Deserts of Australia, Great Victoria Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami, Gibson Desert, Simpson Desert. Geography of Australia: geology, climate, deserts, water bodies, natural resources, ecology and population What are the deserts in Australia

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. The Australian continent is 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 advanced 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. From non-metallic minerals, there are clays, sands, limestones, asbestos, and mica of various quality and industrial use.

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 fed by rain, and their water content varies greatly at different times 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 for a long time, starting from the middle of the Cretaceous period, 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, bottle trees are widespread.

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 natural zones are presented in a regular sequence.

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 experience a monsoonal 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.

The 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 vipers, lizards of the Scinnaaceae 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 is the 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 a 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 intentionally or accidentally, they brought here a number of wild and domestic animals (the European rabbit - they quickly multiplied, settled in large colonies, destroyed the already scarce vegetation cover). The common fox and the house mouse are widely settled throughout the center of Australia. 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, compared 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 mountain ranges 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. In winter, these are weak narrow watercourses, which dry up in places in the upper reaches. The largest rivers in the north - the Flinders, Victoria and Ord - are navigable in the lower reaches for several tens of kilometers in summer.

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 the northern and central regions, red, red-brown and brown soils are distinguished (characteristic features of these soils are an acid reaction, coloring with iron oxides). Serozem-like soils are widespread in the southern parts of Australia. 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.

The Australian deserts are divided into many different types in terms of landscape, among which Australian scientists most often distinguish mountainous and foothill deserts, structural plains deserts, rocky deserts, sandy deserts, clay deserts, plains. Sandy deserts are the most common, occupying about 32% of the continent's area. Along with sandy deserts, rocky deserts are also widespread (they occupy about 13% of the area of ​​arid territories. Piedmont plains are an alternation of large rocky deserts with dry channels of small rivers. This type of desert is the source of most of the country's desert watercourses and always serves as a habitat for aborigines. Deserts 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. The total 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.

The indigenous population of Australia has such pronounced anthropological features as: dark brown skin, wavy dark hair, significant beard growth, a wide nose with a low bridge of nose. 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 at one time larger 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. The settlement went along the western and east 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 ​​​​of various tribes testify to the long isolation of the Australians from other peoples and their autonomous historical development until 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 white-skinned people 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 of natural environment, easily destroyed by outside interference. 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. The technogenic load on natural complexes is very high here, 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 with which the territory under consideration is poor: 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 measures of an economic and legal nature 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

1.Physical geography of continents and oceans: a textbook for students. higher ped. textbook institutions / T.V. Vlasova, M.A. Arshinova, T.A. Kovalev. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2007.

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

.Markov K.K. Introduction to physical geography, Moscow: Higher school, 1978.

."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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Australia is often called a desert continent, 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 - Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria Desert, Simpson (Arunta). The deserts of Australia are confined to ancient structural elevated plains. The climatic conditions of Australia are determined by its geographical location, orographic features, a huge water area Pacific Ocean and the proximity of the Asian mainland. Of the three climatic zones of the southern hemisphere, the deserts of Australia are located in two: tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupied by the latter zone.

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.

The hydrographic network of Australia is represented by temporary drying watercourses (creeks). The drainage of the rivers of the deserts of Australia belongs partly to the basin of the Indian Ocean and the basin of Lake Eyre. The hydrographic network of the mainland is supplemented by lakes, of which there are about 800, and a significant part of them are located in deserts. The largest lakes - Eyre, Torrens, Carnegie and others - are salt marshes or dried-up basins covered with a powerful layer of salts. The lack of surface water is compensated by the richness of groundwater. A number of large artesian basins stand out here (Desert Artesian Basin, Northwest Basin, Northern Murray River Basin and part of Australia's largest groundwater basin, the Great Artesian Basin).

The soil cover of deserts is very peculiar. In the northern and central regions, red, red-brown and brown soils are distinguished (characteristic features of these soils are an acid reaction, coloring with iron oxides). Serozem-like soils are widespread in the southern parts of Australia. 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.

The Australian deserts are divided into many different types in terms of landscape, among which Australian scientists most often distinguish mountainous and foothill deserts, structural plains deserts, rocky deserts, sandy deserts, clay deserts, plains. Sandy deserts are the most common, occupying about 32% of the continent's area. Along with sandy deserts, rocky deserts are also widespread (they occupy about 13% of the area of ​​arid territories. Piedmont plains are an alternation of large rocky deserts with dry channels of small rivers. This type of desert is the source of most of the country's desert watercourses and always serves as a habitat for aborigines. Deserts 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.

