Lyla Lindsey
Australia's landscape is distinctive and unique, with a variety of landforms including waterbodies, mountains, rock formations, rivers, waterfalls, deserts, and gorges. The landforms are the result of millions of years of continuous processes of movement and erosion, as well as volcanic activity and glaciation. Australia's lowest continent in the world with an average elevation of just 330 meters, yet it boasts some impressive 'high country'.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Landforms | Uluru, Heart Reef, Bungle Bungle Ranges, Cradle Mountain, Daintree Rainforest, Three Sisters, Horizontal Falls, Flinders Ranges, The Twelve Apostles, Katherine Gorge, Blue Lake Cirque, Crater Lake, Dove Lake, Great Divide, Great Escarpment, Blue Mountains, Snowy Mountains, Australian Alps, Whitsunday Islands |
| Waterbodies | Murray Basin, Gippsland Basin, Eucla Basin, Carpentaria Basin, Lake Eyre Basin |
| Rock Formations | Sphinx, Yilgarn Craton, Pilbara Craton, Nullarbor Plain, Mawson's Peak |
| Mountains | Mt Kosciuszko, Mt Gambier |
| Volcanoes | Mt Gambier, Mawson's Peak, McDonald Islands |
| Rivers | Katherine River, Daly River |
| Deserts | N/A |
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What You'll Learn
Waterbodies
Australia's landscape is distinctive and unique, and its landforms are the result of millions of years of climatic and geological processes. The country's waterbodies include major rivers, lakes, seas, and reefs.
The Murray River, stretching over 2,500 kilometres, is Australia's largest river. Other major rivers include the Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, and Cooper Creek. The Snowy Mountains scheme, one of Australia's most significant water management projects, involves 16 large dams that divert water from the Snowy and Eucumbene Rivers to the Murray and Murrumbidgee River systems. The Yarra River, at 242 kilometres long, begins in the Yarra Ranges and flows through Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay. The Daintree River, home to the saltwater crocodile and other diverse plant and animal species, is another crucial waterway in Australia.
Some of Australia's largest lakes include Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens, and Lake Gairdner. Lake Argyle, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, is the country's largest freshwater lake, covering approximately 1,000 square kilometres. Lake Argyle is vital for agriculture, providing water for irrigation and supporting crops. Lake St Clair in Tasmania is Australia's deepest lake, and Lake McKenzie is known for its crystal clear waters and beautiful white sand. Sydney Harbour and Swan River are also popular destinations for their scenic views and recreational opportunities.
The Tasman Sea, part of the South Pacific Ocean, separates Australia from New Zealand and covers approximately 2.3 million square kilometres. It is a crucial maritime route and supports a diverse range of marine life, including whales, dolphins, seals, and various fish species. The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, is the world's largest coral reef system and is home to thousands of species of marine life. The Indian Ocean, forming Australia's western maritime border, is the third-largest ocean globally, covering around 73 million square kilometres. It facilitates trade with Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and is home to numerous ecosystems and species.
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Rock formations
Australia has some of the oldest geological features in the world, with the oldest known rocks dating back more than 3 billion years. The landforms we see today are the result of continuous movement and erosion over millions of years, giving rise to a variety of landscapes across the continent.
Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, is a massive sandstone rock formation that covers 3.3 square kilometres and is 9.4 kilometres around its base. It rises 345 metres above the plains and is believed to have been laid down in an inland sea during the Cambrian Period around 500 million years ago. Uluru is located in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia's Northern Territory and is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, especially when it glows red at dawn and sunset due to the presence of iron oxide in the sandstone.
Kata Tjuta, also known as Mount Olga or the Olgas, lies 25 kilometres west of Uluru and is made up of 28 rounded domes with the tallest, Mt. Olga, reaching 545.4 metres above the surrounding plain. The domes are composed of sedimentary rock conglomerate with iron oxide impurities, including sandstone, granite, and ironstone, held together by muddy and sandy sediments.
In Western Australia, Mount Augustus, known indigenously as Burringurah, is a significant rock formation. The granite rock beneath Mount Augustus is estimated to be around 1650 million years old, while the mountain itself is believed to have been formed over 2700 million years ago. Wave Rock, a 14-metre-high and 110-metre-long granite cliff, is part of the Mount Augustus erosional remnant and is known for its curved shape, formed by water erosion and the dissolution and redeposition of chemicals in the granite.
The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park are another example of unique limestone formations that have developed over many years, providing a captivating ancient landscape for visitors to explore and photograph.
