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Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere. Relief map showing major rivers of Australia Climate of Australia. The Australian environment ranges from virtually pristine Antarctic territory and rainforests to degraded industrial areas of major cities. Forty distinct ecoregions have been identified across the Australian mainland and islands.
Heatwaves, or consecutive days of extreme temperatures, are also prominent in Australia. They are the deadliest natural disasters in Australia, accounting for more deaths than bushfires, cyclones, earthquakes, floods and severe storms combined. [25] Extreme temperatures are defined as days where the peak temperature is greater than 35 degrees.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, [17] is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. [18] Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km 2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania .
Aboriginal Australians of the desert produced many important artists, one of the first and most famous being Albert Namatjira, who was born in Hermannsburg in the Great Sandy Desert. [20] About a third of Australia's deserts are now Aboriginal lands. A very large part of it is managed by them as a nature reserve.
Prominent features of the Australian flora are adaptations to aridity and fire which include scleromorphy and serotiny. These adaptations are common in species from the large and well-known families Proteaceae , Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus - gum trees), and Fabaceae (Acacia - wattle).
Uluru and Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks [2] and has been a popular destination for tourists since the late 1930s. It is also one of the most important indigenous sites in Australia.
Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. [2] Australia accepted the ...
The range's natural ecology is protected by large national parks, in particular the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and the adjoining Alpine National Park in Victoria. These are managed cooperatively as the Australian Alps National Parks by agencies of the Australian government and the state governments of this region.