Australia

Australia vs. New Zealand Australia  Is on its own plate.  Earthquakes do not happen very often, and volcanoes do not happen.  It is very old.  It was once part of Gondwana (Southern part of Pangea).  Has old, eroded mountains New Zealand  Younger  Less Stable  Has many earthquakes and volcanoes.  Lies on the convergence of the Australian and Pacific Plates.  Entire ranges are larger than the highest point in Australia.

Formation of Deserts?  Look at the map of Australia. Were deserts formed by the Rainshadow effect here?  Their creation: Moist air rises at the equator, as it moves it falls turns into rainfall, as it continues warming as it sinks it encourages more evaporation than rain creating deserts.

Physical Features of Australia Great Barrier Reef The largest coral reef in the world. It is so large, it interrupts ocean currents affecting the climate.

Ayers Rock (Uluru) This is a smooth remnant of ancient rocks. It is very important to Aborigines.

Great Dividing Range The highest elevation in Australia with the highest point being only 7,316 ft.

Where is the Great Dividing Range?

Murray River

Where is the Murray River?

Darling River

Where is the Darling River?

Lake Eyre

Where is Lake Eyre?

Great Sandy Desert

Where is the Great Sandy Desert?

Great Victorian Desert

Where is the Great Victorian Desert?

The Outback  All of the deserts in Australia make up something known as the Outback which is in the center of Australia.

Great Artesian Basin Provides an underground water source. Recent water shortages have been draining this basin.

Mt. Kosciusko

Where is Mt. Kosciusko?

Physical features of New Zealand  Mt. Cook (Aoraki)  Southern Alps

Mt. Cook (Aoraki)

Southern Alps

Where are the Southern Alps and Mount Cook?

Climate Australia  More Varied climate.  Outside: Tropical Savanna, Humid Subtropical, Marine West Coast, and Mediterranean.  Middle: Desert and Steppe. New Zealand  Marine West Coast.  Its location to the ocean causes this.

Animals of Australia  There are many indigenous animals to Australia.  This is due to its isolation from the rest of the world.  These animals are not native to anywhere else in the world.  Australia has the highest number of marsupials than any other place.  Here are some cool animals!!!

Koala Due to the reliance upon Eucalyptus as a food source. Koalas are only found in this area of Australia.

Kangaroo They dwell in the Arid part of Australia (center). They keep cool by limiting their activity during the day, and licking their forearms to stay cool.

Platypus These are a kind of marsupial. They lay eggs, and the eggs are kept in their pouch. They are hatched without fur, and they lick milk up from the wall of the pouch.

Tasmanian Devil These were wiped out on the Australia mainland by Dingos. They now live only on the island of Tasmania. They are endangered due to a cancer that spreads when bitten by other Tasmanian Devils.