Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world, with 70% of its mainland receiving less than 500mm of rain annually. This means that a significant proportion of the country is classified as arid or semi-arid, and as a result, Australia has some of the world's largest and most important deserts. The country's unique positioning has created prime conditions for an abundance of deserts, with multiple factors converging to create arid climates. The Australian deserts make up about 18% of the continent, with a full 35% of the country receiving so little rainfall that it is classified as desert.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Deserts | 10 |
| Percentage of Australian Landmass | 18% |
| Percentage of Australian Population Living in Deserts | 3% |
| Average Annual Rainfall | Below 250mm |
| Average Summer Temperature | Above 35°C |
| Average Winter Temperature | Below 15°C |
| Number of Bird Species | Over 300 |
| Number of Mammal Species at the Time of European Colonization | 103 (19 now extinct) |
| Vegetation | Spinifex Grasses, Eucalyptus, Acacia, Grevilleas, Bloodwoods, Sandhill Wattle, Sandhill Cane-grass, Old Man Saltbush, Cottonbush, Queensland Bluebush, Swamp Cane-grass, Lignum |
| Fauna | Lizards (over 40 species), Camels, Dingoes, Perentie, Sand Goanna, Emus, Ratites, Parrots, Cockatoos, Owls, Raptors, Frogs (over 40 species), Fish (34 species in Lake Eyre) |
| Human Inhabitants | Indigenous Australians, Pintupi Tribe, Spinifex People |
| Popular Tourist Destinations | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Wolfe Creek Crater, Karlamilyi National Park, Ayers Rock, Gibson Desert, Tanami Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tirari Desert, Pedirka Desert, Great Victoria Desert |
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What You'll Learn
Australia's 10 deserts
Australia is the driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. The Australian deserts cover about 1,371,000 km2 (529,000 sq mi), or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain that it is practically a desert.
The deserts of Australia are collectively known as the Great Australian Desert and are distributed throughout the Western Plateau and interior lowlands of the country. The Great Australian Desert includes semi-desert grassy or mountainous landscapes, xeric shrubs, salt pans, stony deserts, red sand dunes, sandstone mesas, rocky plains, open tree savannahs, and bushland with a few rivers and salt lakes.
- The Great Victoria Desert: This desert is located in Western Australia and is home to various bird species, including the rare Alexandra's parrot, the mulga parrot, and the chestnut-breasted whiteface. The desert also has deep red sands and dense mulga woodlands.
- The Gibson Desert: Named after Alfred Gibson, an explorer who was lost in the desert in 1874, the Gibson Desert occupies an extensive area of about 155,000 square km, making it Australia's fifth-biggest desert. The landscape features gravel-covered terrains, rocky ridges, dune fields, and undulating red sand plains.
- The Little Sandy Desert: Located in Western Australia, the Little Sandy Desert is west of the Gibson Desert and south of the Great Sandy Desert. The landscape resembles that of the Great Sandy Desert, with similar sandy terrain.
- The Great Sandy Desert: This desert is located near the Little Sandy Desert and the Gibson Desert. It is known for its sandy terrain and is home to indigenous communities such as the Pintupi tribe.
- The Tirari Desert: Located in South Australia's Far North region, the Tirari Desert encompasses an area of 15,250 square km. It is known for its salt lakes and sand dunes and is part of the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park.
- The Strzelecki Desert: This desert occupies parts of South West Queensland, western New South Wales, and South Australia's Far North Region. It is known for its semi-desert grasslands and is home to various bird and lizard species.
- The Simpson Desert: Australia's fourth-largest desert and the largest sand dune desert in the world, the Simpson Desert occupies an area of 176,500 square km across Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. It features the world's longest parallel sand dunes, held in place by vegetation.
- The Sturt Stony Desert: Located in South Australia's north-eastern region, extending into Queensland and New South Wales, the Sturt Stony Desert is named after Charles Sturt, who explored the area in 1844. The desert features stony terrain and several ephemeral lakes called gilgai.
- The Pedirka Desert: A small desert located about 100 km northwest of Oodnadatta in South Australia, occupying an area of approximately 1,250 square km. The sands of the Pedirka Desert are deep red, and the region is being developed for pastoral activities.
- The Tanami Desert: This desert is located on the edge of the community of Yuendumu, which is home to an Aboriginal community that continues to live within its surrounds.
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Unique wildlife
Covering about one-third of the country, the deserts of Australia are teeming with life. From kangaroos and emus to wallabies, the deserts showcase a unique array of flora and fauna that have adapted to survive in extreme heat and limited water availability.
The deserts of Australia are home to a large variety of wildlife, including bilbies, dunnarts, kangaroos, wallabies, bats, dingoes, and a wide range of native rodents. The highly varied habitats of the deserts support a diverse range of birds and reptiles, as well as some frogs that are found nowhere else on Earth.
One of the most iconic species found in the Australian deserts is the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), a ground-dwelling marsupial with long, pinkish-coloured ears. Bilbies are now considered a vulnerable species due to the introduction of feral cats and foxes, non-native predators that were brought to Australia during European settlement. Greater bilbies can now only be found in certain dry desert areas in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and a small corner of southwest Queensland.
The deserts are also home to a variety of bird species, such as the emu, the wedge-tailed eagle, the mulga parrot, the scarlet-chested parrot, and the rare Alexandra's parrot. The pink cockatoo, also known as Major Mitchell's Cockatoo, is another spectacular parrot found in the Australian deserts. These highly social birds are extremely smart and only nest in pairs, requiring vast undisturbed areas of woodland to survive and breed successfully.
