Geographical Perspective on the Origins of Australia

1.     Continental Drift refers to the way Earths continents move around the Earth.

2.    Convection Currents are the processes associated with plate movements.

3.    The super continent which existed over 1 billion years ago was called Rodinia

4.    Pangaea existed between 300 and 100 million years ago.

5.    The present-day continents which were part of Gondwana included:

·         South America

·         Africa

·         India

·         Antarctica

·         Australia

6.    Australia is moving at 5cm per year and is moving North.

7.    Australia’s desert landscapes are just under 1 million years old.

8.    The main agent of erosion in Australia is water.

9.    Geomorphology is the branch of geography that is involved with the study of landforms.

10. A Geomorphologist studies landforms to determine the processes that form and transform them.

The Positive & Negative Effects of Australia having a Long Coastline & Large EEZ

Advantages of Long Coastline:                                            
- Allows beautiful views                                                        
- Allows tropical environments                                              
- Shipping Access                                                                
- Tourism                                                                             
- Residential Needs                                                               
- Isolation



Disadvantages of Long Coastline:                                                                       - Hard to control from a distance                                                                         - Closer to Attack                                                                                           
- Hard to Maintain
- Hard to export goods and other necessities                                                    - Hard to travel                       

Advantages of EEZ:
- Allows power in other parts of the world
- Allows rights to marine recources
- Allows more land
- Tourism
- Allows more military forces

Disadvantages of Long Coastline:
- More vulnerable to attack
- Harder to travel
- Danger from Isolation 
- Tsunami Hazard's
- More Cyclones and Tropical Storms

Vocabulary List Unit 1 Australia

Batholith: A volcanic formation caused by magma solidifying before reaching the surface.
Catchment: An area drained by a river.
Dreamtime: When the environment and all living things were created in the Aboriginal belief system.
Epicormic: A shoot from a dormant bud.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): The area 200 nautical miles from the coastline over which a county has control of the resources.
Geomorphologist: A geographer who studies the formation of land.
Hemisphere: Half of the Earth.
Isobar: Lines on a synoptic chart that join places of equal air pressure.
Latitude: The distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees.
Lignotubers: Starchy swellings that contain dormant buds.
Longitude: The distance east or west of the Prime Meridian measured in degrees.
Lunette: A crescent-shaped dune composed of sand and clay sediments.
Mallee: A vegetation community found in Australia’s semi-arid zone.
Metamorphic: A type of rock which has changed due to heat, pressure or both.
Sclerophyll: A plant with thick, leathery leaves.
Sedimentary: A type of rock formed by sediments.
Tectonic Forces: Movements which course deformation of the Earth’s crust.
Watershed: The diving line between catchments.
Xerophyte: A type of plant adapted to draught.

1.2
Population Density: The size of a population.

1.4
Continental Drift: The way continents move.
Convection Currents: Currents which cause continental drift.
Glaciation: To cover with ice or glaciers.

1.5
Central Lowlands: The area of Australia which is the lowest in land height.
Eastern Highlands: The area of Australia which is the 2^nd highest in land height.
Western Plateau: The area of Australia which is the highest in land height.

1.6
El Nino: When the circulation reverses and South America receives rain while Australia stays dry.
La Nina: When rains come to Australia and South America receives drought.
Eucalypts: Tall trees belonging to the genus Eucalypts.

1.7
Biodiversity: Diversity within all organisms.
Fauna: The animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.
Flora: The plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole.


1.8
Crescent-Shaped Dunes: A giant hole of sand shaped in a crescent shape.
Diprotodont: Any marsupial of the group or suborder having fewer than three upper incisor teeth on each side of the jaw.
Mega Fauna: Land animals of a given area that can be seen with the unaided eye.
Thylacine: A wolf like marsupial of Tasmania, tan-coloured with black stripes across the back. Probably extinct.

1.9
Ephemerals: Lasting a very short time.
Transpiration: The passage of water through a plant from the roots through the vascular system to the atmosphere.

1.10
Acidification: To make or become acid.
Aquaculture: The cultivation of aquatic animals and plants in natural or controlled marine or freshwater environments; underwater agriculture.

Non-Renewable: A substance which once used will never return.
Salinity: The amount of salt in the earth.
Silviculture: The cultivation of forest trees.
Sustainable: An equal balance.
World Heritage: A precious site being natural or man made.