Australia: natural areas. Deserts of Australia, Great Victoria Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami, Gibson Desert, Simpson Desert Description of the natural area of ​​the desert and semi-desert of Australia

And semi-deserts are specific natural areas, the main hallmark which is drought, as well as poor flora and fauna. Such a zone can form in all climatic zones - the main factor is the critically low amount of precipitation. Deserts and semi-deserts are characterized by a climate with a sharp daily temperature difference and a small amount of precipitation: no more than 150 mm per year (in spring). The climate is hot and dry, it evaporates without having time to soak into. Temperature fluctuations are characteristic not only for the change of day and night. The temperature difference between winter and summer is also very large. The general background of weather conditions can be defined as extremely severe.

Deserts and semi-deserts are waterless, dry regions of the planet, where no more than 15 cm of precipitation falls per year. The most important factor in their formation is the wind. However, not all deserts experience hot weather; on the contrary, some of them are considered the coldest regions of the Earth. Representatives of flora and fauna have adapted to the harsh conditions of these areas in different ways.

Sometimes the air in deserts in summer reaches 50 degrees in the shade, and in winter the thermometer drops to minus 30 degrees!

Such temperature fluctuations cannot but affect the formation of the flora and fauna of the semi-deserts of Russia.

Deserts and semi-deserts are found in:

• The tropical belt is a large part of such territories - Africa, South America, the Arabian Peninsula of Eurasia.
• subtropical and temperate zone- South and North America Central Asia, where the low percentage of precipitation is complemented by the features of the relief.

There is also a special type of desert - the Arctic and Antarctic, the formation of which is associated with a very low temperature.

There are many reasons for the formation of deserts. For example, the Atacama Desert receives little rainfall because it is located at the foot of the mountains, which cover it from rain with their ridges.

Ice deserts formed for other reasons. In Antarctica and the Arctic, the main snow mass falls on the coast; snow practically does not reach the interior regions. Precipitation levels generally vary greatly, for one snowfall, for example, an annual norm can fall. Such snow drifts form over hundreds of years.

natural area desert

Climate features, desert classification

This natural zone occupies about 25% of the planet's land mass. In total there are 51 deserts, of which 2 are icy. Almost all deserts were formed on the most ancient geological platforms.

General signs

The natural zone called “desert” is characterized by:

• flat surface;
• critical volume of precipitation(annual rate - from 50 to 200 mm);
• rare and specific flora;
• peculiar fauna.

Deserts are often found in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, as well as tropical and subtropical. The relief of such an area is very heterogeneous: it combines highlands, insular mountains, small hills and layered plains. Basically, these lands are drainless, but sometimes a river can flow through part of the territory (for example, the Nile, Syrdarya), and there are also drying lakes, the outlines of which are constantly changing.

Important! Almost all desert areas are surrounded by mountains or are located next to them.

Classification

Deserts are of different types:

• Sandy. Such deserts are characterized by dunes and sandstorms often occur. The largest is the Sahara, characterized by loose light ground, which is easily blown by the winds.
• Clayey. They have a smooth clay surface. They are found in Kazakhstan, the western part of Betpak-Dala, on the Ustyurt plateau.
• rocky. The surface is represented by stones and rubble, which forms placers. For example, Sonora in North America.
• saline. The soil is dominated by salts, the surface often looks like a salt crust or a bog. Distributed on the coast of the Caspian Sea, in Central Asia.
• arctic- located in the Arctic and Antarctica. They are snowless or snowy.

Climatic conditions

The desert climate is warm and dry. The temperature depends on geographical location: the maximum +58°C was recorded in the Sahara on 09/13/1922. A distinctive feature of the desert area is a sharp temperature drop of 30-40°C. During the day the average temperature is +45°C, at night - +2-5°C. In winter, in the deserts of Russia, it can be frosty with little snow.

In desert lands it is characterized by low humidity. Here there are often strong winds at a speed of 15-20 m/s or more.

Important! The driest desert is the Atacama. There has been no precipitation on its territory for more than 400 years.

Flora

The desert flora is very sparse, mostly sparse shrubs that can extract moisture deep in the soil. These plants are specially adapted to live in hot and dry habitats. For example, a cactus has a thick, waxy outer layer to keep water from evaporating. Sagebrush and desert grasses need very little water to survive. Plants of deserts and semi-deserts have adapted to protect themselves from animals by growing sharp needles and thorns. Their leaves are replaced by scales and spines or covered with hairs that protect the plants from excessive evaporation. Almost all sand plants have long roots. In sandy deserts, in addition to grassy vegetation, there is also shrubby vegetation: zhuzgun, sand acacia, teresken. Shrub plants are low and slightly leafy. Saxaul also grows in deserts: white - on sandy, and black - on alkaline soils.

Most desert and semi-desert plants bloom in spring, reproducing flowers until the onset of hot summer. During wet winter and spring years, semi-desert and desert plants can produce surprisingly many spring flowers. In the desert canyons, on the rocky mountains, pine trees coexist, junipers and sage grow. They provide shelter from the scorching sun for many small animals.

The least known and underestimated species of desert and semi-desert plants are lichens and cryptogamous plants. Cryptogamous or mystogamous plants - spore fungi, algae, ferns, bryophytes. Cryptogamous plants and lichens need very little water to survive and live in dry, hot climates. These plants are important because they help stop erosion, which is very important for all other plants and animals because it helps keep the soil fertile during high winds and hurricanes. They also add nitrogen to the soil. Nitrogen is important nutrient for plants. Cryptogamous plants and lichens grow very slowly.

In clay deserts, annual ephemera and perennial ephemeroids grow. In solonchaks - halophytes or saltworts.

One of the most unusual plants that grow in such an area is saxaul. It often moves from place to place under the influence of the wind.

Fauna

The animal world is also not numerous - reptiles, spiders, reptiles or small steppe animals (hare, gerbil) can live here. Of the representatives of the order of mammals, a camel, an antelope, a kulan, a steppe ram, a desert lynx live here.

To survive in the desert, animals have a specific sandy coloration, they can run fast, dig holes and for a long time live without water, are preferably nocturnal.

Of the birds, you can meet a crow, a saxaul jay, a desert chicken.

Important! In sandy deserts, there are sometimes oases - this is a place that is located above the cluster groundwater. There is always dense and abundant vegetation, ponds.

Characteristics of the climate, flora and fauna of the semi-desert

Semi-desert is a type of landscape that is an intermediate option between desert and steppe. Most of them are located in the temperate and tropical zones.

General signs

This zone is distinguished by the fact that there is absolutely no forest on it, the flora is rather peculiar, as is the composition of the soil (very mineralized).

Important! There are semi-deserts on all continents except Antarctica.

Climatic conditions

They are characterized by a hot and long summer period with a temperature of about 25°C. Evaporation here is five times higher than the level of precipitation. There are few rivers and they often dry up.

In the temperate zone, they run in an unbroken line across Eurasia in an east-west direction. In the subtropical zone, they are often found on the slopes of plateaus, highlands and plateaus (Armenian Highlands, Karru). In the tropics, these are very large areas (Sahel zone).

Flora

The flora of this natural zone is uneven and sparse. It is represented by xerophytic grasses, sunflowers and wormwood, ephemerals grow. On the American continent, cacti and other succulents are most common, in Australia and Africa - xerophytic shrubs and stunted trees (baobab, acacia). Here vegetation is often used to feed livestock.

