Physical features of australia 08 09

1. Political & Physical
Features of Australia
Unit 10 Notes

2. I. Australia’s Political
Features

3. Australia…
ZIs divided into territories and states:
ZStates: Tasmania, Victoria, South
Australia, Western Australia, New
South Wales, Queensland
ZTerritories: Northern Territory and
Australian Capital Territory

5. Tasmania
ZIsland off the southeast coast
of the mainland
ZAlmost half of Tasmania is
unspoiled land that is
protected by the government

7. Tasmanian Devil?

9. Victoria
ZState closest to Tasmania
ZSoutheast part of the mainland
ZCapital is Melbourne; it’s the
most urban state in Australia
ZThe many rivers of the region are
a good source of fresh water for
farming

12. South Australia
ZState in south-central Australia
ZThe Great Victoria Desert is
located here…

15. Western Australia
ZLargest state; makes up 1/3rd
of the mainland
ZMost of Western Australia is
desert (Great Victoria Desert
and Great Sandy Desert are
located here)

16. Great Sandy Desert

17. New South Wales
ZNorth of Victoria, on the eastern
coast
ZHas more people than any other
Australian state
ZThe capital, Sydney, is the most
populated city in Australia -- 3 1/2
million people live there!
ZAustralian Capital Territory is
located here

18. Sydney, New South
Wales

19. Queensland
ZSecond largest state; 7 times the size
of England!
Z In the northeastern part of the
mainland
ZGreat Barrier Reef is located off the
coast in the Coral Sea
ZMore than half of Queensland’s
population lives in the capital:
Brisbane

20. Brisbane

22. Northern Territory
ZNorthern coast of the
mainland, between Western
Australia and Queensland
ZLargest population of
Aborigines in Australia

24. Australian Capital Territory
ZLocated in New South Wales
ZThe national capital, Canberra,
is located here

25. Canberra (Australi a’ s
Capi tal)

26. II. Australia’s Physical
Features

27. Australia…
ZThe only country on the world’s smallest
and flattest continent…
ZHas Earth’s oldest and least fertile soils
ZOnly Antarctica receives less rainfall!
ZCommonwealth of Australia also
includes Tasmania, an island south of
the mainland
ZIt’s surrounded by the Indian and
Pacific Oceans

28. ZHuge desert plains stretch across
the country’s middle--central
Australia’s climate is hot and dry
ZMilder climates along the
southeastern and southwestern
coasts
ZMost Australians live in the
southeastern coastal region

29. Great Barrier Reef
ZWorld’s largest coral reef!
ZLies off the northeast coast of
Queensland--over 1,200 miles long
ZContains an amazing variety of
marine life, including the world’s
largest collection of coral
Z400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish,
& 4,000 mollusks (snails, clams, octopi,
& squid)
ZAlso includes rare species like the sea
cow and the large green turtle

30. Great Barri er Reef from
space

33. Coral Sea
ZAn important source of coral for the
Great Barrier Reef
ZPart of the Pacific Ocean
ZOff the northeast coast of Australia
ZWhen the earth’s crust moved millions
of years ago, it created the Coral Sea
and the Great Dividing Range (largest
mountain range in Australia)
ZCoral Sea islands are scattered over
thousands of miles of ocean--no one
lives on the islands except for a small
group of weather specialists

35. Ayers Rock
ZA huge, reddish rock in the center of
Australia
ZVery close to the geographic center of
the continent…
ZIt’s a monolith, which is a single, large
rock sticking out of the earth
ZAppears reddish because its iron
content “rusts” at the surface
ZNearly 12 stories high and almost 6
miles wide!

37. Ayers Rock
ZAborigines call it “Uluru”, which is its
official name
ZEuropean surveyor visited the rock in
1873 and named it after Sir Henry
Ayers, an English government official
in South Australia
ZIn 1950, Australia created Uluru-Kata
Tjuta National Park around Ayers Rock
ZBoth are located in the southwest corner
of the state called Northern Territory

39. Great Victoria Desert
ZStretches through the states of
South Australia and Western
Australia
ZReceives only 8 to 10 inches of
rain each year, and it never
snows!
ZSome grasslands in the desert
along with sandhills and salt

41. Great Victoria Desert
ZFirst Europeans to cross the
desert named it after British
Queen Victoria in 1875
Z160,000 miles long & is a
protected wilderness area
ZVery few Australians live here
because it’s too hot and dry