Australian Geography

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What makes Australia unique?

While Australia is part of a global community, there are many features of the physical and human environments that make our country unique. This means that they do not exist anywhere else in the world. Taken together, these features give our country an identity which is readily recognised around the world as Australian.

-world's lowest continent

-geologically stable

-driest inhabited continent

-few large rivers and little runoff

-nutrient-poor soils

-fire-prone

-rich in minerals

-world's largest island

-world's largest coral reef

-world's largest sand island

-biologically diverse

-vegetation dominated by 2 types of trees: eucalyptus and acacia

-globally significant, ancient rainforests

-unique mammal fauna

A hazard is an event or object that is a potential source of harm to a community.

A disaster occurs as a result of a hazardous event that dramatically affects a community.

Climate is the average conditions that occur over longer periods of time.

Weather is the day to day conditions of the atmosphere.

High pressure systems

Sinking air, anti-clockwise rotation, wind spirals outwards, generally fine weather, gentle winds.

Low Pressure systems

Rising air, clockwise rotation, wind spirals inwards, generally cloudy weather and good chance of rain, relatively strong winds

Synoptic Charts

Isobars- lines joining places of equal atmospheric pressure

Wind strength and direction- shown using lines with small barbs or tails. Winds are named after the direction they come from.

Cold Front- Separates warm and cold air, with the cold air behind the front

Warm front- Separates warm and cold air, with the warm air behind the front

Cyclones

Tropical cyclones are intense low pressure systems that form over tropical waters. They are usually accompanied by gale-force winds and torrential rainfall.

Cyclones from in areas where there are ocean temperatures of 26 degrees of above. The air above the warm oceans is...