In the desert-steppe zone, both steppe and desert plants are common. The vegetation cover is mainly made up of fescue, wormwood, chamomile, and hairy feather grass. Often wormwood occupies large areas, creating a dull monotonous picture. In some places, kokhiya, ebelek, teresken, and quinoa grow among the wormwood. Where groundwater comes close to the surface, thickets of brilliant chia come across on saline soils.

The soil, as a rule, is poorly developed, and water-soluble salts predominate in its composition. Among the soil-forming rocks, ancient alluvial and loess-like deposits predominate, which are processed by winds. Gray-brown soil is inherent in elevated flat areas. Deserts are also characterized by solonchaks, that is, soils that contain about 1% of easily soluble salts. In addition to semi-deserts, salt marshes are also found in steppes and deserts. Groundwater, which contains salts, when it reaches the soil surface, is deposited in its upper layer, resulting in soil salinization.

Fauna

The animal world is quite diverse. It is mostly represented by reptiles and rodents. The mouflon, antelope, caracal, jackal, fox and other predators and ungulates also live here. The semi-deserts are home to many birds, spiders, fish and insects.

Protection of natural areas

Part of the desert areas are protected by law and are recognized as nature reserves and national parks. Their list is quite large. From the deserts man guards:

• Etosha;
• Joshua Tree (in Death Valley).

From the semi-deserts are subject to protection:

• Ustyurt Reserve;
• Tiger beam.

Important! The Red Book includes such desert inhabitants as serval, mole rat, caracal, saiga.

Economic activity

The climatic features of these zones are unfavorable for economic life, but throughout history, entire civilizations have developed in the desert zone, for example, Egypt.

Special conditions made it necessary to look for a way to graze livestock, grow crops and develop industry. Taking advantage of the available vegetation, sheep are usually grazed in such areas. Bactrian camels are also bred in Russia. Farming here is possible only with additional irrigation.

The development of technological progress and not limitlessness of reserves natural resources, led to the fact that man reached the deserts. Scientific research has shown that in many semi-deserts and deserts there are considerable reserves of natural resources, such as gas, precious. The need for them is constantly increasing. Therefore, being equipped with heavy equipment, industrial tools, we are going to destroy previously miraculously untouched territories.

1. The two largest deserts on planet Earth are Antarctica and the Sahara.
2. The height of the highest dunes reaches 180 meters.
3. The driest and hottest area in the world is Death Valley. But, nevertheless, more than 40 species of reptiles, animals and plants live in it.
4. Approximately 46,000 square miles of arable land turns into desert every year. This process is called desertification. According to the UN, the problem threatens the lives of more than 1 billion people.
5. Passing through the Sahara, people often see mirages. To protect travelers, a map of mirages was drawn up for caravaners.

The natural zones of deserts and semi-deserts are a huge variety of landscapes, climatic conditions, flora and fauna. Despite the harsh and cruel nature of the deserts, these regions have become home to many species of plants and animals.

Despite the fact that Australia is the smallest continent on the planet, it surprises with the diversity of its nature. Changes in the balance of moisture and heat depend on the latitude of the area. This is manifested in the conditional division of the mainland into territories with characteristic types soils, animals and plants - natural areas of Australia.

The division of the mainland into natural complexes

Australia is divided into four zones, which replace each other depending on the ratio of humidity and heat. The pronounced latitudinal zonality is due to the prevailing flat relief, which only in the east turns into mountain slopes.

The central position on the Australian continent is occupied by a zone of deserts and semi-deserts, located in the tropical zone. It is she who occupies half of all Australian land.

Table Natural areas of Australia

A characteristic feature of Australia is the amazing originality of nature, which consists in a large number of endemic species, both among plants and among animals. Only on this continent you can meet unusual representatives of flora and fauna, which have not found distribution anywhere else in the world.

Features of natural complexes

In Australia, the most impressive is the zone of deserts and semi-deserts - it occupies the largest territory and is located in the tropical zone.

This natural complex is characterized by very scarce precipitation, which evaporates very quickly in a hot climate. It is not surprising that Australia is often called the continent of deserts, because there are 5 large desert territories here:

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

• Victoria - the largest desert of the Australian continent, occupies 424 thousand square meters. km.
• sandy desert - the second largest wasteland. Here is the famous Australian national park Aires Rock attracts tourists from all over the world.
• Tanami - unlike most deserts, it is characterized by a sufficient number of rainy days. However, due to the intense heat, precipitation evaporates very quickly. In the desert, gold mining is underway.
• Gibson Desert - its soils are strongly weathered and very rich in iron.
• Desert Simpson - the driest Australian desert, which is famous for its bright red sands

Rice. 1. Red Sands of the Simpson Desert

The vegetation of this zone is very poor, however, here you can also find drought-resistant cereals and grasses, salt-tolerant varieties of trees.

Animals of the desert zone were able to adapt to life in harsh conditions. Some of them, hiding from the heat, burrow into the soil: marsupial varieties of rats, moles, jerboas. Reptiles hide in rocks and crevices of stones. Large mammals such as the dingo dog and kangaroo run great distances in search of moisture and food.

With advancement to the east, the tropical desert zone is replaced by the savannah zone. The flora of this natural complex is already somewhat richer, but here, too, an insufficient amount of moisture is still felt.

There are three types of Australian savannas, which replace each other as humidity decreases:

• deserted;
• typical;
• wet.

The Australian savannah is a large flat area with grasses, thorny bushes and separately standing trees or groves of acacias, eucalyptus, casuarina.

Rice. 2. Casuarina - a typical Australian plant

Typical representatives of the Australian savannah are all kinds of marsupials and wombats. Birds are represented by bustards, Emu ostriches, budgerigars. Lots of termites.

In the wild nature of Australia you will not meet herbivorous ungulates. They were "replaced" by kangaroos, numbering more than 60 species. These animals are champions in high-speed running and jumping. The kangaroo, like the emu, is the national symbol of Australia.

Rice. 3. Australian kangaroo

In the east of the mainland there is a mountain system - the Great Dividing Range, on the slopes of which there are two forest zones:

• evergreen forests;
• constantly wet forests.

Palm trees, ferns, ficuses, eucalyptus grow here in great abundance. The fauna of these zones is somewhat richer and is represented by small predators, various types of reptiles, koala, platypus, and echidna.

What have we learned?

We learned which natural zone is dominant on the mainland - this is tropical desert and semi-deserts. It is replaced by savannahs and light forests, which smoothly pass into the zone of evergreen and constantly wet forests. A characteristic feature of the nature of Australia is the presence of a large number of endemics among plants and animals.

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Australia is often called the continent of deserts, because. about 44% of its surface (3.8 million sq. km) is occupied by arid territories, of which 1.7 million sq. km. km - desert.

Even the rest is seasonally dry.

This allows us to say that Australia is the most arid continent on the globe.

Deserts of Australia is a complex of desert regions located in Australia.

The deserts of Australia are located in two climatic zones - tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupied by the last zone.

Great Sandy Desert

Great Sandy Desert or Western desert- sandy-saline desert in the north-west of Australia (state of Western Australia).

The desert has an area of ​​360,000 km² and is located approximately within the boundaries of the Canning sedimentary basin. Extends 900 km from west to east from Eighty Mile Beach on the shore indian ocean deep into the Northern Territories to the Tanami Desert, as well as 600 km north to south from the Kimberley region to the Tropic of Capricorn, passing into the Gibson Desert.

