Australia Flashcards
Austral
of or relating to the south, in particular.
Maoris
a member of the aboriginal people of New Zealand.
Biogeography
the branch of biology that deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals.
West Wind Drift
a current in the southern hemisphere moving from west to east at approximately 40°-55°S, caused by prevailing western winds.
Subtropical Convergence
is the frontal zone which separates the subantarctic waters of the West Wind Drift from the subtropical waters in the north.
Wallace’s Line
is a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace that separates the ecozones of Asia and Wallacea, a transitional zone between Asia and Australia.
Unitary state
Unitary state - is a state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate.
Federal state
is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central (federal) government.
Outback
the remote and usually uninhabited inland regions of Australia.
Environmental degradation
is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife.
Import-substitution industries
is a trade and economic policy which advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production. ISI is based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialized products.
Primary sector
is the sector of an economy making direct use of natural resources.
Aboriginal land use
The legal campaign in which Australia’s indigenous peoples have claimed title to traditional land in several parts of that country. The courts have upheld certain claims, fueling Aboriginal activism that has raised broader issues of indigenous rights.
Peripheral development
Spatial pattern in which a country’s or region’s development (and population) is most heavily concentrated along its outer edges rather than in its interior.
Aboriginal population
Native or aboriginal peoples; often used to designate the inhabitants of areas that were conquered and subsequently colonized by the imperial powers of Europe.
