LANDSCAPES AND LANDUSES - Cyriljacksonjanison.cyriljackson.wa.edu.au/janison/pd/mycourse/W… ·...

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Year 12

Flexible Open Learning

/tt/file_convert/5f26971682a5be475665c27c/document.doc

UNIT 1: AUSTRALIAN PHYSIOGRAPHY

Module 1: Australian Landscapes Section 1: Landscapes

GEOGRAPHY

E305

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2009

SECTION 1: LANDSCAPES AND LANDUSES Module 1: Australian LandscapesUnit 1: PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA

“Physiography”:- the physical features of the earth, their causes and their relation to one another“Physiographic regions”- those broad formal regions of Australia which are united by similarities based on………

location: mountains or sand dunes or plains which look similar but are located in entirely different places are deemed to be in a different region, hence Eastern Highlands, Central Lowlands, Great Western Plateau, and Coastal Plain

the general land form:plain, plateau, mountainous

height above sea-level:general height, prominent points

characteristic features found there:- mountains, ranges, plateaus/tablelands, mesa,

butte, horst/block mountains, fold mountains, synclines/anticlines, inselbergs, hills- volcanic features: lava plain, volcanic cones,

plugs, granite outcrop, exposed batholith


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- valleys (‘V’-shaped, broad, deep/shallow), gorge, rift/graben

- coastal plain, inland plain. peneplain- sand dunes, sand ridges, sandy or stony desert, - use adjectives: hilly, undulating, rugged, mountainous, dissected

origins:tectonics: internal and external volcanic forces,

folding, faultinggradation: weathering (chemical and physical)

erosionmass movement (gravity induced)

drainage:type: seasonal, perennial, intermittentdirection: internal (doesn’t reach the coast)

external (to the sea)uncoordinated (no permanent channels, or even direction of flow)

speed: slow, fast-flowing, meandering, sluggish

water “stream” in geography covers all bodies running water - streams,

rivers, brooks, creeks etcmarsh, bog, swamplake, lagoon

water: freshwater, saline, brackish

Australian geographers have already decided that there are four major physiographic regions:

The Great Western Plateau (‘The Western Shield’)The Central LowlandsThe Coastal PlainThe Eastern Highlands

The sub-divisionsGeographers have also decided that these major regions can be further divided into sub-regions. YOU WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO MEMORISE THESE - BUT THEY MAY BE HELPFUL WHEN DESCRIBING THE MAJOR PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:


TASK 1: Refer to a physical map of Australia (Atlas) to judge how well these geographers have done.

TASK 2: Use the map of Australia provided which has the major physiographic regions drawn for you to superimpose the following sub-regions onto the map:

Great Western PlateauDarling PlateauNullarbor PlainPilbara HighlandCanning Basin (‘The Great Sandy Desert’)Kimberley PlateauArnhem BlockCentral Australian HighlandCentral DesertBarkly TablelandShatter Belt

The Central LowlandsCarpentaria LowlandsLake Eyre BasinMurray-Darling Basin

The Eastern HighlandsAtherton TablelandCentral TablelandAustralian AlpsTasmanian Highlands

The Coastal PlainEastern Coastal PlainWestern Coastal Plain

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Task 3: Naming features:

On the second map of Australia locate the following features:Coastal LowlandsNullarbor cliffs‘drowned’ coast of the Kimberley

Eastern HighlandsMt KosciuszkoAustralian AlpsGlasshouse MtsWarrumbunglesSnowy riverYarra riverShoalhaven river

Central LowlandsSelwyn RangeLake EyreMurray riverDarling river‘Channel country’‘Gulf country’

Great Western PlateauMt Meharry (highest in WA)Hamersley RangesDarling RangesMacdonnell RangesMusgrave RangesMt Lofty RangesLake AmadeusLake DisappointmentFitzroy RiverFortescue riverSwan RiverSimpson desertGreat Victoria desertGibson desertGreat Sandy desert

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COMPREHENSION EXERCISESChapter ONE THE BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Introduction1. Which part of Australia is the oldest, and where is it ?

2. When were the Eastern Highlands formed ?

3.

4. Which process has most shaped Australia’s landforms ?


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_________________________________________

5. Use Table 1.1 to list these processes:

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6. Why is Australia both very flat and very infertile ?

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7. What evidence is there that Australia was not always such a hot, dry continent ?

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8. Which two factors most influence the type and distribution of vegetation in Australia ?

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Australia’s Physiographic Regions1. List the “tectonic forces” (Table 1.1)

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_____________________________________ Tectonics: those forces which build the earth. Think of architect.

2. Why is Australia so tectonically inactive ?

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3. Why, then, are our close neighbours New Guinea and New Zealand so tectonically active ?


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________________________________________________________________________

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THE GREAT WESTERN PLATEAU1. Which sub-region has “the most extensive sequences of flood basalt {lava flow]

in the world” ?

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2. What was the original height of the plateau ? And what is its height now ?

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3. What is the geological name given to the large exposed batholiths (granite domes) which are such a feature of the Darling Plateau ?

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4. Why is so much of the Great Western Plateau so flat ? [‘Western Shield’ is just an alternative name for Great Western Plateau – you can use them interchangeably]

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Sandy deserts, rocky deserts and salt lakes

1. List the landform features common to the Central Desert:

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It is NOT necessary for you to memorise gradational processes or tectonic forces in detail, but you should be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge by being able to list a few of them in an extended answer.

Research: What is the height of Mt Meharry – WA’s highest mountain ? (It’s in the Pilbara).

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If the Shield was once well over 1000m high, and is now less than 500m above sea level, where did the countless billions of tonnes of material go to ? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________

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2. List some of the deserts of the Great Western Plateau. Locate them on the map: __________________________ _______________________________

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Ranges of the Plateau

1. List some of the highland areas of the Great Western Plateau. Locate them on the map below:

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2. Mesas and buttes are both remnant landforms which have resisted erosion. Which is larger ?

A mesaB butte

3. Use the stylised block diagram to identify the following features in the Pilbara highlands:

Hamersley Range Chichester range Fortescue River gorge incised meander box canyon mesa alluvial fan


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4. Use the cross-section to identify the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Spencer Gulf, Gulf of St Vincent, Flinders Range, step faults, fault lines, rift valleys

Elevated Plateaus

1. List the tectonic processes which have shaped the Kimberley.

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2. Locate the Kimberley Plateau and Arnhem Plateau on the map below:


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