
desert (Great Victoria Desert and
Great Sandy Desert are located
here)
Great Sandy Desert
New South Wales
What: Has more people than any
other Australian state
Where: North of Victoria, on the
eastern coast
The capital, Sydney, is the most
populated city in Australia -- 3 1/2 million
people live there!
Australian Capital Territory is located
here
Sydney, New South Wales
Queensland
What: Second largest state; 7 times the size of
England!
 Where: In the northeastern part of the
mainland
Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast in
the Coral Sea
More than half of Queensland’s population
lives in the capital: Brisbane
Brisbane
Northern Territory
What: Largest population of
Aborigines in Australia
Where: Northern coast of the
mainland, between Western
Australia and Queensland
Australian Capital Territory
What: The national capital,
Canberra, is located here
Where: Located in New South Wales
Canberra (Australia’s Capital)
II. Australia’s Physical
Features
Australia…
The world’s smallest and flattest continent…
Has Earth’s oldest and least fertile soils
Only Antarctica receives less rainfall!
Commonwealth of Australia also includes
Tasmania, an island south of the mainland
It’s surrounded by the Indian and Pacific
Oceans
Huge desert plains stretch across the
country’s middle--central Australia’s
climate is hot and dry
Milder climates along the southeastern
and southwestern coasts
Most Australians live in the southeastern
coastal region
Great Barrier Reef
What: World’s largest coral reef!
Where: Lies off the northeast coast of
Queensland--over 1,200 miles long
Contains an amazing variety of marine
life, including the world’s largest collection
of coral
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 space
Coral Sea
What: An important source of coral for the
Great Barrier Reef
Part of the Pacific Ocean
Where: 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--no one lives on the islands
except for a small group of weather specialists
Ayers Rock
What: A huge, reddish rock in the center of
Australia
Where: Very close to the geographic center of
the continent…
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 Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park around Ayers Rock
Both are located in the southwest corner of the
state called Northern Territory
Great Victoria Desert
What: largest desert in Australia
Where: 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 & is a protected
wilderness area
Very few Australians live here
because it’s too hot and dry