Australia -

1) Australia has an area of 7.69 million sq km.

2) It stretches from 10°S to 44°S and 113°E to 154°E.

3) The Indian ocean lies to its west, the Pacific ocean to its east, the Southern
ocean to its south and the Timor sea, the Arafura sea, the Gulf of Carpentaria and
the Coral sea to its north.

4) The island of Timor is just 720 km away from Darwin.

5) Africa lies 8,000 km west of Australia.

6) 3,200 km to the south lies the icy shores of Antarctica.

7) Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor to the north, the Solomon islands and
Vanuatu to the northeast and New Zealand to the southeast.

Physical Feautres -

1) The Great Western Plateau -

a) It occupies 2/3 of the continent.

b) Almost 70% of this region is covered by deserts - The Great Sandy desert, the
Gibson desert and the Great Victoria desert.

c) The Nullarbor Plain lies to the north of the Great Australian Bight and to the
south of the deserts.

d) Mullamullang Cave is an exapmle where stalactites and stalagmites are found.

e) King Leopold ranges lie in the north, The Hamersly Range lie towards the west,
Musgrave and MacDonnel Ranges lie in the central part of the plateau and the Uluru
lies between these two ranges. Further South lie the Mt Lofty Ranges and the
Flinders Ranges.

f) Many ranges such as like Mount Lofty, Flinders Ranges and the Barrier Range lies
in the Rift Valley System and the river valleys have been filled up by the sea.
They incluse Spencer Gulf and Gulf Saint Vincent.

2) The Central Lowlands -

a) It is a low-lying region between the Western plateaus and the Eastern Highlands.

b) It is divided into 3 lowlands - the Carpentaria Basin, the Lake Eyre Basin and
the Murray-Darling Basin.

c) Gregory, Leichhardt and Flinders flow towards the Gulf of Carpentaria.

d) Georgina, Diamantina and Copper Creek flow towards the Lake Eyre.

e) The Murray-Darling Basin is drained by the Murray River and its tributaries, the
darling and Murrumbidgee rivers.

3) The Eastern Highlands -

a) It stretches for around 3,700 km along the eastern edge og Australia, all the
way from Cairns in Northern Queensland to south of Sydney.

b) In New South Wales, around Sydney, the Eastern Highlands is known as the Blue
mountains. Further south, it is known as the Snowy Mountains and the Australian
Alps.

c) Mt Kosciuszko lies in the Australian Alps.

4) The Coastal Plains -

a) It is a narrow strip of flat land that stretches along the eastern coast of
Australia form Queensland to Victoria.

b) This area recieves high rainfall.

c) Most of the main cities are located along these plains.

5) The Great Artesian Basin -

a) It is a large area coverinf most of Queensland and parts of New South Wales,
South Australia and the Northern Territory.

b) It lies betweeb tge Eastern Highlands and the Western Plateau.

c) This region barely gets any rainfall.

6) The Great Barrier Reef -

a) The 2,000 km long Great Barrier Reef lies along the east coast of Queensland in
the Pacific Ocean.

b) Since this reef clings to the margin of the land, it is called a fringing reef.