It gently decreases to the north and west, the average height in the southern part is 400-500 m, in the north - 300 m. The predominant relief is ridges of sand dunes, the average height of which is 10-12 m, the maximum height is up to 30 m Ridges up to 50 km long are elongated in the latitudinal direction, which is determined by the direction of the prevailing trade winds. The region contains numerous salt marsh lakes, occasionally filled with water: Disappointment in the south, Mackay in the east, Gregory in the north, which is fed by the Sturt Creek.

The Great Sandy Desert is the hottest region in Australia. In the summer period from December to February, the average temperature reaches 35 ° C, in winter - up to 20--15 ° C. Precipitation is rare and irregular, mainly brought by the summer equatorial monsoons. About 450 mm of precipitation falls in the northern part, up to 200 mm in the southern part, most of it evaporates and seeps into the sands.

The desert is covered with red sands, thorny xerophytic grasses (spinifex, etc.) mainly grow on the dunes. The dune ridges are separated by clay-saline plains, on which acacia bushes (in the south) and undersized eucalyptus trees (in the north) grow.

There is almost no permanent population in the desert, with the exception of several groups of aborigines, including the tribes of Karadyeri (Karadjeri) and Ngina (Nygina). It is assumed that the bowels of the desert may contain minerals. In the central part of the region is the Rudall River National Park, in the far south is the listed world heritage Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Europeans first crossed the desert (from east to west) and described it in 1873 under the leadership of Major P. Warburton. The 1,600 km long Canning Stock Route runs through the desert region in a northeasterly direction from the city of Wiluna through Disappointment Lake to Halls Creek. In the northeastern part of the desert is Wolf Creek Crater.

Great Victoria Desert

The Great Victoria Desert is a sandy-saline desert in Australia (the states of Western Australia and South Australia).

The name in honor of Queen Victoria was given by the British explorer of Australia Ernest Giles, who in 1875 was the first European to cross the desert.

The area is 424,400 km², while the length from east to west is more than 700 km. To the north of the desert is the Gibson Desert, to the south is the Nullarbor Plain. Due to unfavorable climatic conditions (arid climate), there is no agricultural activity in the desert. It is a protected area in Western Australia.

The Mamungari Protected Area, one of Australia's 12 biosphere reserves, is located in the desert in the state of South Australia.

The average annual rainfall varies from 200 to 250 mm of rain. Thunderstorms often occur (15-20 per year). Daytime temperature in summer is 32-40 °C, in winter 18-23 °C. Snow never falls in the desert.

The Greater Victoria Desert is inhabited by several Australian Aboriginal groups, including the Kogara and Myrning tribes.

Gibson Desert

The Gibson Desert is a sandy desert in Australia (in the center of the state of Western Australia), located south of the Tropic of Capricorn, between the Great Sandy Desert in the north and the Great Victoria Desert in the south.

The Gibson Desert has an area of ​​155,530 km² and is located within a plateau, which is composed of Precambrian rocks and covered with gravel resulting from the destruction of an ancient ferruginous shell. One of the first explorers of the region described it as "a huge hilly desert of gravel." The average height of the desert is 411 m, in the eastern part there are residual ridges up to 762 m high, composed of granites and sandstone. From the west, the desert is bounded by the Hamersley Range. In the western and eastern parts it consists of long parallel sandy ridges, but in the central part the relief is leveled off. In the western part lie several salt lakes, including Lake Disappointment with an area of ​​330 km², which is located on the border with the Great Sandy Desert.

Precipitation falls extremely irregularly, their amount does not exceed 250 mm per year. Soils are sandy, rich in iron, strongly weathered. In places there are thickets of veinless acacia, quinoa and spinifex grass, which bloom with bright flowers after rare rains.

On the territory of the Gibson Desert in 1977, a reserve (Eng. Gibson Desert Nature Reserve) was organized, the area of ​​​​which is 1,859,286 hectares. The reserve is home to a variety of desert animals such as large bilbies (threatened with extinction), red kangaroos, emu, Australian moose, striped grass wren moloch. Lake Disappointment and neighboring lakes, emerging after rare rains, flock to birds in search of protection from the arid climate.

Inhabited mainly by Australian Aborigines, the desert area is used for extensive grazing. The desert was discovered in 1873 (or 1874) by the English expedition of Ernest Giles, who crossed it in 1876. The name of the desert was in honor of a member of the expedition Alfred Gibson, who died in it while searching for water.

Small Sandy Desert

The Little Sandy Desert is a sandy desert in Western Australia (Western Australia).

Located south of the Great Sandy Desert, in the east it passes into the Gibson Desert. The name of the desert is due to the fact that it is located next to the Great Sandy Desert, but is much smaller. According to the characteristics of the relief, fauna and flora, the Small Sandy Desert is similar to its large "sister".

The area of ​​the region is 101 thousand km². The average annual precipitation, which falls mainly in the summer, is 150-200 mm, the average annual evaporation is 3600-4000 mm. The average summer temperatures range from 22 to 38.3 ° C, in winter this figure is 5.4 - 21.3 ° C. The internal flow, the main watercourse, Savory Creek, flows into Lake Disappointment, located in the northern part of the region. There are also several small lakes in the south. The sources of the Rudall and Cotton rivers are at the northern borders of the region. Spinifex grass grows behind red sand soils.

Since 1997, several fires have been recorded in the region, the most significant was in 2000, when 18.5% of the region's area was affected. About 4.6% of the territory of the bioregion has a conservation status.

There are no large settlements within the desert. Most of the land belongs to the natives, their largest settlement is Parnngurr. Through the desert in a northeasterly direction is the 1,600 km long Canning Cattle Trail, the only route through the desert that runs from the city of Viluna through Lake Disappointment to Halls Creek.

Simpson Desert

The Simpson Desert is a sandy desert in central Australia for the most part located in the southeast corner of the Northern Territory, and a small part in the states of Queensland and South Australia.

It has an area of ​​\u200b\u200b143 thousand km², from the west it is bounded by the Finke River, from the north by the McDonnell Range and the Plenty River, from the east by the Mulligan and Diamantina rivers, and from the south by the large salt lake Eyre.

The desert was discovered by Charles Sturt in 1845 and in a 1926 drawing by Griffith Taylor, together with the Sturt Desert, was named Arunta. After surveying the area from the air in 1929, geologist Cecil Medigen named the desert after Allen Simpson, president of the South Australian Chapter of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. It is believed that the first of the Europeans to cross the desert Medigen in 1939 (on camels), but in 1936 it was made by the expedition of Edmund Albert Colson.

In the 1960s and 80s, oil was searched unsuccessfully in the Simpson Desert. At the end of the 20th century, the desert became popular with tourists, and excursions in four-wheel drive vehicles are of particular interest.

Soils are predominantly sandy with parallel dune ridges, sandy-pebbly in the southeastern part, and clayey near the shores of Lake Eyre. Sand dunes 20-37 m high stretch from northwest to southeast for distances of up to 160 km. In the valleys between them (width 450 m) spinifex grows, which fixes sandy soils. There are also xerophytic shrub acacias (veinless acacia) and eucalyptus trees.

The Simpson Desert is the last refuge for some of Australia's rarest desert animals, including comb-tailed marsupial mice. Vast parts of the desert have received the status of protected areas:

Simpson Desert National Park, West Queensland, organized in 1967, occupies 10,120 km²

Simpson Desert Conservation Park, South Australia, 1967, 6927 km²

Simpson Desert Regional Reserve, South Australia, 1988, 29,642 km²

Wijira National Park, northern South Australia, 1985 7770 km²

In the northern part of the precipitation is less than 130 mm, the dry channels of the screams are lost in the sands.

The rivers Todd, Plenty, Hale, Hay flow through the Simpson Desert; in the southern part there are many drying salt lakes.

