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Relief Map (1999) |
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An 1860 map |
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An 1838 map |
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Geographic |
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landforms Source: Geoscience Australia |
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Deserts Australia is extremely dry, actually the second driest continent in the world (Antarctica is first) with about 35 percent of the country receiving very little (if any) rain. Almost 20 percent of available land is some form of desert. GIBSON DESERT Covered by small sand dunes and a few rocky hills, this 120,000 sq. mile desert is home to numerous Aboriginal reserves. Farming and cattle raising activities are difficult here as rain seldom falls. GREAT SANDY DESERT At 150,000 sq. miles in size this arid expanse of Western Australia, south of the Kimberley Plateau, features scattered scrub vegetation and rocks. It has miles of red sand ridges (dunes) and very few people. GREAT VICTORIA DESERT Famous for its red sand dunes, indigenous wildlife and isolation, the Victoria Desert (250,000 sq. miles in size) extends for about 450 miles (750 km), and is mainly a barren area of red sand hills and ridges, dry salt lakes, with very little grassland. TANAMI DESERT Similar to the Great Sandy Desert, it has large areas of red sand plains, scrub vegetation and a few scattered hills. It's mostly uninhabited with some isolated mining and livestock raising. SIMPSON DESERT At 56,000 sq. miles in size this desert of sand drifts and wind-blown sand dunes receives very little rain and summer heat can be brutal. High temperatures in the desert often exceed 120º F, and even though humans are advised to be cautious here in summer, the desert itself is far from lifeless. Tourists are commonplace in winter and many visit the strikingly beautiful landscapes of the Queensland Simpson Desert National Park. 
 Elevation Australia is the lowest continent in the world with an average elevation of only 330 metres. The highest points on the other continents are all more than twice the height of Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres). The world's highest mountain, Mount Everest (8848 metres) is almost four times as high. Lakes and Reservoirs Australia is a dry continent (or island) with very few natural lakes. Both rainfall and runoff can be highly variable across the continent and so many rivers have had dams containing large reservoirs constructed on them, to meet water and power supply needs.
LAKE EYRE BASIN Lake Eyre itself is over 50 ft.(16 m) below sea level and located in the driest part of Australia. Usually it holds little water, and now, due to the severe drought conditions in the country it has none. Lake Eyre Basin is considered the world's largest internal drainage system, covering about one-sixth of the country. Rivers here flow based on rainfall, and because of that rare commodity, isolated water holes are vital for local communities and wildlife. Mountains The highest mountains on the Australian mainland are in an area known as the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, forming part of the Great Dividing Range which separates the central lowlands from the eastern highlands.
AYERS ROCK (Uluru) Considered the largest solitary rock on the planet, its red sandstone surface smoothed by high winds over time is revered as a holy place and called Uluru by the aboriginal peoples It's 1,143 ft. (348 m) high, covers an area of 3.3 square kilometres, and is 9.4 kilometres around its base. It rises 345 metres above the plains, and is believed to extend several kilometres below the surface.
DARLING RANGE
DARLING/MURRAY RIVER SYSTEM The Darling River, 1,160 miles (1,879 km) in length, flows southwest from the edges of the Great Dividing Range into the Murray River. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps and flows 1,200 miles (1,930 km) to the Indian Ocean near Adelaide. It's the longest river in Australia and is a vital source of irrigation for the country's major agricultural industries. Waterfalls Australia's tallest waterfalls occur on rivers forming a coordinated drainage system throughout the eastern highlands. Although the catchment areas of these easterly draining rivers are small, their high-volume flows from very wet mountain ranges have gouged deep gorges, producing spectacular waterfalls.
Other GREAT BARRIER REEF This spectacular coral reef, about 1,250 miles (2,000 km) in length contains the world's largest deposit of coral (or stated differently, the largest known coral formation in the world). It's not one continuous reef, but rather an irregular jigsaw puzzle of over 2,800 individual coral reefs and assorted coral cays. It lies along the north eastern coast of Australia, forming a natural breakwater for ships along the coast. Famed worldwide for its beauty and wildlife (over 1,500 species of fish alone), it became Australia's first World Heritage Area in 1981. CAPE YORK PENINSULA Described as the world's "last wilderness," and as one of the "wildest unexplored wilderness area on the planet," Cape York is home to jagged-tooth mountains, tropical rainforests, extensive mangrove forests, grasslands, swamps and fast moving rivers. GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN Also know as "Channel Country," it's one of the largest artesian groundwater basins in the world and a vital source of water for Australian agriculture. NULLARBOR PLAIN This sparsely populated slice of south-western Australia is extremely dry with very little surface water and very few people, It can be crossed by the using the Eyre Highway, named after the famed explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first person to survive an East-West crossing of Australia in the mid-1800s. Along the southern coastline on the Great Australian Bight, (Bight: a bend or curve in the shoreline) the local terrain is unparalleled. Enormous stretches of pure white sand are found in the Bilbunya Dunes and the Baxter Cliffs along the Bight are absolutely stunning. SHARK BAY Shark Bay is one of only 14 places on the planet that meets ALL four natural criteria for World Heritage listings. Those criteria's include outstanding examples of the earth's evolution, biological and ecological processes, incredible natural beauty and significant natural habitats for animal and plant species. The bay has the largest area of seagrass species in one place, and supports a rich aquatic life of dolphins, dugongs, sea snakes, turtles and whales.
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