Australia - Location, Area, and Physical Features PDF

r,,r u&+e< ,11011 3. AUSTRALIA - LOCATION, Alie~, H YS ICA L FEATIJb...

r,,r u&+e< ,11011 3. AUSTRALIA - LOCATION, Alie~, H YS ICA L FEATIJb POLITICAL AN D P "~, LEARNING OBJ ECT IVES f the location and area of 0 ~ Acquire knowledge Australia.. f th states and the territories of Gain know ledge o e Australia. 1:1. d of the various physical 'v Acquire know1e ge features of Australia.. d f the characteristics of each of Gain know1e ge o st the physical regions of Au ralia. Australia is a unique continent in the world beca use it is the only country that 0 ccup;es.. sixth large st country and s a whol e continent. It is the world 's largest island, ·. rna11e81 continent. ~ t'OCA TION AND AREA ·--- Aust ralia is situa ted entire ly in the Southern Hem isphe re. It extends from 100 S to fact the conti nent gets its 40°S latitudes and 114°E to 154°E longitudes.In narne ther n'. Australia is som et·imes from the Latin word 'Australis : which mea ns 'sou entir ely sout h of the equator. The refer red to as the 'land down unde r' since it lies Trop ic of Capr icorn (23½ S) passes through the. 0 centr e of the continent and d'IVI.des it into almo st two complete halve s. ,ec_g r7_geo g_ T1_ hn 40. l AUSTRALIA a _,,,t-J : · y / I I t Antarctic Clfcl I Fig 3. 1 Location of Australia The island-continent of Australia is located to the south-east of Asia. Australia is surrounded by the Timar Sea and· the Arafura Sea, which are parts of the Pacific Ocean in the north, Indian Ocean in the west, Southern Ocean in the south and Great Australian Bight (or Great Australian Bay) and Bass Strait in the south which are parts of the Southern Ocean. The Bass Strait separates the mainland from the island of Tasmania. Another island nation is New Zealand which is situated in the south- east of Australia. The other island nations which are found along the north are lndon~sia and Papua New Guinea. The Torres Strait lies between the continent'of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Together with the major Tasmanian islands and the islands in the Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, they form the Australian continent, which is known as Australasia. Sec_gr7_geog_T1 _hn 41 \  l'J"n 1.aAJl ii l fl O fl 0 W ,. ~ 0~ ·& \,'(). °'Ol S OMON I , ' St,\N n~mnLe ~ - _ " , ~ t::..\~ t>s Q:ibc::- A t----..._ - ,. ~ \ ToilllES STRAIT INDIAN OCEAN ~" VANU.trr~l AUSTRALIA BASS STRAIT--'--+ ~ TASMAN SEA ) SOUTHERN OCEAN TAS~ (/t Fig 3 _2 Australia and island countries The total area of Australia is 7,682,300 sq km. Au stralia has a continuous c of around 30,000 km. It has the eighth longest coastline in the world after ;astlini Norway, Indonesia, Greenland, Russia, Philippines, and Japan. anada / ~ OLITICAL DIVISIONS Australia is officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia. Au t... s rai,a i country under the commonwealth realms which 1s headed by Prince Ch sa.. arles II The King resides in United Kingdom and he 1s represented by the y· I. iceroy. Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of six states and two t. 1n.. ernto,; The states have their own government which functions under the A es.. Ustrali government. The territories are parts of land which are not included in an. any of th six states and have limited right of self-governance. e Sec_gr7_geog_T1_hn 42  ta: IMI M:1 ~uo tt ¢" ARAFURA SEA ~ INDIAN OCEAN CORALSEA NORTHERN TERRITORY PACIFIC OCEAN QUEENSLAND SOUTH AUSTRALIA w 0 1-- --- 3w 0 < ~_...,.....,.-CANBERRA BASS·STRArH-;+ \ TASMAN SEA ~ ANIA SOUTHERN OCEAN HOBAR~ Fig 3.3 Political Divisions of Australia The six states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victo ria and Western Australia; the two territories are the Australian Capital Territ ory and the Northern Territory. Canberra city, which is located in Union Territory of Canberra, is Australia's national capital. Other important cities are Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The largest state of Australia is Western Australia. It is about the same size as Western Europe. Sec_gr7 _geog_T1_hn 43  dl :P+M litl· H I OH STA TES CAP ITA LS New Sout h Wal es Syd ney Que ensl and Bris bane Sou th Aust ralia Ade laid e Tasmania Hob art Vict oria Mel bou rne Wes tern Aust ralia Per th UN ION TER RIT ORI ES CAP ITA LS Nor ther n Ter rito ry Dar win Aus tral ian Cap ital Ter rito ry Can berr a Tabl e 3. t Aust ralia - State s, Unio n Terr itorie s and thei r Cap itals DidYou Knowt The national colo urs of Aus tral ia are gre en and gold The national flag of Aus tral ia has a small flag of Britain, called the Union Jac k, to J show tha t the two countries are historically link ed. The six sta tes and the ter rito rie s are shown by the large seven- pointed sta r, while its niq ue pos itio n of being entirely in the Sou the rn Hemisphere is :pic ted by the sma ller sta rs laid out in the sha pe of the Southern ss. f_hn 44. t.Uiil!dhltl HIO H PHYSICAL FEATURES h"ch 1 include The continent of Australia exhibits a combination of landforms w... k Together these mountains, plams, basms, plateaus, deserts, rivers and 1a es. landforms are the Physical features of the continent. Australia is the flattest of all the continents. The continent of Australia is divided into four broad regions based on its physical features: A. The Eastern Highlands B. The Central Lowlands C. The Western Plateau D. The Coastal Plain CAPE ' fool_cENTR AL ~ L N D _EA$TE.RN \GHLAND Fig 3.4 Physical divisions Australia Sec_gr7_geog_T1_hn 45  VI IU C, Y 1 R A. The Eastern Highlands Ib ~~ rn Highlands constitute the _ _ _ _ ____,_ _....,..._ _ highest region of Australia, being a series of hills ' mountains and plateaus. They run parallel to the east coast from Qap_e Xork-Peninsula in the north to the south eastern coast near Bass Strait. The mountains are steep towards the east and slope gently towards the Central Lowlands. Fig. 3.5 the Great Dividing Range These Highlands are also known as d as a barrier preventing early settlers the Great Dividing Range as they acte continent. They also separate the flow from crossing over into the interior of the twards towards the Pacific Ocean or of the rivers flowing in this region eas s. westwards towards the Central Lowland These highlands are known by different names in different regions. In Victoria , in the south they are known as the Australian Alps while in the middle in New South Wales they are known as the ~ - Mountains. The Three Sisters Rock i[l_ t!}e __Blue..,-- --, Mountain is a famous landmark and a pop ular tourist destination. The highest peak is Fig. 3. 6 The Three Sisters Rock of Blue Mountain f!,!!Jtnt !5osciuszko (2,228 m). New South Wal es. It is located in the sno wy mountain of Sec_gr7_geog_T1_hn 46  VI G Y II R l