Small settlements that raise livestock take their water from the Great Artesian Basin.

australian desert fauna rainfall

Tanami is a rocky and sandy desert in northern Australia. The area is 292,194 km². The desert was the last frontier of the Northern Territory and was little explored by Europeans until the 20th century.

The Tanami Desert covers the central part of the Northern Territory of Australia and a small area of ​​the northeastern part of Western Australia. To the southeast of the desert is the town of Alice Springs, and to the west is the Great Sandy Desert.

The desert is a desert steppe typical of the central regions of Australia with vast sandy plains, which are covered with grasses of the genus Triodia. The main landforms are dunes and sandy plains, as well as shallow water basins of the Lander River, in which there are water pits, drying marshes and salt lakes.

The climate in the desert is semi-arid. 75--80% of precipitation falls in the summer months (October-March). The average annual rainfall in the Tanami region is 429.7 mm, which is a large figure for a desert area. But due to high temperatures, the rain that falls evaporates quickly, so local climate is very dry. The average daily evaporation rate is 7.6 mm. The average daily temperature in the summer months (October-March) is about 36--38 °C, at night - 20--22 °C. Temperature winter months much lower: daytime - about 25 ° C, night - below 10 ° C.

In April 2007, the North Tanami Aboriginal Protected Area was established in the desert, covering an area of ​​about 4 million hectares. It is home to a large number of vulnerable representatives of local flora and fauna.

The first European to reach the desert was explorer Geoffrey Ryan, who did so in 1856. However, the first European to explore Tanami was Allan Davidson. During his expedition in 1900, he discovered and mapped local gold deposits. The region is home to a small number of people, due to unfavorable climatic conditions. The traditional inhabitants of Tanami are Australian Aborigines, namely the Walrpiri and Gurinji tribes, who are the landowners of most of the desert. The largest settlements are Tennant Creek and Vauchoop.

There is gold mining in the desert. Tourism has developed in recent years.

Desert Strzelecki

The Strzelecki Desert is located in the southeast of the mainland in the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. The desert area is 1% of the area of ​​Australia. It was discovered by Europeans in 1845 and named after the Polish explorer Pavel Strzelecki. Also in Russian sources it is called the Streletsky Desert.

Stone Desert Sturt

The stone desert, which occupies 0.3% of the territory of Australia, is located in the state of South Australia and is an accumulation of sharp small stones. Local aborigines did not sharpen their arrows, but simply collected stone tips here. The desert got its name in honor of Charles Sturt, who in 1844 tried to reach the center of Australia.

Tirari Desert

This desert, located in the state of South Australia and occupying 0.2% of the mainland, has one of the harshest climatic conditions in Australia, due to high temperatures and almost no rain. There are several salt lakes in the Tirari Desert, including Lake Eyre. The desert was discovered by Europeans in 1866.

All the deserts of Australia lie within the Central Australian region of the Australian floral kingdom. Although the desert flora of Australia is significantly inferior to the flora of the western and northeastern regions of this continent in terms of species richness and level of endemism, however, compared with other desert regions the globe it is distinguished by the number of species (more than 2 thousand), and the abundance of endemics. Species endemism here reaches 90%: it has 85 endemic genera, of which 20 are in the Asteraceae family, 15 are haze and 12 are cruciferous.

Among the endemic genera there are also background desert grasses - Mitchell's grass and triodia. A large number of species are represented by the families of legumes, myrtle, protea and Compositae. Significant species diversity is demonstrated by the genera eucalyptus, acacia, protea - grevillea and hakeya. In the very center of the mainland, in the gorge of the McDonnell Desert Mountains, narrow-range endemics have been preserved: low-growing liviston palm and macrosamia from cycads.

Even some types of orchids settle in the deserts - ephemera, germinating and blooming only in a short period after the rains. Sundews also penetrate here. The depressions between the ridges and the lower part of the slopes of the ridges are overgrown with clumps of prickly triodia grass. The upper part of the slopes and the crests of dune ridges are almost completely devoid of vegetation, only individual kurtiles of prickly grass Zygochloi settle on loose sand. In interdune depressions and on flat sandy plains, a sparse stand of casuarina, individual specimens of eucalyptus, and veinless acacia is formed. The shrub layer is formed by Proteaceae - these are Hakeya and several types of Grevillea.

Saltwort, ragodia, and euhylena appear in depressions in slightly saline areas. After the rains, the depressions between the ridges and the lower parts of the slopes are covered with colorful ephemera and ephemeroids. In the northern regions on the sands in the Simpson Desert and Bolshoy Peschanoy, the species composition of background grasses changes somewhat: other types of triodia, plectrachne and shuttle beard dominate there; becomes the diversity and species composition of acacias and other shrubs. Along the channels of temporary waters they form gallery forests of several species of large eucalyptus trees. The eastern fringes of the Great Victoria Desert are occupied by sclerophyllous shrubbery of scrub mom. In the south-west of the Great Victoria Desert, undersized eucalyptus trees dominate; the herbaceous layer is formed by kangaroo grass, feather grass species, and others.

The arid areas of Australia are very sparsely populated, but the vegetation is used for grazing.

Climate

In the tropical climatic zone, which occupies the territory between the 20th and 30th parallels in the desert zone, a tropical continental desert climate is formed. The subtropical continental climate is common in the southern part of Australia, adjacent to the Great Australian Bight. These are the outskirts of the Great Victoria Desert. Therefore, in the summer period, from December to February, the average temperatures reach 30 ° C, and sometimes even higher, and in the winter (July - August) they decrease to an average of 15-18 ° C. In some years, the entire summer period temperatures can reach 40 ° C, and winter nights in the neighborhood of the tropics drops to 0 ° C and below. The amount and territorial distribution of precipitation is determined by the direction and nature of the winds.

The main source of moisture is the "dry" southeast trade winds, since most of the moisture is retained by the mountain ranges of Eastern Australia. The central and western parts of the country, corresponding to about half of the area, receive an average of about 250-300 mm of precipitation per year. The Simpson Desert receives the least amount of precipitation, from 100 to 150 mm per year. The rainy season in the northern half of the continent, dominated by the monsoonal change of winds, is timed to summer period, and, in its southern part, arid conditions prevail during this period. It should be noted that the amount of winter precipitation in the southern half decreases as one moves inland, rarely reaching 28°S. In turn, summer precipitation in the northern half, having the same tendency, does not spread south of the tropic. Thus, in the zone between the tropic and 28°S. there is a dry zone.

Australia is characterized by excessive variability in average annual precipitation and uneven precipitation throughout the year. Long dry periods and high average annual temperatures, prevailing over a large part of the continent, cause high annual evaporation rates. In the central part of the mainland, they are 2000-2200 mm, decreasing towards its marginal parts. The surface waters of the mainland are extremely poor and extremely unevenly distributed over the territory. This is especially true for the desert western and central regions of Australia, which are practically drainless, but make up 50% of the continent's area.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE MOSCOW REGION MOSCOW STATE REGIONAL UNIVERSITY

GEOGRAPHICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACULTY

EXTRAMURAL

SPECIALTY "GEOECOLOGY"

Course work

by subject

"General Ecology"

"Deserts of Australia"

Completed:

4th year student of group 42

Bubentsova O.A.

Moscow 2013

1.General physical and geographical description

The Commonwealth of Australia is the only state in the world that occupies the territory of an entire continent. australian continent located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, and its very name comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognita (Unknown Southern Land) - this is how the ancient geographers called the mysterious southern continent, the place of which they did not know, but whose existence they assumed. The Australian continent is washed on all sides by oceans - Pacific, Indian and South.

