12 The world’s largest aquifer
LEGEND
The Great Artesian Basin
Groundwater is a very important source of water
in Australia’s arid and semi-arid regions. The Great
Artesian Basin (GAB) is the world’s largest and
deepest aquifer – it covers more than 1.7 million
square kilometres and is over 3,000 metres deep in
some parts. Water enters the system in the intake
areas. The oldest water in the GAB dates back
almost two million years. Mound springs are the
natural outlet of water from the aquifer. Indigenous
Australians followed the line of mound springs as
they travelled through the desert regions, as did
many of the early explorers.
Weipa
Cooktown
Cairns
Carpentaria
Basin
Tennant Creek
Northern
Territory
Townsville
Mount
Isa
Mackay
Longreach
Alice Springs
Emerald
Rockhampton
Queensland
Bundaberg
Eromanga
Basin
Surat
Basin
Bourke
Moree
Woomera
South Australia
Brisbane
Grafton
Kempsey
New South Wales
© Department of Environment and Resource Management 2011
© Judy Mraz
Use of the Great Artesian Basin Map was approved with permission of the Department
of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland 2011.
Great Artesian Basin
Intake Area
Concentration of Springs
Direction of Flow
Structural Ridges
The water in this mound spring has taken nearly two million years to flow from its source in north Queensland.
Water can take up to 1,000 years to move about one metre.
Questions
Where is the world’s largest aquifer located?
How large is it?
Compare its size to aquifers in the Arab region.
What is the name of the feature where water rises naturally to the surface?