In addition to the wildlife mentioned above, the Australian deserts are also inhabited by a range of small mammals and reptiles. The stripe-faced dunnart, for example, is a small marsupial that can store nutrients and water in its tail. The mulgara is another desert-dwelling mammal that eats insects, small reptiles, and other mammals. The spinifex hopping mouse can be found throughout the arid zones of Central and Western Australia, making its home in the spinifex grass-covered sand flats and dunes.
The deserts of Australia provide unique habitats for a variety of species, showcasing the resilience and diversity of Australia's natural environment.
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Indigenous Australians
Australia's deserts are home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna, and for tens of thousands of years, they have been inhabited by Indigenous Australians. The Indigenous people of Australia have thrived in these dry areas, showcasing their ingenuity and adaptability in one of the world's driest continents.
The Western Desert, which includes the Gibson, Great Victoria, Great Sandy, and Little Sandy Deserts, is a cultural region of Australia's Indigenous people. The Kogara, the Mirning, and the Pitjantjatjara are among the Indigenous Australians who call this region home. The Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is another significant area, located in the heart of the country in the remote Carnarvon Ranges of the Western Desert.
The Spinifex people, who were expelled from their tribal lands in the 1950s due to nuclear weapons testing, showcase the resilience of Indigenous communities in the face of external pressures.
Today, Indigenous-led tourism experiences are marketed to visitors seeking nature-based holidays in Outback Australia. These experiences provide an opportunity for cultural exchange and a chance to learn about the extraordinary cosmology and traditional knowledge systems of Indigenous Australians.
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Semi-desert landscapes
Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world, with 70% of the mainland receiving less than 500mm of rain annually. This classifies most of Australia as arid or semi-arid. The Australian desert covers 3 million square kilometres and is among the least modified in the world. It is diverse, consisting of semi-desert grassy or mountainous landscapes, xeric shrubs, salt pans, gibber (stony) deserts, red sand dunes, sandstone mesas, rocky plains, open tree savannahs, and bushland.
The Australian desert is defined by a lack of rainfall, with most experts describing desert landscapes as areas with less than 250mm of rainfall each year. However, the Australian desert's rainfall can technically exceed this average due to uneven rainfall distribution. For example, the driest areas of Central Australia average 150mm of rainfall each year, while the average annual rainfall in the Australian desert ranges from 81 to 250mm. This is further complicated by a massive evaporation rate.
The desert's landscapes are shaped by weathering, erosion, and deposition. Weathering causes rocks in the landscape to break down due to water, ice, salts, acids, animals, and plants, as well as large temperature ranges. Erosion in the form of wind and water then carries away the weathered material, such as sand, silt, and gravel, to new locations. Finally, deposition occurs when these sediments are dropped or deposited in their new locations, forming sand dunes.
The fluctuating climate of the Australian desert can see drought and bushfires in one year followed by floods and transformation into a green paradise in the next. This is due to the desert's location, which creates prime conditions for an abundance of deserts. A belt of high pressure at about latitude 30 degrees south runs across Western Australia and South Australia and through the Great Victoria Desert. This pressure creates dry conditions that are carried by an easterly flow, spreading the arid landscape through the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia.
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Climate and terrain
Australia's deserts are known for their fluctuating climates. The country's positioning has created conditions for an abundance of deserts, with multiple factors converging to create arid climates. The subtropics, a belt of high pressure at about latitude 30 degrees north and south, runs across Western Australia and South Australia, through the Great Victoria Desert. This pressure creates dry conditions that are carried by an easterly flow, spreading the arid landscape through the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia.
The Australian mainland deserts are classified as arid, with precipitation falling as rain and temperatures ranging from above 10°C to above 35°C in the summer months. The dryness is based on the climate classification relating to precipitation and temperature. The Australian High, a hot, sinking air mass, also contributes to the dry conditions. The average annual rainfall in the Australian desert ranges from 81 to 250 mm, which would make it a semi-arid climate. However, due to the high evapotranspiration, the Great Australian Desert would be correspondingly arid.
The desert regions of Australia experience extremely high daytime temperatures and chilly nights. The large land mass can heat up during the summer months, triggering high temperatures. Low humidity allows heat to escape into the atmosphere after the sun goes down, resulting in significant temperature variations between day and night. In the summer, temperatures in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, the hottest area of the desert, can reach 48-50°C. In contrast, the average daily summer temperatures in Central Australia are typically 37-39°C, occasionally climbing into the low 50s. Summer temperatures in the deserts can soar above 40°C, and at night, they can remain around 30°C. However, they usually drop within a 15-20°C range.
The terrain of the Australian deserts varies. Large portions of the desert are characterised by gravel-covered terrain, covered in thin desert grasses, and extensive areas of undulating red sand plains and dunefields. The Gibson Desert, for example, has sandy soil rich in iron, and several isolated saltwater lakes in its centre. The Great Victoria Desert, Australia's largest desert, is a sand-dune-dominated landscape interspersed with salt lakes. The Simpson Desert, located between the Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia, features vast plains dotted with hard, weathered stones. The Great Artesian Basin, which would be classified as a desert but for its underground water resources, receives very little rainfall.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia has a total of 10 deserts.
The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia, spanning 164,000 square miles or 348,750 square kilometres.
The smallest desert in Australia is the Pedirka Desert, covering an area of 480 square miles or 1,250 square kilometres.
The Great Sandy Desert is Australia's second-largest desert, covering 150,000 square miles or 284,993 square kilometres.
Deserts make up about 18% of the Australian continent, but 35% of the country receives so little rainfall that it is classified as a desert.