The Commonwealth of Australia includes, in addition to its own mainland, the island of Tasmania and small islands located off the coast of the continent. Australia governs the so-called outer territories : islands and island groups in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The area of ​​the Commonwealth of Australia - 7.7 million square meters. km. Its population is small - only 14 million people. At the same time, the vast majority of Australians live in cities, including almost half in the two largest cities: Sydney (over 3 million inhabitants) and Melbourne (about 3 million inhabitants). The capital of Australia is Canberra. Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world.

The relief of Australia is dominated by plains. About 95% of the surface does not exceed 600 m above sea level. Most of Australia lies in the tropics, the North - in the subequatorial latitudes, the South - in the subtropics. In Australia, the heights of the plains are small, which causes constantly high temperatures throughout the mainland. Australia lies almost entirely within the summer isotherms 20 °C - 28 °C, winter isotherms 12 °C - 20 °C.

The position of most of Australia in the continental sector of the tropical belt determines the dryness of the climate. Australia is the driest of the Earth's continents. 38% of Australia's area receives less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. About half of the territory of Australia is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts.

Australia is rich in a variety of minerals. New discoveries of mineral ores made on the continent over the past 10-15 years have pushed the country to one of the first places in the world in terms of reserves and extraction of such minerals as iron ore, bauxite, lead-zinc ores. The main deposits of metallic minerals and deposits will be discussed in the next section of the work. Of the non-metallic minerals, there are various in their quality and industrial use clays, sands, limestones, asbestos, and mica.

The rivers flowing from the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range are short, in their upper reaches they flow in narrow gorges. Here they may well be used, and partly already used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. When entering the coastal plain, the rivers slow down their flow, their depth increases. Many of them in the estuarine parts are even accessible to large ocean-going vessels.

On the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, rivers originate, making their way along the interior plains. In the region of Mount Kosciuszko, the most abundant river in Australia, the Murray, begins. Food r. The Murray and its channels are mostly rainy and to a lesser extent snowy. Dams and dams have been built on almost all the rivers of the Murray system, near which reservoirs have been created, where flood waters are collected and used to irrigate fields, gardens and pastures.

The rivers of the northern and western coasts of Australia are shallow and relatively small. The longest of them - Flinders flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria. These rivers are rain-fed, and their flow varies greatly in different time of the year.

Rivers whose flow is directed to the interior of the mainland, such as Coopers Creek (Barkoo), Diamant-ina, and others, are deprived not only of a constant flow, but also of a permanent, distinctly expressed channel. In Australia, such temporary rivers are called screams. They fill with water only during short showers.

Most lakes in Australia, like rivers, are fed by rainwater. They have neither a constant level nor a runoff. In summer, the lakes dry up and are shallow saline depressions.

Since the Australian mainland long time starting from the middle Cretaceous, was isolated from other parts of the globe, its flora is very peculiar. Of the 12 thousand species of higher plants, more than 9 thousand are endemic, i.e. grow only on the Australian continent. Among the endemics are many species of eucalyptus and acacia, the most typical plant families in Australia. At the same time, there are also such plants that are inherent in South America (for example, the southern beech), South Africa (representatives of the Proteaceae family) and the islands of the Malay Archipelago (ficus, pandanus, etc.). This indicates that many millions of years ago there were land connections between the continents.

Since the climate of most of Australia is characterized by severe aridity, dry-loving plants dominate in its flora: special cereals, eucalyptus trees, umbrella acacias, succulent trees (bottle tree, etc.). In the far north and northwest of the country, where it is hot and warm northwest monsoons bring moisture, tropical rainforests grow. Giant eucalyptus trees, ficuses, palm trees, pandanuses with narrow long leaves, etc. predominate in their woody composition. Bamboo thickets are found in some places on the coast itself. Where the shores are flat and muddy, mangrove vegetation develops. Rainforests in the form of narrow galleries stretch for relatively short distances inland along the river valleys.

The further south you go, the drier the climate becomes. The forest cover is gradually thinning. Eucalyptus and umbrella acacias are arranged in groups. This is a zone of humid savannas, stretching in a latitudinal direction south of the tropical forest zone. The central deserts of parts of the mainland, where it is very hot and dry, are characterized by dense, almost impenetrable thickets of thorny low-growing shrubs, consisting mainly of eucalyptus and acacia.

The eastern and southeastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, where there is a lot of rainfall, are covered with dense tropical and subtropical evergreen forests. Most of all in these forests, as elsewhere in Australia, eucalyptus trees. Higher in the mountains, an admixture of damarr pines and beeches is noticeable. Shrub and grass covers in these forests are varied and dense. In less humid variants of these forests, grass trees form the second layer. On the island of Tasmania, in addition to eucalyptus trees, there are many evergreen beeches related to South American species. In the southwest of the mainland, forests cover the western slopes of the Darling Range, facing the sea. These forests consist almost entirely of eucalyptus trees, reaching considerable heights. The number of endemic species is especially high here. In addition to eucalyptus, widespread bottle trees.

In general, Australia's forest resources are small. The total area of ​​forests, including special plantations, consisting mainly of species with soft wood (mainly radiata pine), at the end of the 70s was only 5.6% of the country's territory.

In Australia, all soil types characteristic of tropical, subequatorial and subtropical are presented in a regular sequence. natural belts.

In the area of ​​tropical rainforests in the north, red soils are common, changing towards the south with red-brown and brown soils in wet savannahs and gray-brown soils in dry savannahs. Red-brown and brown soils containing humus, a little phosphorus and potassium, are valuable for agricultural use. Within the zone of red-brown soils, the main wheat crops of Australia are located.

The Australian continent is located within the three main warm climatic zones of the southern hemisphere: subequatorial (in the north), tropical (in the central part), subtropical (in the south). Only a small part of Tasmania lies within the temperate zone.

Most of the country is dominated by a dry and hot continental climate of the tropical zone. The northern part of Australia is located in the subequatorial climatic zone - it is hot all year round, the humidity is very high in summer and low in winter. The eastern coasts are hot and humid all year round. The subtropical zone, in which the southern part of Australia is located, is represented by a predominantly continental climate - hot and very dry summers and cool, wet winters. The southwest coast of Australia is dominated by a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. Southeastern Australia and northern Tasmania are affected monsoon climate with hot rainy summers and mild dry winters. The southernmost part of Tasmania is located in a temperate zone with a mild, humid climate.

Hot climate and insignificant and uneven precipitation over most of the mainland lead to the fact that almost 60% of its territory is deprived of runoff to the ocean and has only a rare network of temporary watercourses.

.Deserts of Australia

Australia is often called the continent of deserts, because. about 44% of its surface (3.8 million sq. km) is occupied by arid territories, of which 1.7 million sq. km. km - desert.

Even the rest is seasonally dry.

This allows us to say that Australia is the most arid continent on the globe.

The Deserts of Australia is a complex of desert regions located in Australia.

The deserts of Australia are located in two climatic zones - tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupied by the last zone.

Great Sandy Desert

Great Sandy Desert or Western Desert - sandy-saline desert<#"justify">Great Victoria Desert

Great Victoria Desert - sandy-saline desert<#"justify">Gibson Desert

Gibson Desert - sandy desert<#"justify">Small Sandy Desert

Small Sandy Desert - sandy desert<#"justify">Simpson Desert

Simpson Desert - sandy desert<#"justify">The average temperature in January is 28-30 °С, in July - 12-15 °С.

