Physical Features of Australia

Australia...can you place the following?

This is the worlds third largest Ocean and covers approximately 20% of the water on

the earths surface.

Indian Ocean

The worlds Largest Ocean and extends from the Arctic in the North to the

Southern Ocean

Pacific Ocean

This is a marginal Sea off the NE coast of Australia. It is bounded in the

west by Queensland and includes the Great Barrier Reef. To the east it is bounded by many different islands including eastern New Guinea.

Coral Sea

Coral Sea

The worlds largest coral reef system. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. It can be seen from

outer space and is the biggest single structure made by living organisms.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef Cont… • The GBR is home to 400 types of Coral, over

1,500 species of fish and over 4,000 types of mollusks(snails,clams,octopi and Squid)

• Rare species in the reef include the “Sea Cow” or Dugong and the Large Green Turtle.

A Large sandstone rock formation in the Southern part of the Northern Territory,

central Australia.

Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock Cont… • Ayers rock is considered a monolith ( a single, large rock sticking

out of the earth..ex..Stone Mtn.)

• Ayers rock is the visible tip of a massive underground sandstone rock cemented together by sand and mud.

• It is nearly 12 stories tall and almost 6 miles around the base.

• Its official name is Uluru which was named by the Aborigines tribe, the Anangu.

SW of Ayers Rock you will find this area of Australia. It only

receives 8-10 inches of rain a year. It has some grasslands and salt lakes. Very few Australians live here because the climate is very hot

and dry.

Great Victorian

Desert

Great Victorian Desert Cont… • The first European to cross the desert named

it after British Queen Victoria in 1875.

• It is a very large area of over 160,000 square miles.

The Territories of Australia

Western Australia

Northern Territory

South Australia

Queensland

New South Wales

Victoria

Tasmania

Australian Capital Territory

State/Territory Capitals of Australia

Perth

Brisbane

Melbourne

Sydney

CANBERRA

Hobart

Darwin

Adelaide

Take a few moments to cut out your outline of the Australian Flag. Use this to help you as you color it in.

Write the following information on the back!!!!

Location of Australia Australia is both a country and a

Continent

It is the worlds smallest continent.

Australia is located in the SE hemispheres and is surrounded by both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

• The most populated areas are along the coast and most people live along the eastern coast.

• Sydney is the most populated city and is the capital of the New South Wales state.

• Queensland is another state that is 7 times the size of England.

• Majority live around the capital Brisbane

• 80% of the population live in Urban areas.

– 31/2 million people live in Sydney

– 3 million live in Melbourne, which is located in the state of Victoria.

Sydney

B R I S B A N E

Melbourne

The Climate of Australia • Depending on

where you are in Australia, the climate will vary.

• Because it is south of the equator, its seasons are opposite ours. – Summers:

December to March

– Winters: June to September

• In the Northern part, it’s is closer to the equator so it is warm-hot all year round. – The seasons are wet and dry. In

the winter, it rains. In the summer it is dry and hot.

Climate cont… • The Desert makes up

the largest part of Australia and gets little rain fall. – Most areas only get about

10 inches a year.

• The SE and SW corners have a more temperate climate. They have mild-not too hot-summers and mild, cool winters.

• Most Australians live in these areas.

Australia’s Natural Resources • Bush: what

Australians call the remote countryside

• Outback: refers to the continents dry interior.

• Very few people live here. Most settlements are founded around mining operations.

• Mining gives Australians access to their many NR: coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, zinc, oil and natural gas.

• Australia leads the world in production of diamonds, lead, bauxite (an ore in which we get Aluminum.)

NR Cont…

• Much of Australia’s is arable. This allows for farming to be a successful business.

• Australian farms produce more than Australians can consume. – Australian farms trade

around the world