Western Plateau Australia Map
2 700 000 square kilometres of arid land including large parts of western australia south australia and the northern territory.
Western plateau australia map. Western australia western plateau the western plateau is covered with great deserts and large plains with regularly spaced sand ridges and rocky regions rising from 300 to 600 m 1 000 2 000 ft high and constituting most of the western half of the continent it is roughly four times the size of texas or about the size of argentina. Surface water is generally lacking in the western plateau although there are several larger rivers in the west and north such as the murchison ashburton. The western plateau sometimes referred to as the australian shield is australia s largest drainage division and is composed predominantly of the remains of the ancient rock shield of gondwana. The oldest minerals of the world have been discovered at the jack hills and the yilgarn craton of the great western plateau which occupies most of the state has been above sea level for over 2 5 billion years giving it some of the oldest soils of the planet.
The lineaments display strong northwest southeast and northeast. The precambrian western core area known geologically as a shield or craton is subdivided by long straight or only slightly bowed fractures called lineaments. The coastline is rugged and dangerous with strong currents and a tidal range that may reach 39 feet 12 metres while the rolling inland areas are sparsely wooded and scattered with bristly grasses. For comparison it is roughly the same size as the whole of continental europe from poland west to portugal.
It covers two thirds of the continent. To the east lie immense deserts. The western half of australia consists of the western plateau which rises to mountain heights near the west coast and falls to lower elevations near the continental centre. 7500000 ussr union of soviet socialist republics.
For comparison it is roughly four times the size of or the same size as the whole of continental europe from poland west to portugal. It is australia s. 2 700 000 square kilometres of arid land including large parts of western australia south australia and the northern territory. The kimberley region in the far north is a multisectioned plateau.
The european settlement of western australia started in 1827 at albany but the state was only established as an administrative. Others have been depressed to form lowlands or topographic basins. Maps index topographic map of australia. Western australia s geology has components that are considered some of the oldest and most recent.
It covers two thirds of the continent. The western plateau region is generally flat though broken by various mountain ranges such as the hamersley range the macdonnell ranges and the musgrave range. Two thirds of continental australia consists of the western plateau. 2 7 million km about the size of argentina of arid or semi arid land covers large parts of western australia south australia and the northern territory.
Australia australia the western plateau. Those fractures most obvious in the north and west delineate prominent rectangular or rhomboidal blocks some of which have been raised to form uplands.