Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 1 — Geography and climate 3
Introduction
Geography is the science of the earth’s
form, its physical features, climate and
population, and how they relate to each other.
The first part of this chapter describes Australia’s
land forms and topographic features and how
they were formed. The second part describes the
island continent’s wide range of climatic
conditions (further detail on these is contained in
the accompanying Centenary Article A hundred
years of science and service—Australian
meteorology through the twentieth century). The
third part discusses water resources, a major
factor in land form and climate which impacts on
many aspects of life in Australia.
Geography of Australia
Position and area
Australia comprises a land area of about 7,692,030
square kilometres (see table 1.1). The land lies
between latitudes 10°4l´South (Cape York) and
43°39´South (South East Cape, Tasmania) and
between longitudes 113°09´East (Steep Point,
Western Australia) and 153°39´East (Cape Byron,
New South Wales). The most southerly point on
the mainland is South Point (Wilson’s
Promontory) 39°08´South. The latitudinal
distance between Cape York and South Point is
about 3,180 kms, while the latitudinal distance
between Cape York and South East Cape,
Tasmania, is 3,680 kms. The longitudinal distance
between Steep Point and Cape Byron is about
4,000 kms.
The area of Australia is almost as great as that of
the United States of America (excluding Alaska),
about 50% greater than Europe (excluding the
former USSR) and 32 times greater than the
United Kingdom. Tables 1.2 and 1.3 show the
area of Australia in relation to areas of other
continents and selected countries.
1.1 AREA, COASTLINE, TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE ZONES, AND STANDARD TIMES
Estimated area % of total area Standard times
Total
Total area
Length of
coastline(a)
Tropical
zone
Temperate
zone
Meridian
selected
Ahead of
GMT(b)
State/Territory
km 2 %
km
hours
New South Wales 800 640 10.41 2 140 . . 100 150°E 10.0
Victoria 227 420 2.96 2 510 . . 100 150°E 10.0
Queensland(c) 1 730 650 22.5 13 350 54 46 150°E 10.0
South Australia 983 480 12.79 5 070 . . 100 142°30´E 9.5
Western Australia 2 529 880 32.89 20 780 37 63 120°E 8.0
Tasmania 68 400 .89 4 880 . . 100 150°E 10.0
Northern Territory 1 349 130 17.54 10 950 81 19 142°30´E 9.5
Australian Capital Territory 2 360 .03 . . . . 100 150°E 10.0
Jervis Bay Territory 70 . . 60 . . 100 150°E 10.0
Australia 7 692 030 100.00 59 740 39 61 . . . .
(a) Includes islands. (b) Greenwich Mean Time. During daylight saving periods, an hour should be added to the times in this
column. (c) Queensland does not have daylight saving.
Source: Bureau of Meteorology and AUSLIG.