Geography of Australia. Australia is the driest continent in the world

Australia is the driest of the continents on Earth. It receives 5 times less precipitation than Africa, 8 times less than South America.

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Mainland Australia

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In total there are 14 presentations in the topic

"Mainland Africa" ​​- PHYSMINUTKA Game "Arms, legs, head" Hands - west-east, legs - south, head - north. Geographic location of Africa. OBJECTIVES: 1. Introduce the physical and geographical position of the mainland; 2. Learn to characterize the physical and geographical position of the mainland; 3. Continue to form the ability to work with cards.

"Mainland Australia" - The population of Australia. The most important industry, traditionally, is Agriculture. Australia. Australia occupies one of the first places in the world in terms of the number of fine-fleeced sheep. Australia is the most sparsely populated continent. Communication is well developed: telephone, radio, television, Internet. Australian Union.

"Southern Continents" - II Main stage 1. Motivation. The class is divided into groups. Flight pedagogical ideas Knows neither end nor limit... Applications. Check the readiness of your workplace. General Features geographical position of the southern continents. 3. Homework. Prepare a description of the GP of any island in the Southern Hemisphere using the plan.

"Australia mainland" - Alien. ? What an ocean. Tropical deserts and semi-deserts are located in the central and western parts of the mainland. Children attend co-ed schools. There are many plants and animals that cannot be found on other continents. Australia is entirely in the south. p. - (from lat. Australians strive to preserve the uniqueness of their nature.

"Mainland North America" ​​- 3. In which city does it fall the largest number rainfall and what season? Theme of the lesson: "North America". Climate North America. In summer, the temperature depends on the latitude of the area and increases when moving from north to south. Inland waters. Which city experiences the highest summer temperatures and why?

"Continents Grade 7" - Will I be able to answer questions? Let's think! How is the largest island different from the smallest mainland? 3. Answer the question: what is the difference between the concepts of "mainland" and "part of the world"? What is an island? Which continent has the deepest depression? Which continent is the highest? Read the material of the textbook "Views of the Islands".

Australia is the most arid mainland planets. Only 1/3 of its territory receives sufficient or excessive moisture. Overall, the continent receives five times less precipitation than Africa. Mainland Australia is three climatic zones: subequatorial, tropical and subtropical.

In summer, air temperatures in the deserts of Western Australia rise above + 30 ° С, in winter they stay within ° С. Precipitation is only about a mm, they fall irregularly, sporadically.

In the subtropical humid climate, precipitation falls throughout the year (mm or more); January temperatures are about +22°С, July - +6°С. The subtropical continental climate is characterized by low precipitation (mm per year) and rather sharp annual and daily temperature fluctuations.

Aboriginal people There are about 16 million people living in Australia. The modern population of the mainland consists of two groups - Aboriginal Australians and Anglo-Australians, immigrants from Europe who speak English language. Aborigines came to Australia about 40 thousand years ago from southeast Asia.

Australia differs from other continents of the globe in antiquity and unique originality of flora and fauna. They were formed under conditions of prolonged isolation of the mainland (since the Cretaceous period). Among plants endemics make up 75% of species. The most characteristic representatives of the flora of Australia are eucalyptus (more than 600 species), acacia (490 species) and casuarina (25 species). Among the eucalyptus trees there are giants reaching 150 m in height, as well as shrub forms. Araucaria, protea, southern beeches, tree ferns, palm trees and a number of other plants indicate the presence of land connections with other continents in the past.

The fauna of Australia is exceptionally peculiar. The fauna of the mainland has a pronounced relict character. Endemics make up 90% of total number animals of Australia. Only here the most primitive mammals (platypus and echidna) have been preserved. Greatest Variety marsupials gave species: giant kangaroos (up to 3 m high) and dwarf ones (up to 30 cm in size); koala - a marsupial bear, wombats - resemble our hamsters; marsupial predators and rodents, insectivorous and herbivorous marsupials.

There are 6 continents on our planet, each of which is completely different from all the others. For example, Eurasia is characterized by a variety climatic conditions, Antarctica is the coldest, and Africa, on the contrary, the hottest continent. South America is considered the wettest continent, but Australia is the driest continent on Earth.

The uniqueness of the continent

Australia is rightfully called a unique continent. It is the smallest in size and is located entirely in the southern hemisphere of the planet. On its territory you can find a huge number of endemic plants and animals. Significant areas of Australia are occupied by deserts.

This is the only continent in the world that is completely occupied by one state with the same name. Here is the smallest population density, which is only 1 person per 1 square km. Mostly populated are the east and southwest of the Australian continent, which is associated with adverse conditions to live in other areas.

Causes of dry climate

Why is Australia the driest continent? The fact is that the tropical climate prevails on the continent. A significant part of the mainland is exposed to dry tropical masses throughout the year, so precipitation is extremely rare here. Over the tropics, areas of high atmospheric pressure, under the influence of which the air sinks down, becoming dry. As a result, it is always clear and there is practically no precipitation.

A large area of ​​the continent receives less than 250 mm of precipitation throughout the year. Compared to the European climate, this is several times less. However, the Australian climate is much warmer, so the air is much drier than in Europe. In some regions of Australia, the air temperature during dry periods can reach +60 degrees.

The currents of the ocean that surrounds the mainland are located in such a way that they are able to dry it even more, taking on streams of moist air. Winds in most cases do not blow from the ocean coast, but from the desert, carrying with them dry and hot air. Because of this, droughts often occur on the mainland.

