Lesson two:
Australia’s Diverse
Landscape
Australia is an island
An island is a
land mass
surrounded by
water.
Which oceans
and seas
surround
Australia?
Source: http://imglayer.net/map-of-australia-3/
Diverse landscape
Mountains
Rural areas
Coasts
Deserts
Urban
areas:
coast
al
cities
Lakes and rivers
Small towns and villages in inland areas
Diverse landscape
Physical features
The Australian continent is low, flat and dry
compared with other continents of the world.
It can be divided into four major landform
regions: the Coastal Plains, the Eastern
Highlands, the Central Lowlands and the
Western Plateau.
These landform regions have been created by
movements in the Earth's crust, river erosion
and changes in climate and sea level.
Map of landforms
Key questions to consider:
Which landform region covers the
largest area of Australia?
Which landform region do you think
is the lowest? Which is the highest?
Tasmania is the small island to the
south of the mainland, which
landform region is Tasmania in?
Western Plateau
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The Western Plateau covers about one third of the
continent. The word ‘plateau’ means flat area of
raised landscape.
This region of dry land includes ancient rocks, some
over 3.6 billion years old.
The region is relatively flat due to erosion, which has
affected the area for millions of years.
There are also some mountain ranges on the
Western Plateau found in areas with erosion-resistant
rocks.
70% of the Western Plateau is desert, and there are
also salt lakes.
Free-standing rocks
The Western Plateau has free-standing rocks,
including Uluru or Ayers Rock: a large sandstone
rock formation. It is 346m high and has a
circumference of 8km. It has great cultural
significance to indigenous Aboriginal Australians.
Ayers Rock Tour Continued © Peter Edgeler, Flickr
Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands cover 25% of Australia and are
very flat, low-lying plains of sedimentary rock.
Lake Eyre, the lowest point of the Australian
continent, is 15 metres below sea level and spreads
over almost 10 000 square kilometres.
The Central Lowlands receive the least amount of rain
a year out of all the regions and contain large deserts.
Wikipedia Commons
The Simpson Desert has 30-metre high red sand
dunes for hundreds of kilometres.
Simpson Desert Scrub © John Benwell, Flickr
Eastern Highlands:
The Great Dividing Range
This region of hills, valleys and mountains located to
the west of the coastal plains.
The Eastern Highlands are called the Great Dividing
Range because they divide rivers in Queensland, New
South Wales and Victoria into eastward-flowing and
westward-flowing rivers.
The Eastern Highlands are tall enough to affect the
climate in the rest of their region. They cause rain to
fall upon the coastal plains and keep the central
lowlands dry.
Eastern Highlands
Some of the mountains
are volcanic.
The Eastern Highlands
are also home to
gorges (valleys with
cliff walls). These
gorges were carved
into soft areas of rock
by streams and rivers.
Weano Gorge© Graeme Churchard. Flickr
Highlands in Australia
Australia's highest point is Mount
Kosciuszko in southern New
South Wales, is located in the
Eastern Highlands or Great
Dividing Range.
Compared with mountain ranges in
the rest of the world, the Eastern
Highlands are not very high at all.
At 2228 metres high, Mount
Kosciuszko is less than half the
height of Mount Blanc, the highest
mountain in Europe, and four times
smaller than Mount Everest, the
highest mountain in the world.
The top 10 highest
mountains in Australia
The Coastal Plains
A narrow strip of land along the eastern
coast of Australia.
This area is flat and has relatively high
rainfall. Australia's largest cities are all
located along the coastal plains.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Australian_PR_COB_2006.PNG
Main Activity
Use the overlay maps on your handout to answer the questions about
Australia’s physical geographical features, regions and landforms.
Plenary:
Famous landscapes
Plenary
Feedback your answers to the questions.
 Would you like to visit Australia? Which
landform region would you like to visit
most and why?
 Consider how Australia’s diverse natural
environment might be threatened and how
it can be protected in the future using the
next slide.
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Delicate landscapes:
Human activity affects the physical
environment
Kakadu National Park in the
Northern Territory suffers from
invasive species and toxicity
from mining.
The Great Barrier Reef
has also suffered damage
from discharge from
mining nearby.
Kakadu National Park © Jeremy Foster ,Flickr
Great Barrier Reef, Australia © eutrophication&hypoxia,Flickr