On the Australian continent, deserts have got a huge territory, almost half of the continent. It was the deserts that tested the first Australian travelers for strength and still beckon with their ascetic landscapes.

– Strelecki Desert, Cameron Corner

Top 10 Australia

Deserts of Australia

The deserts of Australia occupy approximately 40% of the entire surface of the continent. For this, Australia is even sometimes called the continent of deserts. But the rest of the continent's surface remains dry most of the year. It can be concluded that Australia is the most arid continent on earth. The explanation for this must be sought in the climatic conditions determined by the geographical position of the continent, the vast water surface of the Pacific Ocean and the close proximity of the Asian continent. In addition, most of the deserts of the continent are in the subtropics.

– Location of deserts on the map of Australia

Australian deserts are divided into several types, among which the country's scientists distinguish mountainous and foothill deserts, rocky and sandy, clayey deserts and plains. About 32% of the area of ​​the continent is occupied by sandy deserts. In second place are rocky deserts - they occupy about 13% of the area of ​​​​all desert territories. Large-stony deserts are located on the foothill plains - it is these territories that serve as the habitat of the natives.

Let's get acquainted with the deserts of Australia in descending order by area.

– 1 – Great Victoria Desert – (WA, SA)

– Great Victoria Desert

Great Victoria Desert- is considered the largest desert in Australia, it covers 4% of the mainland. The desert is located on the territory of Western and South Australia, but, paradoxically, outside the state of Victoria. It extends in a wide strip from the middle of Western Australia to the McDonnell ranges. North of Greater Victoria Desert the Gibson Desert is located, to the south is the Nullarbor Plain. The total area of ​​the desert is 348.570 km². The height of the desert above sea level is approximately 500-700 meters. Ridge sands (elevation 10-30 m) are located on a large territory of the desert, fixed by sods of spinifex grass. Due to unfavorable climatic conditions (arid climate), there is no agricultural activity in the desert. It is a protected area in Western Australia.

Since 1965, a significant part Desert Victoria has the status of a protected area and, together with Mamungari Conservation Park on the Nullarbor Plain in the state of South Australia is considered one of the twelve Australian reserves, which are under the auspices of UNESCO under the program "Man and the Biosphere". Particular attention is paid to the preservation and maintenance of natural complexes of sandy deserts, rocky ridges and salt lakes.

The so-called “Giles Corridor” runs through the entire Victoria Desert - a narrow strip of katniks, the only continuous contour of shrubs here. This corridor connects the Pilbara region of Western Australia with the Central Ranges, passing through the Lake Carnegie region in the Victoria Desert and the southern part of the Gibson Desert.

Travelers who have explored this desert have even found something poetic in this sun-baked landscape: picturesque folds of sand, which, thanks to the northwest and southeast winds, fit parallel and are colored in brown-red, yellowish, ash and purple. Only eucalyptus, acacia and spinifex grow in the sands of Victoria.

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

This desert is almost completely devoid of water sources and is extremely difficult to access both for habitation and for research. Despite this, the Myrning Kogara tribes live in the Great Victoria Desert, trying to preserve the traditional way of life. The creation of testing grounds for weapons here also contributed to the isolation of the region. All this has led to the fact that now this territory is the least populated area of ​​Australia.

On the territory of the region is the Woomera exclusion zone, created by the governments of Britain and Australia in 1946 for testing missiles and various types of weapons. It extends from Lakes Torrens and Eyre in eastern South Australia to the border with Western Australia. The northern border of the zone runs along the Trans-Australian Railway, and the southern border is 110 km south of the border with the state of the Northern Territory. During the creation of this landfill, significant areas of the desert were disturbed - mainly during the construction of roads. The Woomera area was used as a range for testing long-range missiles, testing nuclear weapons, and storing atomic fuel. At least 9 large atomic explosions and several hundred smaller-scale tests were carried out here.

– 2 – Great Sandy Desert – (WA, NT)

– Great Sandy Desert

Or Western desert- the hottest region of Australia, it ranks second in area after Deserts of Victoria- 360,000 km². The desert is located in the north of Western Australia, in the Kimberley region, east of the Pilbara. A small part of it lies in the Northern Territory. It is here that the famous Kata Tjuta National Park - Uluru (Ayers Rock) is located, which attracts travelers from all over the world.

It extends 900 km west to east from Eighty Mile Beach on the Indian Ocean deep into the Northern Territories to the Tanami Desert, and 600 km north to south from the Kimberley region to the Tropic of Capricorn, passing into the Gibson Desert.

