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Australia's physical environment
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The Australian continent
Topic : The Australian continent
In this topic you will learn...
Chapter 1 :
Geographical dimensions: size and shape
Australia is over 4000 kilometres east to west and over 3000 kilometres north to south
Australia has an area of about 7 682 300 square kilometres
Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world
Australia has a continuous coastline of about 30 000 kilometres
Australia is considered by most to be a continent, but some consider it to be an island as well
Australia is the smallest continent on Earth
The Commonwealth of Australia consists of six States and two major mainland Territories
Chapter 2 :
Australia's location: regional and global
Australia is in the southern and eastern hemispheres
Australia is located between the latitudes of 10 degrees south and 40 degrees south
Australia is located between the longitudes of 110 degrees east and 160 degrees east
Australia shares marine boundaries with many countries, including Indonesia and New Zealand
New Zealand is southeast of Australia, and it is one-thirtieth the size of Australia
Indonesia is north of Australia and it is composed of many islands
Papua New Guinea is north of Australia and it shares a border with Indonesia
Chapter 3 :
Origins of the continent: Aboriginal perspective
The Indigenous peoples of Australia have the longest continuous history of any group
Aboriginal peoples have been on the Australian continent for at least 40 000 years
There are believed to have been at least 600 Aboriginal communities with their own traditions
Aboriginal peoples explained the world using Dreamtime stories
A creator spirit is present in all Dreamtime stories
The rainbow serpent is another common feature of Dreamtime stories
Certain colours are sacred in different Aboriginal groups
Chapter 4 :
Origins of the continent: geographical perspective
Australia is often referred to as the oldest of the continents
Australia has not always had its present shape or position on the globe
All continents on Earth were once joined to a super-continent called Pangaea
Plate tectonics is a geological theory used to explain continental drift
Plate tectonics states that the lithosphere floats on the more fluid asthenosphere
Separate tectonic plates hold the crust that makes up the continents and the ocean floor
The Australian continent is located on the Indo-Australian plate
Australia was once connected to Antarctica
Australia is currently geologically stable, but subject to weathering and erosion
Chapter 5 :
Volcanoes
The Australian continent has not experienced a volcanic eruption in over 4000 years
Australia has had a rich history of volcanic activity along its east coast
A volcano is a landform created by the eruption of magma through the Earth's crust
Volcanoes can be found at plate boundaries, plumes or hot spots
The volcanoes in Australia were mostly created by plumes or hot spots
The volcanoes in Australia are either extinct or dormant
Volcanoes can still be seen in Australia as volcanic plugs
Volcanoes contributed to Australia's soil
Chapter 6 :
Topography
Topography refers to the characteristics of land
The Australian continent is one of the lowest, flattest and driest continents
The continent can be broken into four major landform regions
The coastal plains are a region along the east coast of Australia where most Australians live
The eastern highlands are a region just west of the coastal plains with hills and mountains
The central lowlands are a region west of the eastern highlands made up of sedimentary rock
The western plateau is a low, flat region in the western part of Australia
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