Below
is some information
on geography of Australia.
Australia is the world's smallest continent, and NOT the world's
largest island as some people say.
The reason for this is that a
continent is a landmass that has continental climate, and Australia has
got it. New Zealand hasn't, so it is an island nation. Greenland hasn't
got it, and it is the world's largest island.
By far the most of the people live in the
south-eastern corner of Australia. The second most inhabited area is
the eastern coast of the continent, and the third is the area around Perth
in south-western
Western Australia.
The rest of this huge continent is very scarcely inhabited, and large
desert areas are totally uninhabited. Compared to Europe and the US, we
have a lot more space in Australia!
Australian Climate
As you can see when you compare the population and the climate map, Australian
climate
has to do with where people like to live, and the cooler areas are the
most populated because Australia is a very hot country by the world's
standards. Most people think that northern Australia is too hot and
humid (not me!)
Another thing you notice is that the general thought that southern
Australia is the coldest and northern Australia is the hottest part of
the continent, is not entirely true. It is really the north-west that is
the hottest and
the south-east
that is the
coldest.
Topography
One factor behind that is the Great Dividing Range, Australia's
youngest and highest mountain range, that runs along the whole eastern
coast of Australia, right up to the Cape
York
peninsula. Air is cooler higher up, so mountain ranges keep the local
climate cooler. (another factor is that southeast is actually further
south than southwest - a fact that is easy to miss).
Vegetation Zones
Climate, topography and other factors affect the vegetation. Mountain
ranges don't only affect the temperature but also humidity. The eastern
coast of Australia is much more humid than the west, and Australia's
only real rainforests
grow in
the east, along the Great Dividing Range. The altitudes have caused the
Alpine
vegetation in the south east, and open forests grow
where the climate
is humid enough. Woodlands,
scrublands
and grasslands
grow in drier areas, and
the driest areas are covered by deserts.
Natural Hazards
Climate, vegetation and other factors make
Australia suffer from quite frequent natural hazards. Over the years,
we have had a lot of drought
and the dry years in combination with our flammable eucalypt
forests create perfect
conditions for bushfires,
that
tend to get worse in the south.
Northern
Australia on
the other hand is threatened by tropical
cyclones during the Wet Season, and they cause a fair bit of
devastation too. We also have a lot of floods
and these happen in the eastern
third of the country, while the west is 'as
dry as a
desert'.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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