Oceania, New Zealand, Australia, & Antarctica Unit 8 World Geography

What is the dominant climate for Oceania, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica?

Oceania 0 No one knows how many islands exist in the Pacific Ocean, but some geographers estimate that there are more than 20,000! 0 As a group, the Pacific Islands are called Oceania 0 The Philippines, Indonesia, and other islands near the mainland are not considered part of Oceania because their people have cultural ties to Asia. 0 New Zealand and Australia are often considered part of Oceania even though Australia in a continent not just an Island.

Oceania 0 Made up more than 20,000 islands 0 3 Categories: 0 Melanesia  north of Australia; “black islands” 0 Micronesia  north of Melanesia & south of Japan; “tiny islands” 0 Polynesia  covers the area from Midway Island in the north to New Zealand in the south; “many islands”

Vanishing Islands 0 One reason geographers don’t know the exact number of islands in Oceania is because it changes over time. 0 Erosion causes some islands to vanish, while other forces create new islands. 0 Most islands fall into 1 of 2 categories; high islands and low islands 0 High islands- are created by volcanoes 0 Low islands- are made of coral reefs 0 All the islands added together would still be smaller than the area of Alaska!

Resources of Oceania 0 Oceania is NOT rich in natural resources 0 The low lands have poor soil and most of the islands lack minerals. 0 New Caledonia has nickel, chromium, and iron; New Guinea has copper, gold, and oil; Nauru has phosphate and both Fiji and the Solomon Islands have Gold. 0 The general scarcity of resources has made is difficult to develop industry.

New Zealand 0 New Zealand has two main islands; North Island and South Island. 0 Running down the center of the Island is a 300 mile long mountain range called the Southern Alps 0 North Island has hilly ranges and a volcanic plateau, but it is much less mountainous than South Island.

New Zealand Resources 0 Fertile farmland and forests for lumber industry. 0 Has natural harbors that are used for seaports 0 It has few mineral resources. 0 It’s swift flowing rivers have allowed its people to build dams that generate electricity. 0 Also North Island has a volcanic area with underground steam. 0 Engineers have found ways to use the steam to power generators.

Australia: Good Day Mate’! 0 Australia is the flattest and smallest continent on earth. 0 It has a chain of highlands that runs near it’s eastern coast called the Great Dividing Range. 0 Few of it’s peaks rise higher than 5,000 ft 0 Australia has very few rivers. 0 The largest is the Murray River, which flows into the Southern Ocean.

0 Mountain range effects Australia’s climate. 0 It forces moisture-bearing winds to rise and shed their rain before moving inland. 0 This results in the Eastern coast being more populated because the abundance of rain and cooler temperatures.

Australia’s Resources 0 Australia is rich in minerals. It is the world’s leading supplier of bauxite, diamonds, opals, lead and coal.

Great Barrier Reef 0 Along Australia’s northeast coast lies one of the wonders of nature. 0 The Great Barrier Reef is often called the world’s largest coral reef, although it is really a 1,250 mile chain of more than 2,500 reefs and islands. 0 Some 400 species of coral are found there. 0 The GBR is threatened by modern land-clearing and livestock grazing methods that cause tons of sediment to wash into the sea, and by toxic runoff from farmlands treated with pesticides and fertilizers.

0 1/3 of Australia is desert, lying in an oval in the center of the continent. 0 This region receives less than 10 inches of rain and year (why?) and is too dry for agriculture or grazing. 0 Very few people live in the interior. 0 Australians call this unpopulated interior region the outback.

Antarctica 0 Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, generally circular in shape, it is centered on the South Pole. 0 The landscape of Antarctica is hidden by a thick sheet of ice, but under the ice lays a varied landscape. 0 The Transantarctic Mountains divide the continent in two.

Antarctica’s Resources 0 Antarctica’s ice sheet is the largest supply of fresh water in the world. 0 Geologists believe that resources such as coal, minerals, and perhaps even petroleum may lie beneath the ice. 0 In 1991, 26 nations agreed not to mine Antarctica for 50 years.

White Desert 0 Antarctica is Earth’s driest and coldest continent. 0 In the winter, inland temperatures can fall to 70 degrees below zero or colder. 0 Cold air does not hold moisture well, so the air there has only 1/10 th the water vapor found in the atmosphere of temperate regions. 0 As a result, Antarctica receives little precipitation and is often called a polar desert, or white desert.