Great Sandy Desert contrary to the name, it is not only a sandy desert. In addition to sands, there are also clay and saline plains. However, the largest areas are covered with red sands. These sands form dunes up to 30 m high (usually 10-15 m), the length of the dunes reaches 50 km. Due to the often blowing trade winds, the dunes have a latitudinal direction. There are many lakes in the desert - Disapointment, Gregory, Mackay, Carneggie. For most of the year, the lakes are dry salt marshes or cracked clay, and during heavy rains they can overflow for many kilometers. This desert is one of the most dangerous in Australia - it rains here in small quantities and not every year.

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. The Rudall River National Park is located in the central part of the region.

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

– 3 – Tanami Desert – (NT, WA)

– Tanami Desert / photo by Michael Seebeck

This rocky and sandy desert is located northwest of the city of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia. The area exceeds 184 thousand km². The study of the desert began already in the 20th century, but so far, this is the least studied area among all the desert regions of Australia.

The average annual rainfall in this area is more than 400 mm, that is, there are quite a lot of rainy days for the desert. But location Tanami Desert is such that a high temperature predominates, and with it a high rate of evaporation. The average daily temperature in the summer months (October-March) is around 38°C, at night 22°C. Temperature in winter: daytime - about 25 °C, night - below 10 °C.

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 first European to reach the desert was an 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. now gold is being mined in the desert. Tourism has developed in recent years.

– 4 – Simpson Desert – (NT, SA, QLD)

– Simpson Desert

This desert was discovered thanks to the desire of the Australian government to find new areas for grazing livestock and people. However, as one would expect, the desire to use the Gibson Desert for this purpose, or, as it was called at first, Aruntu, turned out to be in vain. By the way, she deceived the expectations of oil seekers as well - the search was carried out in the 70s of the 20th century. Currently, several protected areas have been established in the Gibson Desert. One of them - Simpson Desert National Park is considered the largest. However, there are no rare animals or plants inside it - most visitors come here to experience the silence of the desert while driving an off-road vehicle.

Simpson Desert located in the center of Australia, mostly in the southeast corner of the Northern Territory, with a small part in the states of Queensland and South Australia. It has an area of ​​​​143 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. Surprisingly, Desert Simpson rich in groundwater.

The landscapes of this place amaze the imagination: between the high dunes there are areas of smooth clay crust and rocky plains strewn with turned stones. The Simpson Desert is not like other placers of hot sand, of which there are thousands of square kilometers in Australia. Desert landscapes are not as monotonous as it might seem at first glance.

This amazing desert has dunes that are arranged parallel to each other. Their length is the largest in the world. Of course, these are the dunes that have a more or less permanent location. They stretch in a direction from south to north. The highest of the sand dunes reaches a height of 40 meters! But there are also dunes that are slowly shifting. The total number of dunes in the desert reaches 1100!

The desert has been opened Charles Sturt in 1845 and on a drawing by Griffith Taylor (Thomas Griffith) in 1926, together with the Stony Desert Sturt (Sturt Stony Desert) was named Arunta After surveying the area from the air in 1929, geologist Cecil Madigan named the desert after Alan 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 (Edmund Albert Colson).

– 5 – Gibson Desert – (WA)

– Gibson Desert

The early explorers of Australia referred to the Gibson Desert as "a great rolling desert of gravel". This is true: the entire surface of this desert is covered with rubble - material unsuitable for agriculture. Unlike Western, on the territory Gibson Desert there are several natural reservoirs - these are saline lakes. However, people live even in such difficult conditions - the Pintubi tribe, one of the last Australian tribes that have preserved the traditional way of life.

Sandy Gibson Desert located in the center of Western Australia, south of the Tropic of Capricorn, between the Great Sandy Desert in the north and the Great Victoria Desert in the south. It has an area of ​​155,530 km². 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. There are several lakes near the Hamersley Range in the western part of the desert. However, travelers should not rejoice - these are saline lakes, the water in which is not suitable for drinking.

The desert was discovered by explorer Ernest Giles during the English expedition of 1873-1874. The name of the desert was in honor of a member of the expedition Alfred Gibson, who died in it while searching for water.

– 6 – Little Sandy Desert – (WA)

– Little Sandy Desert

Little Sandy Desert is a piece of land in Western Australia located south of Great Sandy Desert, and in the east it becomes Gibson Desert.

