Geography

Australia has a land mass of nearly 7.7 million km², with a coastline of 36,735 km. It is the flattest and second driest continent, after Antarctica. It has extremes of landscape and climate, with vast plains and rainforests in the north, snowy mountains in the south east, arid desert in the centre, and fertile soils in the east, south and south west. About one third of the country lies in the tropics, and more than one fifth of its land area is desert. More than two thirds of Australia is classified as arid or semi-arid, and is unsuitable for settlement. The continent is one of the oldest land masses – the bedrock exposed by erosion is more than 3,000 million years old. The average elevation is less than 300 metres, compared with the world’s average of about 700 metres. The Australian Alps in the south east contain Australia’s highest ground, the highest point being Mount Kosciusko (2,228 metres), and the coldest regions are in the highlands of Tasmania and the south-eastern corner of the mainland. Australia is the only continent without current volcanic activity - the last eruption took place 1400 years ago at Mt. Gambier. The climate of Australia is influenced by ocean currents, and meterological conditions.