What will immediately strike you when visiting Australia is the vastness and the sheer diversity of the landscape in Australia. The geography of Australia is unique, not only due to its vastness, but also in terms of the diversities in the landscape. Australia may be the smallest continent of the world, but it is the sixth largest country as well. Flanked by the Indian ocean and the South Pacific ocean, the area measures about 4000 kilometers from the east to west coast and about 3200 kilometers from the north to south coast. Australia is spread over a total area of 7,686,850 square kilometers. Known for its biodiversity and different forms of landscape, what makes Australia stand out is its rough and tough terrain. Renowned the world over for some of its most beautiful and picturesque beaches, the length of the Australian coastline is about 25,760 kilometers. But as much as seventy five percent of the total area is commonly known as the outback region, with most of the Australian population residing in the eastern and southern coastlines.
The rocky, hard and flat land of the Western plateau makes it mostly an inhabitable region, though the region is marked by mountain ranges of MacDonnell ranges, Musgrave range and the Hamersley range. The terrain here is mostly dry, though there are large rivers of Ashburton and Victoria river running in the plateau. At the other end and the other extreme is the Eastern Highlands, marked by lush greenery, heavy rainfall and abundant resources. Consequently, the region is marked by the highest population density. Right off the eastern coast, lies the Great Barrier Reef, world's largest and the most beautiful coral reef. Thus, while the desert interiors are known for its typical outback culture and is mostly remote, most of the cattle and sheep ranches are located in the grasslands of eastern Australia. This extremity in the geography of Australia offers much scope of tourism in the country, both domestic and international. Adding to the diversities is also the mountain ranges, be it the snow peaks of Tasmania or the dry mountain ranges of the Central Lowlands or the Flinder ranges.
The vast geography of Australia also offers striking differences in the coastal region of the country and the inlands. Thus, the coastlines are one of the major tourist attractions in Australia, known for some of its most popular beaches. While most of the northern and the western territories in Australia are marked by a typical dry weather, Australia is home to the deepest and the largest fresh water basin, namely the Great Artesian Basin. Despite this, there are many cities in Australia suffering from the problem of acute water shortage. Despite the rough terrain, the continent is renowned for many geographical and geological wonders, some of which have become important tourist attractions. Some of these include the Bungle Bungles, Wave Rock, the Pinnacles, the Twelve Apostles, Uluru, Devils Marbles, the Walls of China, Magnetic Termite Wounds and the Lost City.
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