Within the territory of Little Sandy Desert there are several lakes, the largest of which is Lake Disapointment, which means "disappointment" in translation, and is located in the north. Seyviori is the main river that runs through this area. It flows into Disapointment Lake. Salt marsh area reaches 330 square meters. The water surface was discovered by a traveler who made a significant contribution to the study of the Pilbara region, Frank Hank in 1897. In search of water, he followed small underground streams in the hope of discovering a fresh lake, but nature played a cruel joke on the researcher - the water in such a huge natural pit turned out to be salty.

The area of ​​the region is 101 thousand km². The average annual amount of precipitation, which falls mainly in the summer, is 150-200 mm. Average summer temperatures range from 22 to 38.3° C, in winter this figure is 5.4-21.3° C

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".

– 7 – Strzelecki Desert – (SA, NSW, QLD)

– Strzelecki Desert, New South Wales

Strzelecki Desert is located in the southeast, between Lake Eyre in the north and the Flinders Range in the south. It is located in the northeast of the state of South Australia, the northwest of the state of New South Wales and its edge in the southwest of Queensland. In the northwest it passes into the Simpson Desert. The area is 80 thousand km², which is almost 1% of the area of ​​Australia. Explored in 1845. Named in honor of the Polish scientist Pawel Strzelecki (Pawel Edmund Strzelecki). Often referred to in sources as Sagittarius Desert.

The channels of the seasonal rivers Strzelecki Creek and Yandama Creek, the lower reaches of the Cooper Creek and Diamantina pass through the desert. On the northern edge of the desert are the settlements of Birdsville, Cordillo Downs, Gidgella and Innaminka, on the south side - Itadanna. On the northwestern outskirts is the Laguna Goyder swamp.

– 8 – Sturt Stony Desert – (SA, QLD)

– Sturt Stony Desert

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 (Charles Sturt), a traveler who in 1844 tried to reach the center of Australia in search of an inland sea. A heroic attempt to penetrate the desert interior of the continent led him to the Stone Desert, later named in his honor (Sturt's Stony Desert), where he had to spend half a year in "imprisonment" in the town of Preservation Creek.

Charles Sturt was the first white settler to discover the bed of the Darling River, which he named after the governor of the colony, and walked along it for nearly 2,500 km. However, the expedition had to be interrupted, because due to the drought, the water of the Darling River became salty. He also discovered the Simpson Desert.

With a few companions, horses, and 15 weeks' worth of food, Sturt reached one of the driest and most threatening places on the continent, the Simpson Desert, the southeastern part of which became known as Sturt's Stony Desert. This vast desert plain, dotted with sharp-angled red silicified rock fragments, cracked by temperature changes with a loud sound of gun shots, and almost devoid of vegetation, was a satanic landscape. It was September, the beginning of spring.

Smooth, like a table, sections of rubble desert, similar in appearance to the Sahara regs, occupy vast areas in the Sturt Desert. The very famous red colored sands are also found here. But dune fields occupy a small area in the region compared to gibbons.

– 9 – Tirari Desert – (SA)

– Kalamurina Dune, Tirari Desert

AT Tirari Desert, located in the state of South Australia and occupying 0.2% of the mainland, one of the most severe climatic conditions in Australia, due to high temperatures and virtually no rain. Its area is 15,250 km². The Tirari Desert contains several salt lakes, including Lake Eyre, as well as sand dunes running from north to south. The desert was discovered by Europeans in 1866.

In the Tirari desert are the largest sandy massifs, in which numerous fossils and bones of fossil animals have been found.

– 10 – Pedirka Desert – (SA)

– Pedirka Desert

Pedirka Desert located in the state of South Australia, 250 kilometers from the famous town of Coober Pedy.

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California ground cuckoo- a North American bird from the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). It lives in deserts and semi-deserts in the south and southwest of the United States and in northern Mexico.

Adult ground cuckoos reach a length of 51 to 61 cm, including the tail. They have a long, slightly curved beak. The head, crest, back and long tail are dark brown with light spots. The neck and belly are also light. The extremely long legs and long tail are adaptations for a desert-running lifestyle.

The California ground cuckoo can reach speeds of up to 42 km/h. The special arrangement of the toes also helps her in this, since both outer toes are located back, and both inner ones are forward. She flies, however, because of her short wings very poorly and can stay in the air for only a few seconds.

