| Geography Of Australia |
Article Index for Geography Of |
Website Links For Geography |
Information AboutGeography Of Australia |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA | |
| geography of australiageography of australia | |
| australia | |
| geography by country | |
| geography of oceania | |
|
The geography of Australia encompasses a wide variety of Biogeographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country. The population of Australia is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts. Australia is in a continental Tectonic Plate of the Indo-Australian Plate . AREA AND BOUNDARIES Location: Oceania , Continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean Geographic Coordinates : Map references: Oceania Area:
note: Area comparative Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 25,760 km Maritime claims: CLIMATE AND TERRAIN By far the largest part of Australia is s, part grasslands, and part desert. Rainfall is highly variable, with frequent Drought s lasting several seasons. Occasionally a duststorm will blanket a region or even several states and there are reports of the occasional large Tornado . Rising levels of Salinity and desertification in some areas is ravaging the landscape. Australia has had a relatively stable geological history. Geological forces such as Tectonic Uplift of mountain ranges or clashes between tectonic plates occurred mainly in Australia's early history, when it was still a part of Gondwana . Because of its peaceful nature, erosion and weathering has heavily weathered Australia's surface and it is one of the flattest countries in the world. Australia is situated in the middle of the tectonic plate, and therefore has no active volcanism, although it may sometimes receive minor earthquakes. The terrain is mostly heavily weathered, low Plateau with deserts, rangelands and a fertile plain in southeast. Tasmania and the Australian Alps do not contain any permanent Icefield s or Glacier s, although they may have existed in the past. The Great Barrier Reef , by far the world's largest Coral Reef , lies a short distance off the north-east coast. Mount Augustus , in Western Australia , is the largest Monolith in the world. Australia's tropical/subtropical location and cold waters off the western coast make most of western Australia a hot desert with aridity, a marked feature of greater part of the continent. These cold waters produce precious little moisture needed on the mainland. A s who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented Monsoon s from reaching interior Australia. Elevation extremes: ''See also:'' RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LAND USE Natural resources include: Bauxite , Coal , Iron ore, Copper , Tin , Gold , Silver , Uranium , Nickel , Tungsten , Mineral sands, Lead , Zinc , Diamond s, Natural Gas , Petroleum . Land use: Natural hazards: Cyclone s along the northern coasts; severe Thunderstorm s, Drought s and occasional Flood s; frequent Bushfire s Oil and Gas: Australia saw its oil production drop more than 14 percent in 2003, almost twice the average decline rate since it peaked in 2000. An Oil Shale deposit called the Stuart Deposit is located near Gladstone . It has a total resource of 2.6 billion barrels and the capacity to produce more than 200,000 barrels each day. Water: Australia is home to the Great Artesian Basin - an important source of Water for people and Cattle in the parched Outback . This Basin is the world's largest and deepest fresh water basin. A number of towns and cities across the country are facing major water storage and usage crisis in which restrictions and other measures are taken to reduce water Consumption . Water restrictions are based on a gradient of activities that become progressively banned as the situation worsens. Irrigated land: 21,070 km&2 (1993 est.) ENVIRONMENT Current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil Salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources; threats from Invasive Species International agreements: EXTREME POINTS This is a list of the extreme points of Australia . ''Australia (mainland)'' ''Australia (country, including islands)'' '' Australian Antarctic Territory '' ¹ The southernmost point of the main island group is South East Cape , Tasmania . ² The westernmost point of the main island group is Dirk Hartog Island , Western Australia . SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
|
|