Located in Oceania, Australia is a country stationed between the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is a vast country; however, the topography is not highly varied. A lot of Australia is made up of a low desert plateau, but you will find some fertile plains in the southeast. The climate of Australia is usually arid to semiarid, the north is tropical, and the east and south are temperate. Below we will take a further look into the geographical makeup of Australia, with information featured from an article on Thought Co.
Even though Australia consists of a very arid climate, it is highly biodiverse. The country can support a wide range of habitats, from tropical rainforests to alpine forests. Also, because Australia is geographically isolated from the rest of the world, many animals and plants can thrive off the land.
Australia has many animals, many that can be extremely dangerous when coming into contact with humans. The country is home to the most significant number of reptile species worldwide and has the world’s most venomous snakes. There are also other dangerous creatures such as spiders and crocodiles. Multiple different species are endemic to Australia, such as 87% of their mammals, 94% of their frogs, 93% of their reptiles, 45% of their birds and 92% of their vascular plants.
When you think of Australia, often we think of their most famous marsupial species. These include the kangaroo, wombat and koala. However, there are also all sorts of species that live in Australia’s surrounding waters! About 89% of the fish species in Australia are restricted solely to the nation on both inland and outland.
Although Australia is home to various coral reef species, unfortunately, many of them are now endangered. One of the most famous coral reefs globally, the Great Barrier Reef, happens to be right in Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, spanning over an area of 344,400 kilometres. This particular reef contains more than 3,000 unique reef systems and over 1,500 fish species.