In the northern part of precipitation less than 130 mm, dry creek beds<#"justify">Tanami

Tanami - rocky-sandy desert<#"justify">Desert Strzelecki

The Strzelecki Desert is located in the southeast of the mainland in the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. The desert area is 1% of the area of ​​Australia. It was discovered by Europeans in 1845 and named after the Polish explorer Pavel Strzelecki. Also in Russian sources it is called the Streletsky Desert.

Stone Desert Sturt

The stone desert, which occupies 0.3% of the territory of Australia, is located in the state of South Australia and is an accumulation of sharp small stones. Local aborigines did not sharpen their arrows, but simply collected stone tips here. The desert got its name in honor of Charles Sturt, who in 1844 tried to reach the center of Australia.

Tirari Desert

This desert, located in the state of South Australia and occupying 0.2% of the mainland, has one of the harshest climatic conditions in Australia, due to high temperatures and almost no rain. There are several salt lakes in the Tirari Desert, including Lake Eyre.<#"justify">3.Animal world

The long isolation of Australia from other continents has led to the exceptional originality of the fauna of this continent, and in particular its desert region.

Species endemism is 90%, and the rest of the species are subendemic, that is, they go beyond the deserts in their distribution, but not beyond the mainland as a whole. Of the endemic groups, there are: marsupial moles, Australian wheatears, scale-foot lizards.

In Australia, there are no representatives of the orders of carnivores, ungulates, insectivores, and lagomorphs; the detachment of rodents is represented only by species of the mouse subfamily; from birds, there is no order of sandgrouse, families of pheasant, bee-eater, finches and a number of others. The fauna of reptiles has also become impoverished: species of the families of lizards of lacertids, snakes, vipers and pit snakes have not penetrated here. Due to the absence of the mentioned and a number of other animals, local, endemic families and genera, as a result of wide adaptive radiation, have mastered free ecological niches and developed a number of convergent forms in the process of evolution.

Among the aspid snakes, species have arisen that are morphologically and ecologically similar to the vipers, the lizards of the Scinnaidae family have successfully replaced the lacertids that are absent here, but especially many convergent forms are observed in marsupial mammals. They ecologically replace insectivores (marsupial shrews), jerboas (marsupial jerboas), large rodents (wombats or marsupial marmots), small predators(marsupial martens) and even largely ungulates (wallabies and kangaroos). Small mouse-like rodents widely inhabit all types of deserts (Australian mouse, jerboa mouse, and others). The role of large herbivores in the absence of ungulates is performed by marsupials from the kangaroo family: brush-tailed kangaroos live in the Gibson Desert; giant red kangaroo, etc. Small predatory marsupials are similar in appearance and biology to Old World shrews (crest-tailed marsupial shrew, thick-tailed marsupial shrew). Underground way of life are marsupial moles, inhabit sandy plains.

Marsupial badgers live in the Simpson Desert. The largest native predator in the deserts of Australia - marsupial marten. About 10 thousand years ago, man entered the Australian continent and settled it. Together with a man, a dog also came here - a constant companion of a primitive hunter. Subsequently, feral dogs spread widely in the deserts of the mainland, forming a stable form called the dingo dog. The appearance of such large predator caused the first significant damage to the native fauna, especially to various marsupials. However, the greatest damage to the local fauna was caused after Europeans appeared in Australia. Either deliberately or accidentally, they brought here a range of wild and domestic animals ( european rabbit- they quickly multiplied, settled in large colonies, destroyed the already meager vegetation cover). Widely settled throughout the center of Australia red fox and house mouse. In the central and northern regions, small herds of feral donkeys or solitary one-humped camels are often found.

Many birds (parrots, zebra finches, emblem finches, pink cockatoos, diamond turtledoves, emu birds) gather near temporary watering holes in the desert during the hot hours of the day. Insectivorous birds do not need a watering place and inhabit desert areas far from any sources of water (Australian wrens, Australian warblers). Since real larks did not penetrate the deserts of Australia, their ecological niche was occupied by representatives of the warbler family, which have adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle and are surprisingly similar in appearance to larks. Flat gravel and rocky plains, salt marshes with rare thickets of quinoa are inhabited by Australian wheatears. In the thickets of shrubby eucalyptus - a large eyed large-headed or weed chicken lives. In all desert habitats, black Australian crows can be seen. Reptiles in the Australian deserts are extremely diverse (families skink, gecko, agamus, aspid). Monitor lizards reach the greatest diversity in the deserts of Australia compared to other regions. A lot of snakes, insects (dark beetles, bombardier beetles and others).

.Vegetable world

All the deserts of Australia lie within the Central Australian region of the Australian floral kingdom. Although, in terms of species richness and level of endemism, the desert flora of Australia is significantly inferior to the flora of the western and northeastern regions of this continent, however, in comparison with other desert regions of the globe, it stands out both in the number of species (more than 2 thousand) and the abundance of endemics. Species endemism here reaches 90%: it has 85 endemic genera, of which 20 are in the Asteraceae family, 15 are haze and 12 are cruciferous.

Among the endemic genera there are also background desert grasses - Mitchell's grass and triodia. A large number of species are represented by the families of legumes, myrtle, protea and Compositae. Significant species diversity is demonstrated by the genera eucalyptus, acacia, protea - grevillea and hakeya. In the very center of the mainland, in the gorge of the McDonnell Desert Mountains, narrow-range endemics have been preserved: low-growing liviston palm and macrosamia from cycads.

Even some types of orchids settle in the deserts - ephemera, germinating and blooming only in a short period after the rains. Sundews also penetrate here. The depressions between the ridges and the lower part of the slopes of the ridges are overgrown with clumps of prickly triodia grass. The upper part of the slopes and the crests of dune ridges are almost completely devoid of vegetation, only individual kurtiles of prickly grass Zygochloi settle on loose sand. In interdune depressions and on flat sandy plains, a sparse stand of casuarina, individual specimens of eucalyptus, and veinless acacia is formed. The shrub layer is formed by Proteaceae - these are Hakeya and several types of Grevillea.

Saltwort, ragodia, and euhylena appear in depressions in slightly saline areas. After the rains, the depressions between the ridges and the lower parts of the slopes are covered with colorful ephemera and ephemeroids. In the northern regions on the sands in the Simpson Desert and Bolshoy Peschanoy, the species composition of background grasses changes somewhat: other types of triodia, plectrachne and shuttle beard dominate there; becomes the diversity and species composition of acacias and other shrubs. Along the channels of temporary waters they form gallery forests of several species of large eucalyptus trees. The eastern fringes of the Great Victoria Desert are occupied by sclerophyllous shrubbery of scrub mom. In the south-west of the Great Victoria Desert, undersized eucalyptus trees dominate; the herbaceous layer is formed by kangaroo grass, feather grass species, and others.

The arid areas of Australia are very sparsely populated, but the vegetation is used for grazing.

Climate

In the tropical climatic zone, which occupies the territory between the 20th and 30th parallels in the desert zone, a tropical continental desert climate is formed. The subtropical continental climate is common in the southern part of Australia, adjacent to the Great Australian Bight. These are the outskirts of the Great Victoria Desert. Therefore, in the summer period, from December to February, the average temperatures reach 30 ° C, and sometimes even higher, and in the winter (July - August) they decrease to an average of 15-18 ° C. In some years, the entire summer period temperatures can reach 40 ° C, and winter nights in the neighborhood of the tropics drops to 0 ° C and below. The amount and territorial distribution of precipitation is determined by the direction and nature of the winds.