This bird spends most of its time on the ground and preys on snakes, lizards, insects, rodents and small birds. She is fast enough to kill even small vipers, which she grabs by the tail with her beak and beats her head on the ground like a whip. She swallows her prey whole. This bird got its English name Road Runner (road runner) because it used to run after mail coaches and grab small animals disturbed by their wheels.

death valley

Death Valley got its name from the settlers who crossed it in 1849, trying to reach the gold mines of California by the shortest route. The guidebook briefly reports that "some stayed in it forever." The dead were poorly prepared for the passage through the desert, did not stock up on water and lost their bearings. Before his death, one of them cursed this place, calling it Death Valley. The few survivors withered the meat of the mules on the wreckage of the dismantled wagons and reached the goal. They left behind "cheerful" place names: Death Valley, Funeral Range, Last Chance Ridge, Coffin Canyon, Dead Man's Pass, Hell's Gate, Rattlesnake Gorge, etc.

Badwater Basin is the lowest part of Death Valley, located at 85.5 m below sea level. Sometime after the Ice Age, Death Valley was a huge lake with fresh water. The local hot and dry climate contributed to the inevitable evaporation of water. Annual short-term, but very intense rains wash tons of minerals from the surface of the mountains into the lowlands. The salts remaining after the evaporation of the water settle to the bottom, reaching the highest concentration in the lowest place, in the Pond with bad water. Here, rainwater lingers longer, forming small temporary lakes. Once upon a time, the first settlers were surprised that their dehydrated mules refused to drink water from these lakes, and they marked "bad water" on the map. So this area got its name. In fact, the water in the pool (when it is) is not poisonous, but it tastes very salty. There are also unique inhabitants here that are not found in other places: algae, aquatic insects, larvae and even a mollusk, named after the place of residence Badwater Snail.

Nearby is the lowest terrain in the Valley Badwater Basin. Salt behaves differently here. On an absolutely flat white surface, a uniform salt net 4-6 cm high is formed. The grid consists of figures, gravitating in shape to a hexagon, and covers the bottom of the Valley with a huge cobweb, creating an absolutely unearthly landscape.

Sailing stones, also called sliding or crawling stones, are a geological phenomenon. The stones move slowly along the clay bottom of the lake, as evidenced by the long footprints left behind them. The stones move on their own without the help of living beings, but no one has ever seen or recorded the movement on camera. Similar stone movements have been noted in several other places, but in terms of the number and length of tracks, Racetrack Playa stands out from the rest.

The territory of the park includes the Salina Valley, most of the Panamint Valley, as well as the territories of several mountain systems. Telescope Peak rises to the west, and Dante's View to the east, from which a beautiful view of the entire valley opens up.

Coati- a mammal from the genus nosoha of the raccoon family. This mammal received its name for an elongated and very funny mobile stigma-nose.
Their head is narrow, their hair is short, their ears are round and small. On the edge of the inner side of the ears is a white rim. Nosukha is the owner of a very long tail, which is almost always in an upright position. With the help of the tail, the animal balances when moving. The characteristic color of the tail is the alternation of light yellow, brown and black rings.

The color of the nose is varied: from orange to dark brown. The muzzle is usually a uniform black or brown. On the muzzle, below and above the eyes, there are light spots. The neck is yellowish, the paws are painted black or dark brown.

the trap is elongated, the paws are strong with five fingers and non-retractable claws. With its claws, the nosuha digs the ground, getting food. The hind legs are longer than the front. The length of the body from the nose to the tip of the tail is 80-130 cm, the length of the tail itself is 32-69 cm. The height at the withers is about 20-29 cm. They weigh about 3-5 kg. Males are almost twice as large as females.

Nosoha live on average 7-8 years, but in captivity they can live up to 14 years. They live in tropical and subtropical forests of South America and the southern United States. Their favorite place is dense bushes, low-lying forests, rocky terrain. Due to human intervention, lately the noses prefer forest edges and clearings.

They say that nosuha used to be called simply badgers, but since real badgers moved to Mexico, the true homeland of nosoha, this species has received its individual name.

All noses, including coatis, are predators! Coatis get their food with their noses, diligently sniffing and groaning, they inflate the foliage in this way and look for termites, ants, scorpions, beetles, larvae under it. Sometimes it can also feed on land crabs, frogs, lizards, rodents. During the hunt, the coati clamps the victim with its paws and bites through its head. In difficult times of famine, nosuhi allow themselves vegetarian cuisine, they eat ripe fruits, which, as a rule, are always in abundance in the forest. Moreover, they do not make stocks, but return to the tree from time to time.

Males usually lead a solitary life and only during the mating season do they join the family groups of females with young. In the mating season, and this is usually from October to March, one male is accepted into a group of females and young. All sexually mature females living in the group mate with this male, and soon after mating, he leaves the group.

