Term paper on Geography - Australia

Analysis

Australia is a world's smallest continent located between the Indian Ocean and the South pacific Ocean . It has a total area of 7.7 million square kilometers (sixth largest country in the world) out of which nearly ten percent is water and the rest is land. Population is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts

Australia has a very dramatic landscape. Australia is famous for its "outback," the remote lands of the interior. (World factbook:Australia 2004)

The famous Australian outback is dry, barren and hot. It is largely uninhabited because of the extreme desert like conditions.

Eastern Australia has large prairies used primarily for cattle raising and as ranches. Australia also has some mountainous ranges spread throughout the country. The country is home to the famous Blue Mountains, on the south-eastern end of Australia, so called because of the blue haze caused by oil droplets given off from the eucalyptus trees. (Australia Geography2004)

Australia is also well known for the 1,200 mile long coral Great Barrier Reef. It is located on the northeast coast of Australia. It is the largest living structure in the world.

Many different species of sharks and tropical fish are found here. (Australia Geography 2004)

Along the west coast a invigorating sea breeze blows which is known as “the Doctor”. The lowest point of the country is Lake Eyre , which is 15 meters above sea-level and the highest point is Mount Kosciusko which is 2,229 meters above sea-level. (Australia Geography 2004).

The eastern coastal plains are separated from interior plains by the Great Dividing Range , or Eastern Highlands , which averages about 1,200 m in height and stretches along the eastern coast from Cape York in the north to Victoria in the southeast. Much of the region consists of high plateaus broken by gorges and canyons. There are several smaller ranges which bear local names, including, from north to south, the New England Plateau, Blue Mountains , and Australian Alps ; in Victoria , where the range extends westward, it is known as the Grampian Mountains . In the western half of Australia is an vast plateau, about 300 to 450 m feet above sea level. The Great Western Plateau includes the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, and Gibson deserts. Western Australia has, in its northern half, several isolated mountain ranges, including the King Leopold and Hamersley ranges

The most important of the rivers are the Burdekin, Fitzroy, Hunter , and Nepean-Hawkesbury.The Fitzroy River forms a large drainage basin in Queens land . Most of the major natural lakes of Australia contain salt water. The great network of salt lakes in South Australia — Lake Eyre , Lake Torrens , Lake Frome , and Lake Gairdner —is the remains of a vast inland sea.