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Desert in Australia. australian deserts

On the Australian continent, deserts have got a huge territory, almost half of the continent. Moreover, a significant part of the Australian deserts, namely those that occupied western part continent, are located on some elevation - on a huge plateau about 200 m above sea level. Some deserts rise even higher, up to 600 m. Among the desert plains, two mountain folded systems with quite high peaks- some of them reach 1500 m.

The complex terrain divides the giant Australian desert into several, so to speak, independent, autonomous deserts. The largest of them, the Great Sandy Desert, is located in the northwestern part of the continent, and a huge big desert Victoria. If you look at the Australian deserts from a bird's eye view, and even better from space, then not all of them are yellow or gray, like other deserts in the world. In the northern part of the Great Sandy Desert, the sands are red-brown in color, while many other areas are covered not with sand, but with dark rubble and pebbles.

Vast areas covered with parallel sandy ridges, having a length of up to several kilometers, are real deserts. They include the Great Sandy Desert, the Great Victoria Desert, the Gibson, Tanami and Simpson Deserts. Even in these areas, most of the surface is covered with sparse vegetation, but their economic use is hindered by a lack of water. There are also large expanses of stony deserts that are almost completely devoid of vegetation. Any significant areas occupied by moving sand dunes are rare. Most of the rivers are filled with water episodically, and most of the territory does not have a developed runoff system.

There are several large sand and pebble deserts in Australia, there are deserts and purely sandy ones. Perhaps the largest of them is the Arunta Desert, otherwise it is also called the Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, somewhat closer to the west.

The Simpson Desert was named in 1929 in honor of the president of the Geographical Society of Australia. She is also called Arunta. It occupies the extreme eastern foothills of the McDonnell and Musgrave Mountains in Central Australia. This is a sandy dune-ridged desert, which includes extensive rocky and gravel massifs. Its area is 300 thousand square meters. km. The Simpson Desert is characterized by extremely pronounced aridity; a number of salt lakes are located in the southeastern part of the desert. The Simpson Desert is rich in groundwater.

The Great Sandy Desert with an area of 360 thousand square meters. km is located in the northwestern part of the continent, and is extended by a wide strip (over 1300 km) from the coast indian ocean to the McDonnell Ranges. The surface of the desert is elevated above sea level to a height of 500-700 m. A typical form of relief is latitudinal sand ridges. The amount of precipitation in the desert varies from 250 mm in the south to 400 mm in the north. There are no permanent streams, although there are many other dry channels along the periphery of the desert.

Great Victoria Desert with an area of 350 thousand square meters. km is located south of the Musgrave and Yurburton ridges, which limit it from the Great Sandy Desert. This is a sandy area of the Western Australian peneplain with altitudes of 150-300 m above sea level. Sand ridges up to 10 m high and mounds are found everywhere, but they are much shorter and more irregular than in the Simpson Desert and the Great Sandy Desert.

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 dwarf 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.

American scientists have found that one of the species of Australian desert acacias Acacia victoriae synthesizes biologically active substances avicins, which have anti-cancer properties. The therapeutic and prophylactic effects of these compounds have been identified in experiments on mice. After avicin therapy, the probability of developing precancerous neoplasms in mice was reduced by 70%, and if tissue did appear, the risk of their occurrence was 90% lower than in mice not exposed to avicins.

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 due to geographic location continent, huge water surface Pacific Ocean and close proximity to the Asian mainland. 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, clay 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 there 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 boundary of the zone runs along the Trans-Australian railway, and the southern one 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. This is where the famous national park Kata Tjuta - Uluru (Ayers Rock), 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 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, quite a lot rainy days for the desert. But location Tanami Desert is that it prevails heat, and with it a high evaporation rate. 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, 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.

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 are amazing: between high dunes there are areas of smooth clay crust and rocky plains strewn with turned stones. The Simpson Desert is not like other hot sand deposits in Australia, of which there are thousands. square kilometers. 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.

In the territory 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 main river passing 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 finding fresh lake However, nature played a cruel joke with the researcher - such water in 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 the 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

V 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 is home to 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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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 driest continent in the world. the globe.

Deserts of Australia - Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria Desert, Simpson (Arunta). The deserts of Australia are confined to ancient structural elevated plains. Climatic conditions Australia is due to its geographical position, orographic features, the vast 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 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.