The main source of moisture is the "dry" southeast trade winds, since most of the moisture is retained by the mountain ranges of Eastern Australia. The central and western parts of the country, corresponding to about half of the area, receive an average of about 250-300 mm of precipitation per year. The Simpson Desert receives the least amount of precipitation, from 100 to 150 mm per year. The rainy season in the northern half of the continent, where the monsoon change of winds dominates, is confined to the summer period, and, in its southern part, arid conditions prevail during this period. It should be noted that the amount of winter precipitation in the southern half decreases as one moves inland, rarely reaching 28°S. In turn, summer precipitation in the northern half, having the same tendency, does not spread south of the tropic. Thus, in the zone between the tropic and 28°S. there is a dry zone.

Australia is characterized by excessive variability in average annual precipitation and uneven precipitation throughout the year. The presence of long dry periods and high average annual temperatures prevailing over a large part of the continent cause high annual evaporation rates. In the central part of the mainland, they are 2000-2200 mm, decreasing towards its marginal parts. The surface waters of the mainland are extremely poor and extremely unevenly distributed over the territory. This is especially true for the desert western and central regions of Australia, which are practically drainless, but make up 50% of the continent's area.

Hydrography

australian desert fauna rainfall

The features of runoff in Australia and on islands close to it are well illustrated by the following figures: the runoff volume of the rivers of Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and New Zealand is 1600 km3, the runoff layer is 184 mm, i.e. little more than in Africa. The runoff volume of Australia alone is only 440 km3, and the thickness of the runoff layer is only 57 mm, i.e., several times less than on all other continents. This is due to the fact that most of the mainland, unlike the islands, receives little rainfall and there are no high mountains and glaciers within it.

The area of ​​internal runoff includes 60% of the surface of Australia. Approximately 10% of the territory has a drain into the Pacific Ocean, the rest belongs to the Indian Ocean basin. The main watershed of the mainland is the Great Dividing Range, from the slopes of which the largest and most full-flowing rivers flow. These rivers are almost exclusively fed by rain.

Since the eastern slope of the ridge is short and steep, short, fast, winding rivers flow towards the Coral and Tasman Seas. Receiving more or less even nutrition, they are the deepest rivers in Australia with a clearly defined summer maximum. Crossing the ridges, some rivers form rapids and waterfalls. The length of the largest rivers (Fitzroy, Berdekin, Hunter) is several hundred kilometers. In the lower reaches, some of them are navigable for 100 km or more, and at the mouths are accessible to ocean-going vessels.

The rivers of Northern Australia flowing into the Arafura and Timor Seas are also full-flowing. The most significant are those that flow from the northern part of the Great Dividing Range. But the rivers of the north of Australia, due to the sharp difference in the amount of summer and winter precipitation, have a less uniform regime than the rivers of the east. They overflow with water and often overflow their banks during the summer monsoon rains. AT winter time- these are weak narrow streams, in the upper reaches they dry up in places. Most major rivers north - Flinders, Victoria and Ord - in the summer they are navigable in the lower reaches for several tens of kilometers.

There are also permanent streams in the southwest of the mainland. However, during the dry summer season, almost all of them turn into chains of shallow polluted reservoirs.

There are no permanent streams in the desert and semi-desert inland parts of Australia. But there is a network of dry channels, which are the remnants of the former developed water network, formed under the conditions of the pluvial epoch. These dry channels are filled with water after rains for a very short time. Such intermittent streams are known in Australia as "creeks". They are especially numerous in the Central Plain and are directed towards the endorheic, drying up Lake Eyre. The Nullarbor karst plain is devoid of even periodic streams, but has an underground water network with a runoff towards the Great Australian Bight.

The soil. Landscape

The soil cover of deserts is peculiar. In northern and central regions red, red-brown and brown soils stand out ( characteristic features these soils are acidic, stained with iron oxides). AT southern parts In Australia, serozem-like soils are widespread. In western Australia, desert soils are found along the outskirts of drainless basins. The Great Sandy Desert and the Great Victoria Desert are characterized by red sandy desert soils. Salt marshes and solonetzes are widely developed in drainless internal depressions in the southwest of Australia and in the basin of Lake Eyre.

Australian deserts in terms of landscape are divided into many different types, among which most often Australian scientists distinguish mountain and foothill deserts, deserts of structural plains, rocky deserts, sandy deserts, clay deserts, plain. Sandy deserts are the most common, occupying about 32% of the continent's area. Along with sandy deserts, stony deserts are also widespread (they occupy about 13% of the area of ​​arid territories. Piedmont plains are an alternation of large-stony deserts with dry channels small rivers. This type of desert is the source of most of the country's desert streams and has always served as a habitat for the aborigines. Deserts of structural plains are found in the form of a plateau with a height of no more than 600 m above sea level. After sandy deserts, they are the most developed, occupying 23% of the area of ​​arid territories confined mainly to Western Australia.

Population

Australia is the least populated continent on Earth. About 19 million people live on its territory. Total population The population of the islands of Oceania is about 10 million people.

The population of Australia and Oceania is divided into two unequal groups of different origins - indigenous and alien. There are few indigenous people on the mainland, and on the islands of Oceania, with the exception of New Zealand, Hawaii and Fiji, they form the vast majority.

Scientific research in the field of anthropology and ethnography of the peoples of Australia and Oceania began in the second half of the 19th century. Russian scientist N. N. Miklukho-Maclay.

Like America, Australia could not have been inhabited by humans as a result of evolution, but only from outside. In the composition of its ancient and modern fauna, not only primates are absent, but in general all higher mammals.

So far, no traces of the early Paleolithic have been found within the mainland. All known finds of human fossil remains have features of Homo sapiens and belong to the Upper Paleolithic.

Indigenous people Australia has such pronounced anthropological features as: dark brown skin, wavy dark hair, significant beard growth, wide nose with low tolerance. The faces of Australians are distinguished by prognathism, as well as a massive eyebrow. These features bring the Australians closer to the Veddas of Sri Lanka and some tribes of Southeast Asia. In addition, the following fact deserves attention: the oldest human fossils found in Australia bear a close resemblance to the bone remains found on the island of Java. Tentatively they are attributed to the time coinciding with the last ice age.

Of great interest is the problem of the path along which the settlement of Australia and the islands close to it took place. Along with this, the question of the time of development of the mainland is being solved.

Undoubtedly, Australia could only be inhabited from the north, that is, from the side of Southeast Asia.

This is confirmed both by the anthropological features of modern Australians and by the paleoanthropological data discussed above. It is also obvious that a man of the modern type penetrated into Australia, i.e., the settlement of the mainland could not occur earlier than the second half of the last glacial period.

Australia has existed for a long time (obviously since the end of the Mesozoic) in isolation from all other continents. However, during the Quaternary, the landmass between Australia and Southeast Asia was for a time more extensive than it is at present. A continuous land "bridge" between the two continents, obviously, never existed, since, if there was one, the Asian fauna would have to penetrate Australia through it. In all likelihood, in the Late Quaternary, on the site of shallow basins separating Australia from New Guinea and the southern islands of the Sunda Archipelago (their modern depths do not exceed 40 m), there were vast areas of land formed as a result of repeated fluctuations in sea level and land uplifts. The Torres Strait, which separates Australia from New Guinea, may have formed very recently. The Sunda Islands could also be periodically interconnected by narrow strips of land or shoals. Most land animals could not overcome such an obstacle. People gradually, by land or overcoming shallow straits, penetrated through the Lesser Sunda Islands to New Guinea and the Australian mainland. At the same time, the settlement of Australia could occur both directly from the Sunda Islands and the island of Timor, and through New Guinea. This process was very long, it probably stretched for whole millennia during the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic. At present, on the basis of archaeological finds on the mainland, it is assumed that a person first appeared there about 40 thousand years ago.

