Geography of the Northern Territory

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The Northern Territory occupies the north central part of the continent of Australia. The Northern Territory is bordered on the west by Western Australia, to the south by South Australia and in the east is Queensland. In the Top End of the Territory is a 13,500km^[1] coastline, extending from the west coast of the Northern Territory to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Territories east.

The southern part of the Territory (Central Australia) is extremely arid. Alice Springs and the surrounding communities make the total population of Central Australia around 60,000 people. There are also large Cattle Stations and significant areas protected around the area. Major transportation in Central Australia mainly comes from road and rail. There are many very small settlements scattered across the Territory but the larger population centres are located on the single sealed road that links Darwin to southern Australia, the Stuart Highway, known to locals simply as "the track".

The coastline in the Top End includes three of Australia's largest islands, Groote Eylandt, Bathurst Island and Melville Island which is the largest island in the Northern Territory. The highest point in the Territory is Mount Zeil at 1,531 metres (5021.68 ft) which lies within the West MacDonnell Ranges.^[2] In the northern part of the territory lies Kakadu National Park, which features breathtaking wetlands and native wildlife. To the north of that lies the Arafura Sea, and to the east lies Arnhem Land, whose regional centre is Maningrida on the Liverpool River delta. There is an extensive series of river systems in the Northern Territory these rivers include: Alligator River, Daly River, Finke River, McArthur River, Roper River, Todd River and Victoria River.

Much of the Territory is relatively flat, but has some disconnected ranges, the most spectacular of these ranges is the sandstone plateau of western Arnhem Land. Long mountain ranges are more a feature of Central Australia, these include the MacDonnell Ranges, the Petermann Ranges, and Harts range. The Northern Territory is also home to two spectacular natural rock formations, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), which are sacred to the local Aboriginal peoples and which have become major tourist attractions.

The Northern Territory has the two largest deserts in Australia, the Tanami Desert which is 184,500km² which lies in the northern part of the Territory, and the Simpson Desert, which is 176,500km² and lies in Central Australia.^[3]

The Victoria River is the longest river in the Northern Territory and flows for 560 kilometres (348 mi).^[4]

[edit] Climate

Most of the Territory lies within the tropics, with the Tropic of Capricorn passing just north of Alice Springs

Highest maximum temperature: 48.3 °C (118.9 °F), Finke, 2 January 1960

Lowest minimum temperature: -7.5 °C (18.5 °F), Alice Springs, 12 July 1976 [3]^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ Northern Territory Government, Northern Territory Geography accessed January 6, 2008
2. ^ Highest Mountains. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
3. ^ Deserts. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
4. ^ Longest Rivers. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
5. ^ World temperature extremes (2008-01-06). Retrieved on 2008-01-06.

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