Nosukha brings cubs once a year. Usually there are 2-6 cubs in a litter. Newborns weigh 100-180 grams and are completely dependent on the mother, who leaves the nest for a while to find food. The eyes open at about 11 days. For several weeks, the babies remain in the nest, and then leave it with their mother and join the family group.
Lactation lasts up to four months. Young coats remain with their mother until she begins to prepare for the birth of the next offspring.

Red Lynx- the most common wild cat of the North American continent. In general appearance, this is a typical lynx, but it is almost two times smaller than an ordinary lynx and not so long-legged and broad-legged. Its body length is 60-80 cm, height at the withers is 30-35 cm, weight is 6-11 kg. You can recognize a red lynx by its white

You can meet a red lynx in dense subtropical forests or in desert places among prickly cacti, on high mountain slopes or in swampy lowlands. The presence of a person does not prevent her from appearing on the outskirts of villages or small towns. This predator chooses areas for itself where it is possible to feast on small rodents, nimble squirrels or shy rabbits and even prickly porcupines.

Vision and hearing are well developed. Hunts on the ground, sneaking up on prey. With its sharp claws, the lynx holds the victim and kills it with a bite to the base of the skull. In one sitting, an adult animal eats up to 1.4 kg of meat. The remaining surplus hides and returns to them the next day.For rest, the red lynx chooses a new place every day, not lingering in the old one. It can be a crack in the rocks, a cave, a hollow log, a space under a fallen tree, etc. On the ground or snow, the red lynx takes a step about 25 - 35 cm long; the size of an individual footprint is about 4.5 x 4.5 cm. While walking, they place their hind legs exactly in the tracks left by their front paws. Because of this, they never make a very loud noise from the crackling of dry twigs under their feet. Soft pads on their feet help them to calmly sneak up to the animal at close range. Bobcats are good tree climbers and can also swim across small bodies of water, but they only do so on rare occasions.

The red lynx is a territorial animal. The lynx marks the boundaries of the site and its paths with urine and feces. In addition, she leaves marks of her claws on the trees. The male knows that the female is ready to mate by the smell of her urine. A mother with cubs is very aggressive towards any animal and person that threatens her kittens.

In the wild, males and females love to be alone, meeting only during the breeding season. The only time when individuals of different sexes look for meetings is the mating season, which falls at the end of winter - the beginning of spring. The male mates with all the females that are in the same area with him. Pregnancy of the female lasts only 52 days. The cubs are born in the spring, blind and helpless. At this time, the female tolerates the male only near the den. After about a week, the babies open their eyes, but for another eight weeks they stay with their mother and feed on her milk. The mother licks their fur and warms them with her body. The female bobcat is a very caring mother. In case of danger, she takes the kittens to another shelter.

A male bobcat often occupies an area of ​​100 km2, border areas can be common to several males. The area of ​​the female is half that. Within the territory of one male, 2-3 females usually live. A male red lynx, on whose territory three females with cubs often live, has to get food for 12 kittens.

Among the almost two and a half thousand species of higher plants found in the flora of the Sonoran Desert, the most widely represented are species from the family of Asteraceae, legumes, cereals, buckwheat, euphorbia, cactus and borage. A number of communities characteristic of the main habitats make up the vegetation of the Sonoran Desert.

Vegetation grows on extensive, slightly sloping alluvial fans, the main components of which are groups of creosote bush and ragweed. They also include several types of prickly pear, quinoa, acacia, fukeria, or okotilo.

On the alluvial plains below the alluvial fans, the vegetation cover mainly consists of a sparse forest of mesquite trees. Their roots, penetrating into the depths, reach the groundwater, and the roots located in the surface layer of the soil, within a radius of up to twenty meters from the trunk, can intercept precipitation. An adult mesquite tree reaches a height of eighteen meters, and can be more than a meter wide. In modern times, only the pitiful remnants of the once majestic mesquite forests, long cut down for fuel, remain. The mesquite forest is very similar to the thickets of black saxaul in the Karakum Desert. The composition of the forest, in addition to the mesquite tree, includes clematis and acacia.

By the water, along the banks of the rivers, near the water, poplars are located, to which ash and Mexican elder are mixed. Plants such as acacia, creosote bush and celtis grow in the beds of the arroyo, drying up temporary streams, as well as on the adjacent plains. In the desert of Gran Desierto, near the coast of the Gulf of California, ambrosia and creosote bush predominate on sandy plains, and ephedra and tobosa, ambrosia grow on sand dunes.

