In this section you will:

1. Objectives In this section you will: • Find out why Australia and New Zealand have unique physical environments. • Learn about Australia’s physical geography. • Explore New Zealand’s physical geography.

2. Key Terms • marsupial (mahr soo pea ul)n. an animal that carries its young in a body pouch, such as a kangaroo • tectonic plate (tek THAN ik playt) n. a huge slab of rock that moves very slowly over a softer layer beneath the surface of Earth’s crust • geyser (GY zur) n. a hot spring that shoots a jet of water and steam into the air • fiord (fyawrd) n. a long, narrow inlet or arm of the sea bordered by steep slopes created by glaciers

3. Australia and New Zealand: Physical-Political

4. Australia lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and New Zealand lies in the Pacific Ocean to the east of Australia. Both countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, south of the Equator, which means that their seasons are opposite of those in the United States.

5. Australia and New Zealand are so far from other continents that many of their animals and plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Marsupials are found elsewhere in the world, but only in Australia are almost all of the mammals marsupials.

6. The uniqueness of New Zealand and Australia is the result of the movement of tectonic plates. Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands are all part of the Indo-Australian plate, which was once part of a landmass that included Africa. Several million years ago, the Indo-Australian plate broke away and began moving northeast toward Asia.

7. Over the centuries, small changes have occurred naturally in the animals and plants of Australia and the islands. Because Australia and the islands are so isolated, their animals—such as the kiwi, kangaroo, and koala—have not spread to other regions.

8. Australia: Land Use

9. Australia, which is about as big as the continental United States, is Earth’s smallest continent. Apart from the mountains called the Great Dividing Range, most of Australia is quite flat. Partly due to moisture-bearing winds that blow westward across the Pacific Ocean, Australia’s climate is mild and pleasant.

10. As the winds rise to cross the Great Dividing Range, they drop the moisture as rain on the region along Australia’s east coast. Australia’s most important rivers, the Murray and the Darling, flow through this region, across a vast plain that contains Australia’s most fertile farmland. Most Australians live in cities on the east coast.

11. Australia: Urban and Rural Population

12. Australia and New Zealand: Population

13. New Zealand, which is made up of two major islands, is much smaller than Australia. North Island and South Island were formed by volcanoes when the Pacific tectonic plate collided with the Indo-Australian tectonic plate. New Zealand’s landforms—highlands, lakes, and mountains—were shaped by volcanoes formed by the movement of tectonic plates.

14. Both New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, and its largest city, Auckland, are located on North Island. Three active volcanoes and Mount Egmont, an inactive volcano, are ona plateau in the middle of North Island. North of the volcanoes are geysers, the energy of which New Zealanders use to produce electricity.

15. Because New Zealand is farther from the Equator, its climate is cooler than Australia’s climate. New Zealand has a mild climate and plenty of rain.

16. Australia and New Zealand: Annual Precipitation

17. Mount Cook is the highest peak in a high, glacier-covered mountain range called the Southern Alps on South Island. Fiords slice the southern coastline where the mountains reach the sea. To the southwest is the flat, fertile Canterbury Plain, where ranchers raise sheep and cattle and farmers produce most of New Zealand’s crops.

18. More than four out of five New Zealanders live in towns and cities along the coast. Like Australia, New Zealand has deposits of coal, iron ore, and natural gas.