Australia/New Zealand:
Physical Geography

[The text of the following was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]

Australian weather is diverse with much of the region experiencing similar meteorological events as the United States (with the exception of snowfall-that is restricted to the mountains of the Great Dividing Range [auphysq] during the winter). Only 11 percent of Australia gets more than 40 inches (1015 mm) of rain a year [auprec] [aunzprec] [wdarable];  two-thirds of the country receives less than 20 inches [aunzprec] and is classified as Bw or Bs [aunzclim].  The core area is the humid east coast and small highland area of the Great Dividing Range [aupopden]  This region also has 50 percent of the country’s total population. 

The southwestern coastal region is classified as a Mediterranean climate (Csa/Csb) [aunzclim] while the northern coastal region is tropical monsoon and savanna.  The central and western part of Australia is the arid to semiarid region known locally as the "outback" or the "bush". 

The continent as a whole was once joined to Antarctica [Pangaea], as the easternmost part of Gondwana which broke up into modern continents about 230 million years ago.  Australia migrated to its present position in isolation, which allowed for the evolution of its unique flora and fauna. (See textbook, pp. 536-7.)

The bulk of Australia’s climate is Desert (Bwh) or Steppe (BSh/BSk) [aunzclim].  The desert is inhospitable, but contains many valuable mineral deposits.  The Core region alog the east coast [aupopden] coincides with Cfa climate [aunzclim] extending from between the Spine of the Great Dividing Raye to the East Coast and from the tropic of Capricorn [wwtropic] to Tasmania.  Adelaide to Perth is the Mediterranean climate (Csa/Csb) [aunzclim] and Far North Tropical Aw/Am. 

A Coastal rimland [aupopden] area with cities [asmapfb] giving way to a vast arid [auprec] interior locally known as the outback.  Large sheep herds, over 160 million sheep, are located along the western flanks of the Great Dividing Range.

From 1998 The World Factbook:

AUSTRALIA

Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Area:

• total: 7,686,850 sq km
• land: 7,617,930 sq km
• water: 68,920 sq km
• note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

Area—comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 25,760 km

Maritime claims:

• contiguous zone: 24 nm
• continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
• exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate [aunzprec]: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Terrain [auelev]: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation extremes:

• lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
• highest point: Mount Kosciusko 2,229 m

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Land use:

• arable land: 6% [wdarable]
• permanent crops: 0%
• permanent pastures: 54%
• forests and woodland: 19%
• other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 21,070 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts

Environment—current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

Geography—note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated [aupopden] along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer

NEW ZEALAND [nzmapfb]

Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

Area:

• total: 268,680 sq km
• land: 268,670 sq km
• water: 10 sq km
• note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Area—comparative: about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 15,134 km

Maritime claims:

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains

Elevation extremes:

• lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m

Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone

Land use:

• arable land: 9%
• permanent crops: 5%
• permanent pastures: 50%
• forests and woodland: 28%
• other: 8% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,850 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity

Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside

Geography—note: about 80% of the population lives in cities.