In the Arizona Uplands, northwest of the Sonoran Desert, the vegetation is especially colorful and varied. A denser vegetation cover and a variety of vegetation are due here to more precipitation than in other areas of Sonora, as well as the ruggedness of the relief, a combination of steep slopes of different exposures and hills. A kind of cactus forest, in which the main place is occupied by a giant columnar saguaro cactus, with an undersized encelia shrub located between the cacti, is formed on gravelly soils with a large amount of fine earth. Also among the vegetation there are large barrel-shaped ferocactus, ocotillo, paloverde, several species of prickly pear, acacia, celtis, creosote bush, as well as mesquite tree, in floodplains.

With a peculiar look, such trees and bushes of the Sonoran Desert as an ivory tree, an iron tree and an idriya, or buoyum, growing only in two areas of the Sonoran Desert, located in Mexico, which is part of such a region as Latin America, attract attention.

The Vizcaino area is located in the central third of the California Peninsula. There is little rainfall, but the air is cool, as the sea ​​breezes often bring fogs, weakening the aridity of the climate. Rain falls mainly in winter and averages less than 125 mm. Here in the flora there are some very unusual plants, bizarre landscapes are characteristic: fields of white granite boulders, cliffs of black lavas, etc. Interesting plants are bujamas, an elephant tree, a 30 m high cordon, a throttling ficus growing on rocks and a blue palm tree. In contrast to the main Vizcaino Desert, the Vizcaino Coastal Plain is a flat, cool, foggy desert with 0.3 m high shrubs and fields of annuals.

Riverside communities are usually isolated bands or islands of deciduous forests along temporary streams. There are very few permanent or drying streams (the largest is the Colorado River), but there are many where water appears for only a couple of days or even a few hours a year. Dry channels, or "washes", arroyo - "arroyos" are places where many trees and shrubs are concentrated. Xerophilic light forests along dry channels are very variable. Near-pure mesquite forest occurs along some temporary streams, while others may be dominated by blue paloverde or ironwood, or a mixed forest may develop. The so-called "desert willow" is characteristic, which is actually a catalpa.

Australian deserts are divided into several types, among which the country's scientists distinguish mountainous and foothill deserts, rocky and sandy, as well as clay.

About 32% of the area of ​​the continent is occupied by sandy deserts.

In second place are rocky deserts - they occupy about 13% of the area of ​​​​all desert territories. Large-stony deserts are located on the foothill plains.

The deserts of Australia occupy almost half of the entire surface of the continent. For this, Australia is even sometimes called the continent of deserts. But the rest of the continent's surface remains dry most of the year. Of course, such harsh conditions do not contribute to rich vegetation - in the Western Desert you can find only acacia-mulga, eucalyptus and spinifex.

It can be concluded that Australia is the most arid continent on earth. The explanation for this must be sought in the climatic conditions determined by the geographical position of the continent, the vast water surface of the Pacific Ocean and the close proximity of the Asian continent. In addition, most of the deserts of the continent are in the subtropics.

The Great Sandy, or, as it is also called, the Western Desert belongs to the sandy-saline type. The relief of the desert is almost entirely composed of ergs - this local name sand massifs, consisting of dunes, dunes, flying sands and salt marshes. The Great Sandy Desert has a unique feature: due to the predominance of the trade winds in this area, the sand turns into high, up to 15 meters high ridges. The length of each such dune is about 50 km. This desert is one of the most dangerous in Australia - it rains here in small quantities and not every year, there are no permanent rivers.

Of the animals in this desert, there are the dingo dog, the Moloch lizard, the red kangaroo, the goannas and several marsupials - the rabbit bandicoot, comb-tailed mice and rufus moles. In a word, typical Australian fauna. Of the birds in the conditions of hot sands, only two or three species of parrots have learned to survive.

The early explorers of Australia referred to the Gibson Desert as "a great rolling desert of gravel". This is true: the entire surface of this desert is covered with rubble - material unsuitable for agriculture. This area was discovered in 1874. Unlike Western, on the territory of the Gibson Desert there are several natural reservoirs - these are saline lakes.

Although the desert is poor in vegetation and wildlife, here you can meet some representatives of the Australian fauna and flora. In particular, acacia and spinifex, and from the animals of the marsupial badger, red kangaroo and emu, grass wren and moloch lizard. Some of these animals are threatened with extinction - marsupial badgers, which previously inhabited about 70% of Australia, have now declined significantly. The reason for this is the low ability to reproduce, as well as the extermination of animals by poachers.