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. Most large 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 wealth groundwater. A number of large artesian basins stand out here (Desert Artesian Basin, North-Western Basin, Northern part the Murray River Basin and part of Australia's largest groundwater basin, the Great Artesian Basin).

The soil cover of deserts is very peculiar. In northern and central regions red, red-brown and brown soils stand out (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.

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, the vast 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.

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.

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, the northern part of the 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.

Australia is often referred to as the desert continent. About 44% of the mainland's surface is occupied by desert and arid territories.
They are common on the Western Australian Plateau and on the plains of Central Australia.

In the driest regions of the center of the mainland, large areas are stony placers or shifting sands.
On the Western Australian Plateau, rocky deserts form on thick ferruginous crusts (a legacy of wet epochs). Their bare surface has a characteristic bright orange color.
On the Nullarbor Plain, composed of fissured limestones, the desert goes to the southern coast of the mainland.

Great Victoria Desert

The largest desert on the Australian continent.
Its size is about 424,400 km2.
The desert was first crossed by European explorer Ernest Giles in 1875 and named after Queen Victoria.
The average annual rainfall varies from 200 to 250 mm of rain. Thunderstorms are frequent (15-20 per year).
Daytime temperature in summer is 32-40 °C, in winter 18-23 °C.
It is generally accepted that the desert is an endless sand dunes or lifeless rocky plains. However, the Great Victoria Desert looks different. Huge variety of shrubs and small plants. After a rare rain, wild flowers and acacias contrasting on the red sand are an unforgettable sight.
Even without rain, the caves, rocks and gorges of the desert are mesmerizing.

Great Sandy Desert

The second largest after Victoria. 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.
The desert has an area of 360,000 km²
The Great Sandy Desert is the hottest region in Australia.
In the summer period from December to February, the average temperature reaches 35 ° C, in winter - up to 20 -15 ° C.
It is here that the famous Kata Tjuta National Park - Uluru (Ayers Rock) is located, which attracts travelers from all over the world.

Tanami

The rocky and sandy desert is located northwest of the city of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory 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 the location of Tanami is such that high temperature prevails, 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.
There is gold mining in the desert. Tourism has developed in recent years.

Gibson Desert

Sandy desert in the center of Western Australia. It borders the Great Sandy Desert to the north and the Great Victoria Desert to the south.
One of the first explorers of the region described it as "a huge hilly desert of gravel."
Soils are sandy, rich in iron, strongly weathered. In places there are thickets of veinless acacia, quinoa and spinifex grass, which bloom with bright flowers after rare rains.
Annual rainfall in the Gibson Desert can range from 200 to 250 millimeters. The climate is typically hot, in the south temperatures in summer can rise above 40°C, in winter the maximum is around 18°C and the minimum is 6°C.

Desert Simpson

The Simpson Desert is the main part national park Uluru-Kata Tjuta in Australia.
This desert is famous for the fact that its sands are bright red and like scarlet waves continuously roll over the desert.
The landscapes of this place amaze the imagination: between high dunes there are areas of smooth clay crust and rocky plains strewn with turned stones. Simpson is the driest desert
average temperature in summer (January) it is 28-30 °С, in winter - 12-15 °С. In the northern part of the precipitation is less than 130 mm.

Small Sandy Desert

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

There are several lakes in the territory of the Little Sandy Desert, the largest of which is Lake Disapointment, and it is located in the north. Seyviori is the main river that runs through this area. It flows into Lake Disapointet.

The area of the region is 101 thousand km². The average annual 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

Tirari Desert

It occupies an area of 15 thousand square kilometers, and it is located in the eastern part of South Australia.

The desert contains salt lakes and large dunes of sand. There are quite severe conditions, high temperatures and very little precipitation, the average annual amount of which does not exceed 125 millimeters.

It is also part of the rocky ecoregion of Australia.

The Pinnacles

A small desert in the southwest of Western Australia. The name of the desert is translated as "desert of pointed rocks". The desert got its name for towering 1-5 meters of free-standing stones in the middle of a sandy plain. Nearest locality- the city of Cervantes, from which a 20-minute drive to the desert. Stones are rocks or peaks.

The Pinnacles is part of the Nambung National Park.
The landscapes in this part are exceptional, you might think that you are on another planet.
If you are a visitor to the Nambung National Park, do not miss the opportunity to see the beautiful nature of the Te Pinnacles desert.