Australia Geography - 2024

Location

Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates

27 00 S, 133 00 E

Map references

Oceania

Area

total: 7,741,220 sq km

land: 7,682,300 sq km

water: 58,920 sq km

note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

25,760 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Terrain

mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation

highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,228 m

lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m

mean elevation: 330 m

Natural resources

alumina, coal, iron ore, copper, lithium, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, opals, natural gas, petroleum

note 1: Australia is the world's largest net exporter of coal accounting for 26.5% of global coal exports in 2021; coal is the country’s most abundant energy resource, and coal ranks as the second-largest export commodity from Australia in terms of revenue; in 2020, Australia held the third-largest recoverable coal reserves in the world behind the United States and Russia

note 2: Australia is by far the world's largest supplier of opals

note 3: Australia holds the largest uranium reserves in the world, and was the second-largest global uranium producer behind Kazakhstan in 2020.

note 4: Australia was the largest exporter of LNG in the world in 2020.

Land use

agricultural land: 46.65% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.03% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.04% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 42.58% (2018 est.)

forest: 17.42% (2018 est.)

other: 33.42% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

15,210 sq km (2020)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Alexandrina - 570 sq km

salt water lake(s): Lake Eyre - 9,690 sq km; Lake Torrens (ephemeral) - 5,780 sq km; Lake Gairdner - 4,470 sq km; Lake Mackay (ephemeral) - 3,494 sq km; Lake Frome - 2,410 sq km; Lake Amadeus (ephemeral) - 1,032 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

River Murray - 2,508 km; Darling River - 1,545 km; Murrumbidgee River - 1,485 km; Lachlan River - 1,339 km; Cooper Creek - 1,113 km; Flinders River - 1,004 km

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Great Australian Bight) Murray-Darling (1,050,116 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Eyre (1,212,198 sq km)

Major aquifers

Great Artesian Basin, Canning Basin

Population distribution

population is primarily located on the periphery, with the highest concentration of people residing in the east and southeast; a secondary population center is located in and around Perth in the west; of the States and Territories, New South Wales has, by far, the largest population; the interior, or "outback", has a very sparse population

Natural hazards

cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

volcanism: volcanic activity on Heard and McDonald Islands

Geography - note

note 1: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; the largest country in Oceania, the largest country entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, and the largest country without land borders

note 2: the Great Dividing Range that runs along eastern Australia is that continent’s longest mountain range and the third-longest land-based range in the world; the term "Great Dividing Range" refers to the fact that the mountains form a watershed crest from which all of the rivers of eastern Australia flow – east, west, north, and south

note 3: Australia is the only continent without glaciers; it is the driest inhabited continent on earth, making it particularly vulnerable to the challenges of climate change; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast and is one of the most consistent winds in the world; Australia is home to 10% of the world's biodiversity, and a great number of its flora and fauna exist nowhere else in the world