The Victoria Desert is a clear confirmation and proof that Australia is not in vain called the driest continent on Earth. It is a huge space located in Western and South Australia. Travelers who have explored this desert have even found something poetic in this sun-baked landscape: picturesque folds of sand, which, thanks to the northwest and southeast winds, fit parallel and are colored in brown-red, yellowish, ash and purple. Only eucalyptus, acacia and spinifex grow in the sands of Victoria.

This desert is almost completely devoid of water sources and is extremely difficult to access both for habitation and for research. Despite this, the Myrning Kogara tribes live in the Great Victoria Desert, trying to preserve the traditional way of life. Also noteworthy is the creation of the protected Mamungari Park on the outskirts of the desert, where you can watch birds, plants and some rare animals.

The Victoria Desert is also known as the world capital of opals - their rich deposits are found in a place called Coober Pedy. This town among tourists is better known for its underground dwellings, which the workers equipped in worked out drifts.

This desert was discovered thanks to the desire of the Australian government to find new areas for grazing livestock and people. However, as one would expect, the desire to use the Gibson Desert or, as it was called at first, Aruntu, for this purpose, turned out to be in vain. By the way, she deceived the expectations of oil seekers as well - the search was carried out in the 70s of the 20th century. Currently, several protected areas have been established in the Gibson Desert. One of them - Simpson Desert National Park - is considered the largest. However, rare animals or plants cannot be found inside it - most visitors come here to experience the silence of the desert while driving an off-road vehicle.

Lake Eyre, the mainland's largest lake, although salty, is also not empty - it attracts eagles, ducks, gulls and Australian pelicans. Budgerigars and kingfishers, finches and wheatears, as well as swallows and pink cockatoos have chosen trees rare in this area - acacias.

As in any desert, the flora is represented by thorns and drought-resistant grasses: spinifex and eucalyptus, and the flora is represented by lizards and rodents: marsupial jerboa, desert bandicoot, marsupial mole, marsupial mouse, ubiquitous dingoes and kangaroos, as well as wild camels.

The desert is located within the Nambung National Park near the city of Cervantes in Western Australia. Here are located free-standing stones, which are a combination of the remains of trees that once grew here, the remains of sea shells and marine life.

Small Sandy Desert

The Little Sandy Desert is located in Western Australia south of the Great Sandy Desert, in the east it connects with the Gibson Desert. There are several lakes in the Lesser Sandy Desert, the largest of which is Lake Disapoinmet in the north, into which the Seiviori River flows. The area of ​​the Malaya Sandy Desert is 101 thousand sq. km. In these parts is the only settlement of Parnngurr. Through the Little Sandy Desert from the city of Vilun to Halls Creek lies the only road for cattle driving 1.5 thousand kilometers long.

The Tirari Desert is located in South Australia. Its area is 15,250 sq. km. In terms of relief, the Tirari Desert is similar to the Simpson Desert, there is an area with fossil deposits. In the north, the Tirari Desert passes into the Simpson Desert, in the east it borders on the Strzelecki Desert. Part of the desert is part of Lake Eyre National Park.

Rocky Sand Desert The Tanami Desert is located northwest of Alice Springs. It is a desert steppe covered with sandy plains, drying up salt lakes and swamps, small water formations of the Lander River. Tanami Desert Area 292,194 sq. km. In some places gold is being mined.

The Strzelecki Desert is located in the southeast in the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, northeast of Lake Eyre, north of the Flinders Range. In the northwest, the Strzelecki Desert passes into the Simpson Desert. The area of ​​the desert is 39,830 km. It was discovered in 1845 and named after the Polish explorer Pavel Strzelecki.

The Sturt Desert is located in South Australia. The desert got its name in honor of Charles Sturt (Charles Sturt), who in 1844 tried to reach the center of Australia. For the most part, the Sturt Desert is a collection of sharp small stones. Therefore, the local natives did not sharpen their arrows, but simply collected stone tips here.

The Pedirka Desert is a small desert in South Australia with an area of ​​about 1250 square kilometers located 100 km northwest of the city of Odnadatta and 250 km northeast of Coober Pedy, a city known as the opal capital of the world and famous for its underground dwellings. The sands of Pedirka are red. The desert is not considered popular with nature lovers and is gradually being built up.

Interestingly, some Australian deserts, namely those located in the western part of the continent, are located higher than the rest of the relief - about 200 meters above sea level. There are also those that rise to 600 meters. Despite the exceptional severity of the deserts that make up most of the continent, travelers and explorers go to Australia at all times of the year, for whom this country is a constant source of new discoveries. There are several travel agencies in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne that specialize in organizing car tours of the Australian deserts.

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