Australia’s Unique Landforms and Drainage
Basins
Australia is the flattest continent, with an average height of only 330 metres
above sea level. It is also the driest inhabited continent with an average annual
precipitation of 450 millimetres and the lowest flow from its rivers compared with other
continents.
Major Physical Regions
Australia has three major physical regions: the Western Plateau, the Central
Lowlands and the Eastern Highlands.
Rivers and Drainage Basins
A catchment or drainage basin is an area of land that is drained by a river and its
tributaries. The dividing line between drainage basins is known as a watershed. Two of
the largest drainage basins in Australia are the Murray– Darling Basin and the Lake
Eyre Basin, which each cover an area of over 1 million square kilometres.
Instructions:
1.
Copy the notes which are italicized into your books.
2.
Choose either Uluru OR the Lake Eyre Basin, and explain why it makes
Australia unique. Unique means being the only one of its kind, what makes it
so different and special?