The spread of people across the mainland was also very slow. Settlement went along the western and eastern coasts, and in the east there were two ways: one - along the coast itself, the second - to the west of the Great Dividing Range. These two branches converged in the central part of the mainland in the area of ​​Lake Eyre. In general, the Australians are distinguished by anthropological unity, which indicates the formation of their main features after the penetration into Australia.

Australian culture is very distinctive and primitive. The originality of culture, the originality and closeness to each other of the languages ​​\u200b\u200bof various tribes testify to the prolonged isolation of Australians from other peoples and their autonomous historical development up to modern times.

By the beginning of European colonization, about 300 thousand Aborigines lived in Australia, divided into 500 tribes. They fairly evenly populated the entire mainland, especially its eastern part. Currently, the number of indigenous Australians has decreased to 270 thousand people. They make up approximately 18% of Australia's rural population and less than 2% of the urban population. A significant proportion of Aboriginal people live on reservations in the northern, central and western regions or work in mines and in pastoral farms. There are still tribes that continue to lead their former, semi-nomadic way of life and speak languages ​​that are part of the Australian language family. Interestingly, in some unfavorable areas, Indigenous Australians make up the majority of the population.

The rest of Australia, that is, its most densely populated areas - the eastern third of the mainland and its southwest, is inhabited by Anglo-Australians, who make up 80% of the population of the Commonwealth of Australia, and people from other countries of Europe and Asia, although people with white skin are poorly adapted for life in tropical latitudes. By the end of the XX century. Australia has come out on top in the world in terms of skin cancer incidence. This is due to the fact that an “ozone hole” periodically forms over the mainland, and the white skin of the Caucasians is not as protected from ultraviolet radiation as the dark skin of the indigenous population of tropical countries.

In 2003, the population of Australia exceeded 20 million people. This is one of the most urbanized countries in the world - more than 90% are city dwellers. Despite the lowest population density compared to other continents and the presence of vast almost uninhabited and undeveloped territories, as well as the fact that the settlement of Australia by immigrants from Europe began only at the end of the 18th century and for a long time the basis of its economy was agriculture, human impact on nature in Australia has very large and not always positive consequences. This is due to the vulnerability of the very nature of Australia: about half of the mainland is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts, and the areas adjacent to them periodically suffer from droughts. It is known that arid landscapes are one of the most vulnerable types, easily destroyed by outside interference. natural environment. Cutting down trees, fires, and overgrazing disturb the soil and vegetation cover, contribute to the drying up of water bodies and lead to complete degradation of landscapes. The ancient and primitive organic world of Australia cannot compete with more highly organized and viable introduced forms. This organic world, especially the fauna, also cannot resist a man - a hunter, fisherman, collector. The population of Australia, mainly living in cities, seeks to relax among nature, tourism is developing more and more, not only national, but also international.

.Agriculture

Agricultural map of Australia

Fishing

Cattle

Forestry

Gardening

pastures

vegetable growing

uncultivated land

animal husbandry

Aquaculture

Agriculture is one of the main branches of the Australian economy.<#"justify">1)crop production

) Vegetable growing

)Winemaking

)Livestock

1) Beef

2) Lamb

3) Pork

)dairy farming

)Fishing

)Wool

)Cotton

Australia produces a large amount of fruits, nuts and vegetables. More than 300 tons of products are oranges<#"justify">10.Assessment of the state of natural systems and characterization of conservation measures in Australia

Based on the foregoing, it is possible to assess the state of natural systems and their capabilities to perform the following functions:

ensuring the conditions of human life;

providing a spatial basis for the development of productive forces;

provision of natural resources;

conservation of the gene pool of the biosphere.

Until recently, it was generally accepted that almost 1/3 of the territory of the continent is generally useless in terms of economic development. However, over the past three decades, huge deposits of iron ore, bauxite, coal, uranium and many other minerals have been discovered in these desert places, which has advanced Australia in terms of mineral wealth to one of the first places in the world (it, in particular, accounts for approximately 1/3 of the bauxite reserves of the capitalist world, 1/5 - iron and uranium).

For a century it was said that Australia "rides on the back of a sheep" (the production and export of wool was the basis of its economic life). Now the country has largely “switched to the ore trolley”, becoming one of the largest producers and exporters of mineral raw materials. The Commonwealth of Australia is rich in various minerals, which, with a few exceptions, almost completely provide the development of the manufacturing industry with mineral raw materials.

The water resources of the continent itself are small, the most developed river network is on the island of Tasmania. The rivers there have a mixed rain and snow supply and are full-flowing throughout the year. They flow down from the mountains and therefore are stormy, rapids and have large reserves of hydropower. The latter is widely used for the construction of hydroelectric power plants. The availability of cheap electricity contributes to the development of energy-intensive industries in Tasmania, such as the smelting of pure electrolyte metals, the manufacture of cellulose, etc.

Australia's agricultural resources are also quite scarce, but this does not prevent the development of agriculture, although in limited areas.

Thus, all industry, manufacturing and much of agriculture is concentrated in small areas - the southeast and (to a lesser extent) the southwest. Technogenic load on natural complexes here is very high, which cannot but affect the ecological situation.

On the basis of the foregoing, it is possible to single out the main directions of environmental protection measures in the territory of the Commonwealth of Australia:

Protection and rational use of those resources that the territory under consideration is poor in: water resources, forest and soil resources.

Protection and rational use of resources that are actively used - mineral resources, recreational resources.

Protection and rational use of resources specific to the Australian region: protection of biota, development of a network of specially protected natural areas of a network of specially protected natural areas.

Protection of atmospheric air, especially in areas of high technogenic load.

It should be noted that the Environmental Policy in the Commonwealth of Australia is managed by a separate state body - the Ministry of the Environment, which suggests that very serious attention is paid to environmental problems here. The Ministry is developing economic and legal measures for environmental protection and rational nature management in industry, energy, agriculture, pays attention to areas with a high concentration of population and is developing a network of specially protected natural areas. The Ministry of Ecology interacts with international organizations in the field of environmental protection, other states and other state bodies of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth of Australia has established limits for the permissible impact on the components of the natural environment, standards for the use of natural resources, including water resources. Particular attention is paid to the protection of the continental shelf, water and forest resources. The special fauna and flora of the Commonwealth of Australia are legally protected, for which, among other things, nature reserves and other protected areas are created. Responsibility for violation of environmental legislation has been established.

The fact that the Commonwealth of Australia is one of the most environmentally prosperous countries can be called the result of the activities of state bodies and public organizations for environmental protection and rationalization of nature management.

.Environmental issues in Australia

Now more than 65% of the country's territory has been developed. As a result of economic activity, the nature of Australia was under the threat of human change to no lesser extent than in many densely populated countries of other continents. Forests are rapidly disappearing<#"justify">Bibliography

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.Mikhailov N.I. Physical-geographical zoning. M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1985.

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."The whole world", Encyclopedic reference book. - M., 2005

.Vazumovsky V.M. Physical-geographical and ecological-economic foundations of the territorial organization of society. - St. Petersburg, 1997.

.Work program and guidelines for writing essays on the course "General ecology and nature management". - St. Petersburg, 2001.

.Petrov M.P. Deserts of the globe L.: Nauka, 1973

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