Western Australia: beaches, deserts and coral reefs

This post is also available in: Deutsch

Western Australia is the largest state in Australia. This state has an area of 2,645,615 sq km and a population of 2,600,000 (2019) inhabitants. Most of Western Australia’s inhabitants live in the capital Perth. A city located in the southwestern corner of the state that has over two million inhabitants.

The state borders the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Its coast is bathed by the Indian ocean, and extends for over 20,000 km, from the Great Australian Bight in the south to the Timor Sea in the north.

A LONG SERIES OF DESERTS

Western Australia has a varied and interesting geography. Most of the territory is desert and flat, its interior is made up of some of the largest Australian deserts. Among these to the north is the Great Sandy Desert, in the center is the Gibson Desert. While to the south-east are the Great Victoria Desert and the Nullarbor Plain.

The most densely populated area of Western Australia is the southwestern coast where the cities of Perth and Albany are located. To the south-west, along the coast, there are the low hills of the Darling Range, which surround Perth. Further south, near Albany, are the Stirling Range which reach 1,000 meters in height.

In the central area of the state, in the Pilbara region, there are the mountains of the Hamersley Range where is the highest mountain in Western Australia, Mount Meharry (1,249 meters). In the far north of Western Australia lies the wild Kimberley Plateau, a rocky plateau that does not exceed a thousand meters in height.

A GREAT MINING WEALTH AND LARGE CATTLE BREEDING

The best area for agriculture is the southwest of the state. A large number of agricultural products are grown in this area and breeding is intensively practiced. Most of Australia’s large livestock farms are found in this state. In Western Australia, wine, milk and cheese are also produced. The north-west of Western Australia is instead a desert area, but rich in mines. Here are some of the largest iron deposits in the world. There are also diamond and gold mines, and offshore there are huge oil and natural gas deposits.

Western Australia is far from the rest of the country, but its capital Perth is recognized as the most beautiful city in Australia. Tourists can visit beautiful natural landscapes such as those of the Karijini gorges in the Karijini National Park or some beautiful coastal areas such as those found along the Ningaloo Reef and in the Broome area. The state of Western Australia has three sites included on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Purnululu National Park, Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay.

The climate of Western Australia.

This post is also available in: Deutsch