Geography of Australia.pdf -

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Australia’s © Brain Wrinkles • Australia is located in the southern and eastern hemispheres and is the smallest continent on Earth. • It is the only continent that is also a country. • Australia is divided into six states and two territories. • The capital of Australia is Canberra. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • Massive desert plains (known as the outback) stretch across most of Australia’s middle. • Most of Australia is located on the continent’s mainland, but Australia also includes Tasmania and other small islands located in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. • Australia, New Zealand, and thousands of smaller island make up the region known as Oceania. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Coral Sea is located off the northeast coast of Australia and is part of the Pacific Ocean. • When the earth’s crust moved millions of years ago, it created the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. • The Coral Sea is named after the many coral reefs found there, including the Great Barrier Reef. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • There are several small islands located here that are known as the Coral Islands. • Australia claimed the islands as a territory in 1969, although no one lives there except for a small group of weather specialists. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. • It is located off Australia’s northeast coast and extends for more than 1,400 miles. • It contains the world’s largest collection of coral, with over 400 different types. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Great Barrier Reef also contains an amazing variety of marine life, including more than 1,500 types of fish and 4,000 types of mollusks. • It is home to rare species like the large green turtle and the sea cow. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • Ayers Rock, or Mount Uluru, is a huge red sandstone rock formation located at almost the exact center of the continent. • It is a monolith, a single, large rock sticking out of the earth, that is 1,142 feet high and 6 miles wide. • Ayers Rock appears reddish because its iron content “rusts” at the surface. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The landform is a sacred site for the Aboriginal people, who named the rock Uluru. • However, a European surveyor visited the rock in 1873 and named it after Sir Henry Ayers, an English government official in South Australia. • In 1950, Australia created Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park around Ayers Rock. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Australia and surrounds the Australia’s west coast. • It is the world’s 3rd largest ocean, after the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Pacific Ocean surrounds the east coast of Australia. • It is the world’s largest ocean. • The Pacific Ocean is so large that it covers more area than all the land in the world combined. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • The Great Dividing Range is Australia’s longest mountain range and stretches 2,300 miles across eastern Australia. • The Great Dividing Range divides Australia’s eastern coastal region from the inland desert region. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles • Most of eastern Australia’s water supply comes from the range because many of the country’s rivers begin here. • The Great Dividing Range is also a source of valuable natural resources, like diamonds and timber, that help Australia’s economy. • Agriculture is also an important activity in the fertile regions of the range. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles