Geography (Semester 1) Flashcards
Australia is the ____ largest country in the world.
6th
Australia is the ____ largest continent in the world
7th
Is Australia the largest island in the world?
Yes
What is Australia referred to as?
island continent
What land masses comprise Australia?
Australia, Tasmania
What latitude and longitude is Australia located between?
27°00’S lat, 133°00’ E long
What oceans are Australia located between?
Indian, Pecific
Why is Australia called “the land down under”
- position in Southern hemisphere, below other countries on globe
How many time zones does Australia have?
3
What important latitude line runs through the middle of Australia?
Tropic of Capricorn
How wide is Australia, from east to west?
4000~km
How long is Australia, from its most northerly to southerly point?
3660km (approx.)
Where is Australia’s most southerly point located?
Tasmania
What is Australia’s nearest country?
Papua New Guinea
Is Australia wider east to west than north to south?
Yes
What shape does Australia have?
Oval
What area of water cuts into the Australian mainland in the north?
Gulf of Carpentaria
What area of water cuts into the Australian mainland in the south?
Great Australian Bight
How long is Australia’s coastline?
30 000km.
What is the area of Australia?
7.692 million km2
List the major landform regions in Australia?
- Coastal Plains
- Eastern Highlands
- Central Lowlands
- Western Plateau
Where are the Coastal Plains located?
Around Australia’s edge
List two features of the Coastal Plains?
- Narrow and discontinuous
- Take form of river valleys
Give an example of a river valley in the Coastal Plains.
Hunter Valley
What are the Eastern Highlands?
A series of tablelands and plateaus
Where is the Great Dividing Range located?
Eastern Highlands
List a feature of the Eastern Highlands?
- Mostly rugged because rivers have cut deep valleys
Provide an example of the Eastern Highlands.
Murray River
What are the Central Lowlands?
A vast area of flat, low-lying land
List the three drainage basins in the Central Lowlands, and their location in Australia.
- Carpentaria lowlands in the north
- Lake Eyre basin in the centre
- Murray-Darling Basin in the south
What is the Western Plateau?
A huge area of tablelands.
How far above sea level are the tablelands in the Western Plateau?
about 500m
What does the Western Plateau include?
An area of stony/sandy deserts.
Several rugged upland areas
Provide an example of an upland area in the Western Plateau.
Kimberly / MacDonnell range.
Australia is the _____ of all the world’s inhabited continents.
driest
What is Australia’s largest river system?
Murray-Darling
What are the two largest lakes in Australia?
Lake Eyre and Lake Torrens in South Australia?
What happens to the two largest lakes in Australia during dry seasons?
They become beds of salt and mud?
What is Australia’s driest state?
South Australia
What is a consequence of Australia’s driest state being so dry?
South Australia has very few permanent rivers or streams.
Tropical wet and dry
Hot all year, wet summers, dry winter
Tropical wet
Hot - wet for most of the year
Subtropical wet
Warm - rain all year
Subtropical dry winter
Warm all year, dry winter
Mild wet
Mild - rain all year
Subtropical dry summer
Warm all year, dry summers
Hot semidesert
Hot all year, 250-500mm of rain
Hot desert
Hot all year, less than 250mm of rain
How many climatic zones are there in Australia?
8
List the climatic zones in Australia.
- Tropical wet and dry
- Tropical wet
- Subtropical wet
- Subtropical dry winter
- Mild wet
- Subtropical dry summer
- Hot semidesert
- Hot desert
What percent of Australia has a rainfall of less than 600mm per year?
80%
What percent of Australia has a rainfall of less than 300mm per year?
50%
Why is Australia so dry?
The continent lies in an area dominated by high pressure for most of the year
In what direction do high pressure systems drift across the continent?
West to east
What systems drift across the continent?
High pressure systems
What are isobars?
Lines joining places of equal pressure
What do isobars that are close together indicate?
Strong winds
What do isobars that are far apart indicate?
Light winds
What’s a high pressure system?
An area of sinking air
What weather is associated with a high pressure system?
Fine weather
In what direction does wind in high pressure systems rotate?
Anti-clockwise
What’s a low pressure system?
An area of rising air
What weather is associated with a low pressure system?
Cloudy weather and a good chance of rain
In what direction does wind in low pressure systems rotate?
clockwise
What is a cold front?
Separates warm and cold air, with the cold air behind the front
What weather is associated with a cold front?
A fall in temperature
May bring rain and storms
What is a warm front?
Separates warm and cold air, with the warm air behind the front
What weather is associated with a warm front?
An increase in temperature
May bring light showers
Are the atmospheric conditions in Australia ideal for rainfall?
No
Where are the wettest parts of Australia?
In the northern and eastern coastal areas / west coast of Tasmania
What happens in Summer, in regards to troughs of low pressure?
A trough of low pressure can extend south from the Equator, bringing moist, unstable air in north-westerly winds over the area
What does the trough of low pressure in Summer lead to?
