Australia's+Nature

=Geography of Australia= The geography of Australia encompasses a wide variety of bio-geographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country in the world. The population of Australia is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts. The geography of the country is extremely diverse, ranging from the snow capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania to large deserts, tropical and temperate forests.

Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the east, and New Zealand to the southeast. toc southeast || natural gas, petroleum || 93.41% (2001) ||
 * **Location** || Oceania ||
 * **Geographic coordinates** || 27 00 S, 133 00 E ||
 * **Area** || total: 7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island ||
 * **Land boundaries** || 0 km ||
 * **Coastline** || 25,760 km ||
 * **Maritime claims** || territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ||
 * **Climate** || generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north ||
 * **Terrain** || mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
 * **Elevation extremes** || lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m ||
 * **Natural resources** || bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds,
 * **Land use** || arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other:
 * **Irrigated land** || 24,000 sq km ||
 * **Natural hazards** || cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires ||

Physical geography[[image:642px-Topography_of_australia.jpg width="381" height="360" align="right"]]
Australia is a country, an island, and a continent. It is located in Oceania between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean at 27°S 144°E. It is the sixth largest country in the world with a total area of 7,686,850 square kilometers (2,967,909 sq. mi) (including Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island), making it slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states of the United States and 31.5 times larger than the United Kingdom.

The Australian mainland has a total coastline length of 35,876 km (22,292 mi) with an additional 23,859 km (14,825 mi) of island coastlines. There are 758 estuaries around the country with most located in the tropical and sub-tropical zones. Australia claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometers (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australia has the largest area of ocean jurisdiction of any country on earth. It has no land borders. The northernmost points of the country are the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland and the Top End of the Northern Territory.

The western half of Australia consists of the Western Plateau, which rises to mountain heights near the west coast and falls to lower elevations near the continental center. The Western Plateau region is generally flat, though broken by various mountain ranges such as the Hamersley Range, the MacDonnell Ranges, and the Musgrave Range. Surface water is generally lacking in the Western Plateau, although there are several larger rivers in the west and north, such as the Murchison, Ashburton, and Victoria river.

The Eastern Highlands, or Great Dividing Range, lie near the eastern coast of Australia, separating the relatively narrow eastern coastal plain from the rest of the continent. These Eastern Australian temperate forests have the greatest relief, the most rainfall, the most abundant and varied flora and fauna, and the densest human settlement.

Between the Eastern Highlands and the Western Plateau lie the Central Lowlands, which are made up of the Great Artesian Basin and Australia's largest river systems, Murray-Darling Basin and Lake Eyre Basin.

Off the eastern coast of Australia is the world's largest coral reef complex, the Great Barrier Reef. The State of Tasmania, a large and mountainous island, resides in the south-eastern corner of Australia.

Geology[[image:651px-Ausgeolbasic.jpg width="288" height="203" align="right"]]
Australia is the lowest, flattest, and oldest continental landmass on Earth[citation needed] and it 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. Its highest peak is Mount Kosciusko at 2,228 meters (7,310 ft), which is relatively low in comparison to the highest mountains on other continents. Erosion has heavily weathered Australia's surface.

Australia is situated in the middle of the tectonic plate, and therefore currently has no active volcanism. Minor earthquakes which produce no damage occur regularly, while major earthquakes measuring greater than magnitude 6 occur on average every five years. The terrain is mostly low plateau with deserts, range lands and a fertile plain in the southeast. Tasmania and the Australian Alps do not contain any permanent ice fields or glaciers, 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.

Hydrology[[image:653px-Reliefmap_of_Australia.png width="262" height="239" align="right"]]
Because much of Australia's interior is arid, the low average annual rainfall means interior rivers are often dry and lakes empty. The headwaters of some waterways are located in tropical regions where summer rains create a high rate of discharge. Flood events drastically alter the dry environment in which the ecology of central Australia has had to adapt to the boom and bust cycle.

The Great Artesian Basin - an important source of water, it is the world's largest and deepest fresh water basin. Access to water from the basin has led to the expansion of grazing into areas that were previously far too dry for livestock. Towns and cities across the country sometimes face major water storage and usage crisis in which restrictions and other measures are implemented to reduce water consumption. Water restrictions are based on a gradient of activities that become progressively banned as the situation worsens.

Billabongs is the Australian name given to oxbow lakes that can form along a meandering river's course. In a world-wide comparison of height, Australia's waterfalls are relatively insignificant, with the longest drop ranked 135th according to the World Waterfall Database.

=Climate= The climate of Australia varies widely, but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid – 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate, varied between tropical rainforests, grasslands, part desert.

Seasonal high and lows can be great with temperatures ranging from above 50 ° Celsius to well below zero. Minimum temperatures are moderated by the lack of mountains and the influence of surrounding oceans.

Rainfall is variable, with frequent droughts lasting several seasons thought to be caused in part by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Occasionally a dust storm 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. According to Bureau of Meteorology, 80% of the land have a rainfall less than 600 millimeters (23.62 in) per year and 50% having even less than 300 millimeters (11.81 in).

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 a greater part of the continent. These cold waters produce precious little moisture needed on the mainland. A 2005 study by Australian and American researchers investigated the desertification of the interior, and suggested that one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia.

The average annual rainfall in the Australian desert is low, ranging from 200 to 250 mm (7.9 to 9.8 in) per year. Thunderstorms are relatively common in the region, with an average of 15 - 20 thunderstorms per annul. Summer daytime temperatures range from 32 to 40 degrees Celsius (90 to 104 °F). In winter, this falls to 18 to 23 °C (64 to 73 °F).

Precipitation[[image:Australian-rainfall-totals-q1-2010.gif width="340" height="230" align="right"]]
The rainfall patterns across Australia are highly seasonal. Compared to the Earth's other continental landmasses Australia is very dry. More than 80 percent of the continent has an annual rainfall of less than 600 millimeters (24 in); only Antarctica receives less rainfall than Australia.[4] From one extreme to another, parts of the far North Queensland coast annually average over 4,000 millimeters (160 in), with the Australian annual record being 12,461 millimeters (490.6 in), set at the summit of Mount Bellenden Ker in 2000. There are four main factors that contribute to the dryness of the Australian landmass:

Low rate of evaporation from this very cool body of water result in little evaporation occurring. As a result, rain clouds are sparsely formed and very rarely do they form long enough for a continuous period of rain to be recorded. Australia's arid/semi-arid zone extends to this region. The absence of any significant mountain range or area of substantial height above sea level, results in very little rainfall caused by geographic uplift. In the east the Great Dividing Range limits rain moving into inland Australia. Australia has a compact shape and no significant bodies of water penetrate very far inland. This is important because it means that moist winds are prevented from penetrating to inland Australia, keeping rainfall low.
 * Cold ocean currents off the west coast
 * Low elevation of landforms
 * Dominance of high-pressure systems
 * Shape of the landmass[[image:20030106rain03.gif width="300" height="189" align="right"]]