Deserts of Australia

Named deserts of Australia cover 1,371,000 square kilometres (529,000 sq mi), or 18% of the Australian mainland. However, additional areas are considered to have a desert climate based on low rainfall and high temperature. The largest of the landform types covering Australia, deserts â€" and their arid climatic conditions â€" are found primarily in the western plateau and interior lowlands of the country.

Deserts are not necessarily completely devoid of vegetation, but have large areas where vegetation is very limited in height or extent.

Deserts

Great Victoria Desert

The Great Victoria Desert lies in Western Australia and South Australia. It is over 800 kilometres (500 mi) wide and covers an area of 348,750 square kilometres (134,650 sq mi).

Gibson Desert

The Gibson Desert lies in central Western Australia. The desert is about 156,000 square kilometres (60,000 sq mi) in size. Most of the inhabitants of the area are Indigenous Australians.

Desert group

• Western Desert â€" a grouping of the Gibson Desert, the Great Sandy Desert, and the Little Sandy Desert.

Climate issues

Australia's climate is mostly determined by the hot, sinking air of the subtropical high pressure belt. Dry conditions are associated with an El Niñoâ€"Southern Oscillation in Australia. Vegetation in arid areas is primarily dependent upon soil type.

Extensive areas are covered by longitudinal dunes. Forty percent of Australia is covered by dunes. Central Australia is very dry, averaging 150 mm of rainfall each year.

Ecological issues

Many introduced species have affected the fauna and flora of Australia's desert regions. The Australian feral camel affects native vegetation. This is partly because Australian desert vegetation evolved without any major herbivores present. Uncontrolled access to more sensitive areas by four-wheel-drive vehicles is also an issue.

See also

• Irrigation in Australia

References

External links

• The Australian Landscape, A Cultural History - A four part program exploring the way Europeans and Aboriginal people have engaged with the desert, through art, science and religion, from ABC Radio National
• Encarta (Archived 2009-10-31)
• World Book
• World Wildlife Fund (2001). "Simpson desert". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08. 

Further reading

• Johnson, John & Catherine de Courcy.(1998) Desert Tracks Port Melbourne, Vic. Lothian Books. ISBN 0-85091-811-1