NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.: Australia

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Life in Temperate Grasslands

  • Latitudinal extent 10 N to 43 S
  • Longitudinal extent 115 E to 154 E
  • Tropic of Capricorn cuts it into two halves.
  • Australia is flanked by the Great Dividing Range and the New England Range in the east
  • The Darling River emerges from the Great Dividing Range and drains major part of the New South Wales province besides others.
  • Australian Alps are in south east having Mt. Kosciusko (2228m) as the highest peak. Flinders ranges lying in north south direction in the eastern portion of South Australia is an example of Block Mountains.
  • Nullarbor plain is a long extensive plain lying along the southern coast. It is through these plains that the transcontinental Railway of Australia connects the East and the Western extremity.
  • The West and the North Western region of Australia comprises mainly of deserts including the Great Sandy desert , Gibson desert, Great Victoria desert, Tanami desert and the Simpson desert.
  • Indigenous people of Australia are known as Aborigines (e. g. Bindibus)
  • Animal species found only in Australia Koala, Kangaroo, Platypus, Dingo, and Wombat.
  • Great Dividing Range is also known as the՚snowy Mountains .
  • Australia is the largest producer of the Bauxite in the world.
  • Sheep rearing farms in Australia are called as Stations.
  • Tasmania sea separates Australia from New Zealand is divided into two islandsthe Northern Island and the Southern Island. Southern Island is dominated by the Southern Alps having Mt. Cook as the highest peak.
  • North Cape lies at the northern extremity of the New Zealand.
  • Cook strait separates the two islands of the country.
  • Bay of Plenty lies north of the Northern Island.
  • Foveaux strait separates a small . island (Stewart Island) lying south of the Southern Island and the Southern Island itself.
  • Wellington, the capital lies in the Northern Island. Other cities of Northern Island areHamilton, Napier, and Auckland
  • Cities of Southern Island are Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill.
  • MacDonnell and Musgrave ranges lie in Central Australia.

Australia Has Eight Federal Units

  1. Western Australia (Capital Perth)
  2. Northern Territory (Darwin)
  3. South Australia (Adelaide)
  4. Queensland (Brisbane)
  5. New South Wales (Sydney)
  6. Victoria (Melbourne)
  7. Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)
  8. Tasmania (Hobart)

The Physiographic Regions of Australia

  1. The Great Western plateau or Western Australian Shield (also known as the ‘Australian Outback’ ) . A conspicuous Isenberg called Ayres Rocks lie on the barren plains at the centre of the continent. It is characterised by red rocks.
  2. The Eastern Lowlands extends from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Spencer Gulf. It has the great Artesian Basin characterised by lowlands and abundant wealth of subsurface aquifer layers. Drilling in this region produces spontaneous gush of water because of natural hydro static pressure. Such wells are known as Artesian wells.
  3. The Eastern Uplands comprise the Great Dividing Range, the Australian Alps, and the Tasmania.
  4. A significant feature of the NE Australia is the presence of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland which is the longest reef in the world. These are generated by the accumulation of coral polyps, the calcareous remains of micro organisms.
  5. An internal drainage system in the form of Lake Eyre exists in the north east of the province of the South Australia.

Other Significant Features

  1. Great Australian Bight (southern coast)
  2. Bass strait (separates Tasmania from the mainland)
  3. Cape York Peninsula (northern Queensland)
  4. Shark Bay (western coast)
  5. Joseph Bonaparte Gulf (west of Arneh land in northern Australia)
  6. Gulf of Carpentaria (largest gulf in Australia)
  7. King and Flinders Islands (between Tasmania and mainland Australia)
  8. Fraser Island (eastern coast)