Land Formas
Landforms
Australia’s major landforms
Mountains
Many of Australia’s mountain ranges are the result of folding or faulting – for example the Flinders ranges and the Stirling Ranges. Fold Mountains are formed when one plate slides down under another .Some rocks are forced down while others are forced upwards and bent into wave-like forms. Fault Mountains are formed when layers of rock are fractured and one section moves down and another section moves up. Until about 600 million years ago, the area of the Northern Territory where the MacDonnell ranges now lie was covered by shallow seas. Then, movements of the continental plates caused folding that formed the ranges. Today the MacDonnell ranges have been eroded my running water. Mountains can also be formed by volcanic activity. In the past, there was extensive volcanic activity in Australia but the last volcano to erupt in Australia was the Macedon volcano around six million years ago.
Rivers and Lakes
Permanent rivers and streams flow in only a small part of the Australian continent .Australia is actually the driest of all the worlds inhabited continents. The Murray Darling is Australia’s largest river system. Most Australian rivers are located near the coast. The largest and longest Australian rivers can be found in the eastern part of the country. They pass through various kinds of environment on their journey to the sea. The Murray River and the Darling River are the two main rivers in the Murray-Darling River Basin. A river basin is the area of land that surrounds a river, from the headwaters to the mouth. The Murray-Darling Basin measures over one million square kilometres, which is almost one-seventh of all the land in Australia. The Murray is over 2,500 kilometres long.
Islands and Reefs
A coral reef is an accumulation of dead corals and other organisms with a limestone skeleton. This is then cemented together by physical processes and the reef builds slowly to the surface of the water. The world 's
Australia’s major landforms
Mountains
Many of Australia’s mountain ranges are the result of folding or faulting – for example the Flinders ranges and the Stirling Ranges. Fold Mountains are formed when one plate slides down under another .Some rocks are forced down while others are forced upwards and bent into wave-like forms. Fault Mountains are formed when layers of rock are fractured and one section moves down and another section moves up. Until about 600 million years ago, the area of the Northern Territory where the MacDonnell ranges now lie was covered by shallow seas. Then, movements of the continental plates caused folding that formed the ranges. Today the MacDonnell ranges have been eroded my running water. Mountains can also be formed by volcanic activity. In the past, there was extensive volcanic activity in Australia but the last volcano to erupt in Australia was the Macedon volcano around six million years ago.
Rivers and Lakes
Permanent rivers and streams flow in only a small part of the Australian continent .Australia is actually the driest of all the worlds inhabited continents. The Murray Darling is Australia’s largest river system. Most Australian rivers are located near the coast. The largest and longest Australian rivers can be found in the eastern part of the country. They pass through various kinds of environment on their journey to the sea. The Murray River and the Darling River are the two main rivers in the Murray-Darling River Basin. A river basin is the area of land that surrounds a river, from the headwaters to the mouth. The Murray-Darling Basin measures over one million square kilometres, which is almost one-seventh of all the land in Australia. The Murray is over 2,500 kilometres long.
Islands and Reefs
A coral reef is an accumulation of dead corals and other organisms with a limestone skeleton. This is then cemented together by physical processes and the reef builds slowly to the surface of the water. The world 's
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