FEATURES OF AUSTRALIA - NATURAL
TOP 5 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF AUSTRALIA
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF: The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's great natural wonders. It is the largest reef in the world and consists of around 3000 single reefs, 880 islands and hundreds and thousands of different types of plant, bird and aquatic life. The reef stretches over 2500km down the coast of Queensland; the majority of the reef is in tropical and sub-tropical regions, the northern part of the reef is in a tropical climate with hot wet summers with heaps of rain and humidity. The southern end the Great Barrier Reef is sub-tropical with milder summers and far less humidity. LAKE HILLIER: Lake Hillier is a pink-coloured lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands that make up the Recherche Archipelago off the coast of Esperance. From above the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink. The lake is about 600 meters long, and is surrounded by a rim of sand and dense woodland of paperbark and eucalyptus trees. No-one fully knows why the lake is pink, but scientists speculate that the colour comes from a dye created by bacteria that lives in the salt crusts. THE 3 SISTERS:Part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, these weathered sandstone peaks, formed over thousands of years, they tower more than 900 metres high among the cliffs of the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m). According to one Aboriginal legend, the pillars were once three beautiful sisters named 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and ‘Gunnedoo' who were turned into stone by a powerful tribal elder. The women had fallen in love with three brothers from another tribe, but were forbidden to marry under tribal law. The brothers decided to capture the three sisters, causing a major battle, and the elder turned the women into stone to protect them. HAMERSLEY RANGE: The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara, Western Australia. The range contains Western Australia's highest point, Mount Meharry, which reaches approximately 1,249 metres. Karijini National Park, is one of Australia's largest National Parks, is centered in the range. Features of the Ranges are the spectacular gorges dating back 2000 million years, carved by the waters of the rivers and seas that once stretched across those plains. The sheer walls of rock are layered in colours from red, green, blue and pink in the changing sunlight. The gorges are up to 100 meters deep, there is a trickling water flow at their bases sometimes only one meter wide, others have wide crystal clear pools reflecting the blue skies. MT KOSCIUSZKO: Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain on the Australian continent. It is not, however, the highest mountain on Australian territory. Mawson Peak on Heard Island, an Australian territory in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica and between Australia and Africa, is the highest peak in any state and territory in Australia. The Mount Kosciuszko area is the coldest and snowiest part of Australia, which is mostly an arid and hot continent. Snow covers the mountain from June through October |