Widespread rain near the coast
What’s another name for widespread rain near the coast in Summer?
North-west monsoon
What happens during summer and autumn in the northern and eastern coastal areas?
Tropical cyclones can develop off the coast of northern Australia and bring heavy rain (especially to coastal areas)
What happens during winter in the northern and eastern coastal areas?
High pressure systems dominate the area, which brings dry stable air from the interior of Australia.
Thus, there is little rainfall.
The southern part of Australia has ________ in winter.
more rain
Why does the Southern part of Australia have more rain in winter?
Cold fronts and low pressure systems move north over the area and bring cold moist air and rain as cold fronts pass through.
Where does the heaviest rain occur in Australia?
Near the coastal margins (e.g. west coast)
Why do places near the Equator experience higher temperatures?
The sun’s rays that reach near the Equator have a smaller area to heat than rays reaching the Earth at higher latitudes.
Why do variations in temperature occur?
At higher latitudes on the Earth’s curved surface, solar radiation is spread more widely than at places at lower latitudes.
Places inland tend to be _____ in summer and _____ in winter than places on the coast.
warmer, cooler
Why are places inland warmer in summer and cooler in winter?
The ocean moderates temperature, and heats and cools more slowly than the land.
Thus, their temperatures vary less throughout the year.
In Winter, places near the ocean are ____ than places inland, where in summer they are ____.
warmer, cooler
40% of Australia is covered by ______ and _____.
grassland, shrubs
What vegetation dominates in higher rainfall areas?
Trees
Why is there a wide variety of vegetation?
Size and latitudinal extent of Australia.
What has happened in the medium to high rainfall areas, in regards to natural vegetation?
The vegetation has been cleared for agricultural and urban development.
Provide an example of a native animal in Australia?
Duck-billed platypus
What are the four types of natural hazards?
- Atmospheric
- Hydrological
- Geological
- Biological
Provide an example of atmospheric natural hazards
Cyclones, bushfire, hailstorms
Provide an example of hydrological natural hazards
flooding, wave action, glaciers
Provide an example of geological natural hazards
Earthquakes, volcanoes
Provide an example of biological natural hazards
Disease epidemics, plagues
How do humans, through their actions and locations influence natural hazards? Cite an example.
Humans may voluntary initiate natural hazards. For example, humans influence bushfires by being careless, or deliberately lighting them. Natural factors, such as the amount of fuel available or the strength and humidity of the wind serve to exacerbate this.
What does vulnerability to natural disasters vary according to?
- the location of the community and hazardous event
- the magnitude of the hazardous event
- the potential amount of damage
How can hazards be managed?
- by preparing for them
- by preventing them
- by recognising and responding to hazards quickly (so they don’t turn into disasters)
Give an example of preparing for a hazard.
Clearing vegetation around homes in bushfire-prone areas
Give an example of preventing a hazard.
Avoiding establishing settlements on flood plains
Give an example of a bushfire that occurred in Australia.
Black Saturday, Victoria 2009
What was the cost of Black Saturday?
$1.5 billion
How many buildings were destroyed?
3500
Give an example of a cyclone that occurred in Australia.
Cyclone Tracy, Darwin 1974
Give an example of a hailstorm that occurred in Australia.
Sydney 1999
Give an example of an earthquake that occurred in Australia?
Newcastle 1989
What is a drought?
A drought is a prolonged period of below average rainfall, when there is not enough water for users’ normal needs.
What does El Nino bring?
drought
What does La Nina bring?
floods
What is Australia’s population density?
2.9 per km2
Australia has one of the _____ population densities in the world
lowest
List the two ways populations grow
- Natural increase
- Migration
What is natural increase?
When the number of people born is higher than the number of people dying
Why has Australia’s population aged?
- Low crude death rate (7 per 1000)
- Low crude birth rate (12 per 1000)
- High life expectance (78M, 83F)
- Baby boomers reaching retirement age
- 25% women electing not to have children
What is the life expectancy of females and males in Australia?
78 - male
83 - female
What are the consequences of an aging population?
Tax payers will have to pay more money to support the aging population (pensions and health care)
How has government policy changed to accommodate the change in age structure?
- Paid parental leave and childcare rebate could increase fertility rate
- Increasing the retirement age and encouraging people to stay in work for longer alleviates aging population
What is migration?
The permanent or semi permanent movement of people from one location to another
What background dominated in 1788?
English
What encouraged people to migrate here?
Promise of sun and opportunities
What areas are indigenous Australians disadvantaged in?
Education, income, health, employment and housing
Where does the indigenous population live?
In rural and remote areas
Indigenous people have a different age-sex structure compared to the rest of Australia. How so?
- Higher fertility rate (2.1 babies per woman compared to 1.7)
- Higher death rate (3% of indigenous population of 65 compared to 13%)
- Younger total population
Are the proportions of men and women spread evenly across Australia?
Nope.
