Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia is an island country and continent with a diverse landscape. It is the sixth-largest country in the world by area of jurisdiction, with a mainland portion, the insular state of Tasmania, and around 8,222 smaller fringing islands. The landscape is varied, with a large range of different geographical landforms and physical features. Australia is relatively flat and low-lying compared to other continents, with the Western Plateau making up more than half of the country. The country is also exceptionally dry, with a third of its area occupied by desert. The landscape is the result of movements in the Earth's crust, river erosion, and changes in climate and sea level.
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What You'll Learn
The Great Divide
Australia is known for its diverse landscapes, from flat plains to mountain ranges. One of the most notable features of the country's geography is the Great Divide, also known as the Great Dividing Range. This chain of highlands runs parallel to the east coast of Australia, from Cape York in northern Queensland to the southern seaboard of Tasmania, covering a distance of almost 4000 km.
The formation of the Great Divide is a result of tectonic movements, river erosion, and changes in climate and sea levels. The uplift of the Eastern Highlands occurred during the Paleogene and Neogene Periods, when volcanoes erupted in eastern Australia, creating the volcanic plugs, ash domes, and flow remnants that characterise the region. The Great Divide is an example of an escarpment, forming the western boundary of the Eastern Highlands.
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The Eastern Highlands
Australia is an island country and continent with a diverse landscape. The Eastern Highlands, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Great Dividing Range, is one of the four main landform regions in Australia. It is a cordillera system consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus, and rolling hills. The Eastern Highlands stretch for over 3,500 kilometres (2,175 miles) along the eastern coastline of Australia, from Queensland in the north, through New South Wales, and into Victoria in the south. The range is geologically and topographically complex, with hundreds of peaks, mountains, and plateaus composed of limestones, sandstone, quartzite, schists, and dolomite. The higher and more rugged parts of the range, reaching over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) in height, do not form a continuous mountain chain but are rather branches and offshoots from the main range.
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The Western Plateau
Australia is an island country and continent with a diverse landscape. It is relatively flat, low-lying, and dry compared to other continents. The landscape is varied with a large range of different geographical landforms and physical features. The mainland portion of Australia is divided into four main landform regions: the Coastal Plains, the Eastern Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Western Plateau.
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The Central Lowlands
Australia is an island country and continent with a diverse landscape. It is the sixth-largest country in the world by area of jurisdiction, covering 7,688,287 square kilometres. The country is composed of a mainland portion, the insular state of Tasmania, and around 8,222 smaller fringing islands and numerous larger ones.
One of the four main landform regions in Australia is the Central Lowlands. The landscape of the Central Lowlands is varied, with different geographical landforms and physical features. It is relatively flat and low-lying compared to other continents, with gently rolling hills and plains that slope down to the western plateau. The Central Lowlands are characterised by their aridity, with a large portion of the area being desert or semi-arid plains. The soil plains of the region, particularly in Queensland and New South Wales, have long supported the world's greatest wool industry.
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The Coastal Plains
Australia is a continent and island country with a diverse landscape. It is relatively flat, low-lying, and dry, with four main landform regions: the Coastal Plains, the Eastern Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Western Plateau.
European settlement in the 1830s led to the drainage of wetlands for land reclamation and agricultural expansion. Today, the city of Perth sits on reclaimed wetlands, and only a few major wetlands remain, such as Lake Monger and Herdsman Lake. The Coastal Plains are characterised by a series of sand dune systems, such as the Quindalup, Spearwood, and Bassendean dunes, which run from west to east.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia is the driest continent on Earth, after Antarctica, and the flattest. It is an island country and continent with four main landform regions: the Coastal Plains, the Eastern Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Western Plateau.
The Eastern Highlands are made up of a series of mountains in the south, topped by Mount Kosciuszko, and volcanic plugs, ash domes, and flow remnants further north. The Great Dividing Range, also known as the Great Divide, runs from Cape York in northern Queensland to the southern seaboard of Tasmania, separating rivers flowing to the west and north from those flowing to the Pacific.
The Western Plateau is a relatively flat area about 183m (600ft) above sea level, with low mountainous ranges in the north of Western Australia and isolated uplands in the Northern Territory. This area makes up more than half of the country.
The Coastal Plains vary from sheer ocean cliffs to untouched surf beaches, and the Central Lowlands include the Nullarbor Plain, which stretches to the sea. The landscape is incredibly diverse, with snow-capped peaks, wildlife-rich coral reefs, biodiverse tropical rainforests, and dust-filled deserts.
Australia's landscape is the result of a long history of movements in the Earth's crust, river erosion, and changes in climate and sea level. Australia was once very near the South Pole, and much of the continent was covered by large ice caps. After the ice melted, parts of the continent subsided and formed sedimentary basins. Australia is also home to some of the world's oldest geological features, with the oldest known rocks dating from more than 3000 million years ago.
