Australia - Geography

The Commonwealth of Australia is a Federation with six states – New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania – and two territories, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is situated. Australia also has external territories (described in the profiles following this one). These have small populations or are uninhabited and, apart from the vast Australian Antarctic Territory, are small islands.

The term ‘Australia’ is derived from Terra Australis, the name given to a southern landmass whose existence geographers deduced before it was discovered. Papua New Guinea (to the north) and New Zealand (to the east) are Australia’s closest neighbours. To the south lie the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

Time: There are three time zones: western (GMT plus 8hr, and no change in summer); central (GMT plus 9.5hr, no change in summer in Northern Territory, and GMT plus 10.5hr October–March in South Australia); and north-east/south-east (GMT plus 10hr, and in all eastern states except Queensland, GMT plus 11hr October–March).

Area: 7,682,395 sq km including the State of Tasmania and some smaller island territories.

Main towns: Canberra (capital, Australian Capital Territory, pop. 324,700 in 2006), Sydney (New South Wales, 4.44m), Melbourne (Victoria, 3.78m), Brisbane (Queensland, 1.89m), Perth (Western Australia, 1.47m), Adelaide (South Australia, 1.08m), Gold Coast (Queensland, 523,200), Newcastle (New South Wales, 500,100), Hobart (Tasmania, 206,600), Darwin (Northern Territory, 93,400).

Topography: Australia is the largest link in the chain running between South-East Asia and the South Pacific. Much of central Australia is desert. The main mountain chain, the Great Dividing Range, runs down the east coast, rising to Australia’s highest point at Mt Kosciusko (2,230m). Consequently, many of the rivers draining to the east are short; those flowing to the west, of which the Murray–Darling river system is the most considerable, tend to flow only after heavy rains and end in lakes which are often dry with a salt-bed.

Climate: The Tropic of Capricorn almost bisects the continent, running just north of Alice Springs, Australia’s central settlement. The subtropical areas north of this line have summer rainfall and dry winters. South of the Tropic, the rest of the continent and Tasmania are temperate. Continental considerations affect this basic pattern, most coastal areas having some rainfall, whereas a large tract of central Australia has less than 300mm p.a. Drought is a serious problem.

Environment: The most significant environmental issues are soil erosion and desertification; loss of the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species due to increases in agricultural and industrial production; and damage to the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world, due to increased shipping and tourism.

Vegetation: A wide range, from the tropical jungle of Queensland to the sparse flowers of the desert, with many unique species which evolved in the continent’s long geological isolation. Over 500 species of eucalyptus and over 600 species of acacia (wattle). The main fertile areas are in the south and east in New South Wales and Victoria – arable land comprises 6.2% of the total land area, while the north-east has tropical forest and bush – forest covers 21% of the country.

Wildlife: Many indigenous animal species are unique to the continent. The most distinctive are the marsupials, of which there are 120 species from the kangaroo to the tiny desert mouse, and the monotremes, the rare order of mammals which lay eggs, such as the duck-billed platypus and the echidna. There are also several species of flightless birds – the emu, second only to the African ostrich in size, and the cassowary.

Transport: There are 811,600km of roads, 39% paved; Australian road design is known for the long, straight roads in rural areas. Some roads may be impassable after heavy rain.

Rail services link main towns across the country: the 4,000km Indian–Pacific from Sydney to Perth takes three days; the 3,000km north–south line, linking Adelaide in the south with Alice Springs in the centre and Darwin in the north was completed in 2003.

The country has 36,738km of coastline and many deep-water harbours.

International airports are at Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Hobart, Townsville and Cairns.