Transcript Physical Features of Australia

Political & Physical
Features of Australia
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