Where Australians Live…

Location, Climate, & Natural Resources in Australia

GPS: SS6G13 The student will explain the impact of location, climate, distribution of

natural resources, and population distribution

A. describe how Australia's location, climate, and natural resources have affected where people live

B. describe how Australia’s location, climate, and natural resources impact trade

EQ: How do Australia’s location, climate, and natural resources impact where people live and how they trade?

Location Of Australia

Both a continent & a country

Lies about 2,000 miles southeast of Asia

In the southern hemisphere– Literally the “land down under”!

Task #1

Using the map on page 34 of the student atlas, complete the first column in your Geography of Australia chart Relative Location (who remembers this?)Absolute Location (who remembers what that is?)One major city (HINT: Use this to approximate your absolute location)

Population

Coastal areas are the most populated

Most people live along east coast

Most populated city is Sydney, in New South Wales

Another populated city: Brisbane, Queensland

Location

Nearly 80% of Australians live in urban areas– Australia is one of the world’s most

urbanized countries

70% of all Australians live in cities of more than 100,000 people– Sydney has 3 and a 1/2 million people– Melbourne has about 3 million people

Climate of Australia

Varies across the continent

It’s south of the equator, so climate is opposite North America:– Summer: December through March– Winter: June through September

Task #2

Using the map on page 179 of the COACH book, complete column 2 – Climate types by describing the type of climate found in each of the regions.

Climate: North Australia

Northern part of Australia is closest to the equatorTropical climate and is warm-to-hot all year round– Gets more rain than any other part of the

country

Winter: wet and coolSummer: hot and dry

Climate: Central Australia

Desert is the largest part of Australia

Little rain falls here– Most of this area gets less than 10 inches

of rain per year!

Climate: Coasts

Only the southeast and southwest corners have a temperate climate– Summers aren’t too hot & winters aren’t

too cold (similar to Georgia)

Climate in these regions is the one that Australians prefer the most– Most Australians live along southeastern

coast

Natural Resources of Australia

Outback refers to the dry interior– Mainly open countryside, including vast

expanses of grazing land

Few widely scattered settlements in the Outback– Many of them grew up around mining

operations…

Natural Resources: Mining

Australians mine for coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, zinc, oil, and natural gas– Lead the world in the production of

diamonds, lead, & bauxite (used to make aluminum)!

Natural Resources: Mining

Minerals are often found in areas that are difficult to reach – Roads are expensive to build, but they are

needed to get workers & equipment to remote locations

– Expensive equipment is needed to move minerals to populated cities to trade

Natural Resources: Arable Land

Land that is good for farming

Enough areas with good land and rainfall to make farming an important business in Australia– Farmers here produce more than

Australians can consume, so the food is traded and sold around the world

Task #3

Using the map on page 182 of the COACH book, complete column 4 of your chart by listing the natural resources found in each region

Task #4

Using the CIA Fact book, complete column 3 by listing the manufactured goods available in Australia.

Understand that these represent the whole country and not specific regions so turn your chart sideways to make your entries

Questions to Consider:

Where do most Australians live?

What important business is done in the outback?

Why do most Australians live in southeastern Australia?

Postcard Directions:

Front: Illustration of your favorite Australian destination (must be colorful!)

Back: Write a greeting to one of your friends that describes Australia. Be sure to include:

• Location• Climate• Land• Resources

“I think I’ll move to Australia.”

In the story, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, Alexander has a bad day and decides his life would be better if he moved to Australia. After listening to the story, write a persuasive letter to Alexander’s mother to indeed let him move to the “Land Down Under.”Include information from the “Where do Australians Live?” PowerPoint to help justify your point. You will need to include descriptions of Australia’s location, climate, land, and resources.

Credits

Where Australian’s Live retrieved from www.slideshare.netAlexander image retrieved from www.google.com/imagesUnited Streaming video, A World of It’s Own Western Australia's Iron Deposits.  Prod. Burning Blue Media.  Planet Green, 2010. Discovery Education. Web. 22 March 2012. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com/>.