Scientists identify another reason for the high dryness of Australia - the mountains that are located in the eastern part of the mainland. The continent is dominated by trade winds that blow from the tropics towards the equator. Heading from the Pacific region to the mainland, the winds encounter an obstacle in the form of mountains, therefore, having risen up their slope, they fall in the form of rain on the coast from the eastern part of the mainland. And the air that nevertheless penetrates deep into the continent turns out to be dried up and cannot give precipitation.

What causes a dry climate

Due to the fact that in most of Australia the air is dry, here significant areas are occupied by deserts and semi-deserts, including the Gibson, Victoria, etc. Deserts. They occupy the central part of the continent and the Western Australian Plateau. From the western, eastern and northern parts, the deserts are surrounded by savannas.

In the area where Lake Eyre, nicknamed the “dead heart of the continent”, is located, relative humidity never exceeds 20-30%, and the amount of precipitation per year does not exceed 125 mm.

At the same time, about 1500-2000 mm of precipitation falls in the northern part of the mainland. The rainy season is mostly summer time. The air temperature during this period averages 20 degrees, while during the dry season it can exceed 30 degrees even at night.

There are very few rivers and other natural water bodies in Australia and they mainly originate in the Great Dividing Range. The Murray River with its tributary Darling are the largest waterways of the continent. AT northern regions mainland, where the subequatorial climate prevails, there are also a few small rivers that dry up completely during dry seasons.

Animal and plant world

To survive in such conditions, representatives of the flora and fauna had to adapt. For example, eucalyptus has dense sheets for this, which turn to the sun only with an edge, which helps to avoid excessive evaporation of moisture. And they are helped to extract water by ten-meter roots that can penetrate deep into the earth. Eucalyptus leaves contain a lot of essential oils, which is why the thickets of these plants are very susceptible to fires, which is not surprising for a place with such high temperature and low humidity.

Acacias, spinifex, quinoa grow in desert areas, and the prickly pear cactus brought to the continent grew very quickly, becoming a real weed.

Australia is home to many varieties of birds, insects and reptiles. Among the inhabitants of the desert, the Moloch lizard is unique. From above, her body is completely covered with spikes and growths. A feature of this reptile was the ability to absorb moisture through the skin.

AT northern regions continent vegetable and animal world more varied. In the local forests live koalas, platypuses, different kinds parrots, echidnas, wombats and kangaroos.

Agriculture in Australia is developed only in the northern part of the continent, where there are all conditions for this. Savannahs are used by people for grazing livestock.

Dry Australia

Let Australia and the arid mainland, but the continent has preserved a unique plant and natural world. Nowhere else on the planet do platypuses and kangaroos live, tree-like palm trees do not grow.

The driest continent in the globe– Australia. But his titles, which refer to "the most", do not end there. Australia is also the smallest piece of the continent, and its discovery was only in the 7th century. Australia is also the only place on earth where unique animals have been preserved.

They began to develop Australia only at the end of the 18th century. The English government of that time began to develop the territory in a rather peculiar way: they sent English convicts there to settle. Sydney - a large Australian city - arose as a colony of convicts.

Mainland scales

The shores of the mainland are washed by two oceans: Indian and Pacific. The sizes are "tiny" - in comparison with other continents - only 8.9 million square kilometers. For comparison, Eurasia is 6 times larger. If you look at the globe from top to bottom - Australia will be located in the south. It also occupies the Eastern Hemisphere.

From south to north, the length of the continent: 3200 km, from east to west - 4100. According to the latest data, Australia is inhabited by 24,000,000 people, and they all live in one state - the Commonwealth of Australia. More states on the territory of the continent did not fit. The capital city of the country is Canberra.

80% of the population are Anglo-American settlers, 1% of local residents are Aborigines. All the rest are immigrants from other countries. Aborigines live mostly on reservations. The population occupies the eastern and southeastern territories, places where precipitation falls.

Summer in Australia

As with all countries of the Southern Hemisphere, summer in Australia begins when it is winter in Eurasia. Accordingly, the winter of the Southern Hemisphere is the summer of the Northern. If you look at average temperatures, then in summer it is plus 20 degrees Celsius, and in winter 12. The lowest temperature in the mountains is fixed at about minus 12 degrees, in the plains up to minus 4.

Rains in Australia fall mainly in the north or east of the continent, in other places they almost never happen. The climate of the continent is determined by four zones: tropical, subtropical, subequatorial and temperate.

Australian platform

At the heart of Australia is a platform that is still in constant motion: it lowers and rises. Now the mainland is considered one of the calmest in terms of the seismic situation, its relief is quite flat and somewhat boring. In the eastern part is the Great Dividing Range. According to geologists, Australia is "stuffed" with minerals. What is not in its bowels: bauxite, iron ore, uranium, bauxite and diamonds. The deposits of diamonds are the richest, stones of amazing purity. Australia is an arid continent because there are no large rivers. The most big river- Murray, has a tributary Darling. But full-flowing rivers are only in the rainy season, in a dry summer the water level drops significantly.

There are many underground lakes on the continent, but most of the water bodies are endorheic - like ponds. Their water is salty. One of the largest lakes is Lake Eyre. It is located 12 meters below sea level.

People living in Australia cherish their arid continent and its unique nature. Created on the continent National parks where people are only guests. and the hosts are animals and plants.