Deserts of Australia

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Deserts (primarily the Great Australian Desert) cover about 1,371,000 km2 (529,000 sq mi), or 18%, of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain that it is practically desert (other "deserts"). Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, they ar

e primarily distributed throughout the Western Plateau and interior lowlands of the country, covering areas from South West Queensland, the Far West region of New South Wales and Spencer Gulf in South Australia to the Barkly Tableland in Northern Territory and the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Parts of the Mallee in Victoria are named as deserts; the region is described as semi-desert. By international standards, the Great Australian desert receives relatively high rates of rainfall, around 250 mm (10 in) on average, but due to the high evapotranspiration it would be correspondingly arid. No Australian weather stations situated in an arid region record less than 100 mm (3.94 in) of average annual rainfall. The deserts in the interior and south lack any significant summer rains. The desert in western Australia is well explained by the little evaporation of the cold sea current of...

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