1) Australia is divided into states and territories, with the largest and most populated being New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. 2) Physically, Australia is the smallest continent and flattest country, characterized by vast desert plains in the interior and milder climates along the southeastern and southwestern coasts, where most Australians live. 3) Major physical features include the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system off the coast of Queensland, and Ayers Rock, a massive sandstone monolith in the country's center.

1. Political & Physical
Features of Australia
Unit 10 Notes

2. I. Australia’s Political
Features

3. Australia…
S Is divided into territories and states:
S States: Tasmania, Victoria, South
Australia, Western Australia, New
South Wales, Queensland
S Territories: Northern Territory and
Australian Capital Territory

5. Tasmania
S Island off the southeast coast
of the mainland
S Almost half of Tasmania is
unspoiled land that is
protected by the government

7. Tasmanian Devil?

9. Victoria
S State closest to Tasmania
S Southeast part of the mainland
S Capital is Melbourne; it’s the
most urban state in Australia
S The many rivers of the region are
a good source of fresh water for
farming

12. South Australia
S State in south-central Australia
S The Great Victoria Desert is
located here…

15. Western Australia
S Largest state; makes up 1/3rd
of the mainland
S Most of Western Australia is
desert (Great Victoria Desert
and Great Sandy Desert are
located here)

16. Gr e at S an d y D e s e r t

17. New South Wales
S North of Victoria, on the eastern
coast
S Has more people than any other
Australian state
S The capital, Sydney, is the most
populated city in Australia -- 3 1/2
million people live there!
S Australian Capital Territory is
located here

18. S yd n e y, Ne w S o u t h
W es
al

19. Queensland
S Second largest state; 7 times the size
of England!
S In the northeastern part of the
mainland
S Great Barrier Reef is located off the
coast in the Coral Sea
S More than half of Queensland’s
population lives in the capital:
Brisbane

20. Brisbane

22. Northern Territory
S Northern coast of the
mainland, between Western
Australia and Queensland
S Largest population of
Aborigines in Australia

24. Australian Capital Territory
S Located in New South Wales
S The national capital, Canberra,
is located here

25. Can b e r r a ( Au s t r al i a’ s
Cap i t al )

26. II. Australia’s Physical
Features

27. Australia…
S The only country on the world’s smallest
and flattest continent…
S Has Earth’s oldest and least fertile soils
S Only Antarctica receives less rainfall!
S Commonwealth of Australia also
includes Tasmania, an island south of
the mainland
S It’s surrounded by the Indian and
Pacific Oceans

28. S Huge desert plains stretch across
the country’s middle--central
Australia’s climate is hot and dry
S Milder climates along the
southeastern and southwestern
coasts
S Most Australians live in the
southeastern coastal region

29. Great Barrier Reef
S World’s largest coral reef!
S Lies off the northeast coast of
Queensland--over 1,200 miles long
S Contains an amazing variety of
marine life, including the world’s
largest collection of coral
S 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish,
& 4,000 mollusks (snails, clams, octopi,
& squid)
S Also includes rare species like the sea
cow and the large green turtle

30. Gr e at Bar r i e r Re e f f r o m
s p ac e

33. Coral Sea
S An important source of coral for the
Great Barrier Reef
S Part of the Pacific Ocean
S Off the northeast coast of Australia
S When the earth’s crust moved millions
of years ago, it created the Coral Sea
and the Great Dividing Range (largest
mountain range in Australia)
S Coral Sea islands are scattered over
thousands of miles of ocean--no one
lives on the islands except for a small
group of weather specialists

35. Ayers Rock
S A huge, reddish rock in the center of
Australia
S Very close to the geographic center of
the continent…
S It’s a monolith, which is a single, large
rock sticking out of the earth
S Appears reddish because its iron
content “rusts” at the surface
S Nearly 12 stories high and almost 6
miles wide!

37. Ayers Rock
S Aborigines call it “Uluru”, which is its
official name
S European surveyor visited the rock in
1873 and named it after Sir Henry
Ayers, an English government official
in South Australia
S In 1950, Australia created Uluru-Kata
Tjuta National Park around Ayers Rock
S Both are located in the southwest corner
of the state called Northern Territory

39. Great Victoria Desert
S Stretches through the states of
South Australia and Western
Australia
S Receives only 8 to 10 inches of
rain each year, and it never
snows!
S Some grasslands in the desert
along with sandhills and salt

41. Great Victoria Desert
S First Europeans to cross the
desert named it after British
Queen Victoria in 1875
S 160,000 miles long & is a
protected wilderness area
S Very few Australians live here
because it’s too hot and dry