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Mountains
Australia is home to a variety of mountain ranges, including the Australian Alps, the Great Dividing Range, and the Blue Mountains. The Australian Alps, located in the southeast region of the country, are the highest mountain range in Australia. The range includes the Snowy Mountains, which have the five highest peaks on the mainland, including Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia at 2,228 meters (7,310 feet). The Snowy Mountains are also the centre of the Australian ski industry, with all four of New South Wales' snow resorts located in the region. The Australian Alps are also home to a diverse range of wildlife, with hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish living in the region. The range is important for conservation and as a water drainage basin, with runoff from the eastern slopes being diverted into the Murray River and its tributary, the Murrumbidgee River.
The Great Dividing Range is the most substantial mountain range in Australia and the 3rd longest land-based range in the world, stretching over 3,500 kilometres (2,175 miles) from the northeastern tip of Queensland to the central plains of western Victoria. This range includes the Australian Alps and forms a boundary between the rivers flowing towards the Pacific Ocean and those flowing into the Murray-Darling Basin or inland waters.
The Blue Mountains, located in New South Wales about 50 kilometres west of Sydney, are known for their unique landscape, vegetation, and wildlife. The mountains get their name from the blue haze created by the refraction of light off oily droplets from evaporated eucalyptus leaves, dust particles, and water vapour in the air. The Blue Mountains have been recognised as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO since 2000.
While Australia has a relatively small number of notable mountains compared to other regions, the country's landscape is diverse and distinctive, shaped by millions of years of climatic and geological processes.
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Rivers
Australia's river systems are extensive and diverse, flowing through various landscapes, from alpine regions to arid outback areas. These rivers are a vital part of the continent's ecology and cultural history, supporting ancient Aboriginal cultures and modern agriculture and tourism. The rivers provide water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use, and they also maintain biodiversity by supporting a range of ecosystems.
The Murray River, Australia's longest river, is over 2,300 kilometres long, according to a 2008 measurement. It forms much of the border between New South Wales and Victoria, flowing from the Australian Alps across the Eastern states into the Southern Ocean. However, it is not Victoria's longest river, as the border follows the southern bank of the river rather than the middle. Only a small stretch of about 11 kilometres is within Victoria, where it separates Victoria and South Australia. The Murray has a significant tributary, the Darling River, which starts in the mountains of New South Wales and combines with the Murray near Wentworth.
The Murrumbidgee River is generally recognised as Australia's second-longest river. It begins in the alpine region of New South Wales and eventually joins the Murray as well.
Another notable river is the Fitzroy River, a critical waterway in Western Australia that flows through the Kimberley region into the Indian Ocean.
In Nitmiluk National Park, which borders Kakadu, the Katherine River flows through the town of Katherine, joining the Daly River.
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Deserts
Australia is the driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. The country's unique positioning has created the perfect conditions for an abundance of deserts, with multiple factors converging to create arid climates. Typically, a desert is defined as a desolate, uninhabited region that receives less than 250 to 500 millimetres of precipitation annually. However, due to Australia's uneven rainfall distribution, this definition becomes complicated. For example, while the annual rainfall in Australian deserts is below 250mm, this rainfall is rarely evenly spread throughout the year. In fact, the annual average has been known to fall in a single day.
The Great Australian Desert is diverse, consisting of 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 desert covers about 3 million square kilometres, or 1.2 million square miles, and makes up about 18% of Australia's landmass.
Indigenous Australians have lived in the desert for at least 50,000 years and occupied all Outback regions when Europeans first entered central Australia in the 1800s. Many Indigenous Australians retain strong physical and cultural links to their traditional country and are legally recognised as the traditional owners of large parts of the Outback. The rock art and archaeological site at Karnatukul in the Western Desert cultural region was, until recently, estimated to have been inhabited for up to 25,000 years. The oldest examples of rock art, in Western Australia's Pilbara region and the Olary district of South Australia, are estimated to be around 40,000 years old.
The Pilbara region in Western Australia is the hottest area of the desert, with temperatures reaching 48-50°C. However, compared to deserts in other parts of the world, such as Iran's Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert) or the Lut desert, Australia's deserts are relatively cool.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia is known for its distinctive and unique landscape, which includes the following famous landforms:
- Uluru (Ayers Rock)
- Heart Reef
- Bungle Bungle Ranges
- Cradle Mountain
- Daintree Rainforest
- The Three Sisters
- Horizontal Falls
- Flinders Ranges
- The Twelve Apostles
- Katherine Gorge
The Western Plateau in Australia is made up of individual plateaus, including the Kimberley, Hamersley, and Yilgarn. These plateaus comprise cratons such as the Yilgarn Craton and the Pilbara Craton.
Australia has a variety of landforms, including waterbodies, mountains, deserts, and rock formations. The country also has sedimentary basins, such as the Murray, Gippsland, Eucla, Carpentaria, and Lake Eyre basins.
