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Australia's most famous desert. Deserts of Australia, Great Victoria Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Desert, Gibson Desert, Simpson Desert

Australia is often called the desert continent because... about 44% of its surface (3.8 million sq. km) is occupied by arid territories, of which 1.7 million sq. km. km - desert.

Even the rest is seasonally dry.

This suggests that Australia is the driest continent on the globe.

Deserts of Australia are a complex of desert regions located in Australia.

The deserts of Australia are located in two climatic zones - tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupying the latter zone.

Great Sandy Desert

The Great Sandy Desert or Western Desert is a sandy-salt desert in the north-west of Australia (Western Australia).

The desert has an area of 360,000 km² and is located approximately within the boundaries of the Canning sedimentary basin. It extends 900 km from west to east from Eighty Mile Beach on the Indian Ocean deep into the Northern Territories to the Tanami Desert, as well as 600 km from north to south from the Kimberley region to the Tropic of Capricorn, passing into the Gibson Desert.

It gradually decreases to the north and west, the average height in the southern part is 400-500 m, in the north - 300 m. The predominant relief is ridges of sand dunes, the average height of which is 10-12 m, the maximum is up to 30 m Ridges up to 50 km long are elongated in the latitudinal direction, which is determined by the direction of the prevailing trade winds. The region is home to numerous salt marsh lakes that occasionally fill with water: Disappointment in the south, Mackay in the east, Gregory in the north, which is fed by the Sturt Creek River.

The Great Sandy Desert is the hottest region of Australia. In the summer from December to February, the average temperature reaches 35 °C, in winter - up to 20--15 °C. Precipitation is rare and irregular, mainly brought by the summer equatorial monsoons. In the northern part, about 450 mm of precipitation falls, in the southern part - up to 200 mm, most of it evaporates and seeps into the sand.

The desert is covered with red sands; the dunes are predominantly inhabited by prickly xerophytic grasses (spinifex, etc.). The dune ridges are separated by clay-salt plains, on which acacia shrubs (in the south) and low-growing eucalyptus trees (in the north) grow.

There is almost no permanent population in the desert, with the exception of several Aboriginal groups, including the Karadjeri and Nygina tribes. It is assumed that the interior of the desert may contain minerals. In the central part of the region there is national park Rudall River, far south -- listed World Heritage Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Europeans first crossed the desert (from east to west) and described it in 1873 under the leadership of Major P. Warburton. The Canning Stock Route, 1,600 km long, runs through the desert region in a northeasterly direction from the town of Wiluna through Disappointment Lake to Halls Creek. Wolf Creek Crater is located in the northeastern part of the desert.

Great Victoria Desert

The Great Victoria Desert is a sandy-salt desert in Australia (the states of Western Australia and South Australia).

The name in honor of Queen Victoria was given by the British explorer of Australia Ernest Giles, who in 1875 was the first European to cross the desert.

The area is 424,400 km², while the length from east to west is more than 700 km. To the north of the desert is the Gibson Desert, to the south is the Nullarbor Plain. Due to unfavorable climatic conditions (arid climate), no agricultural activities are carried out in the desert. It is a protected area in Western Australia.

The Mamungari Protected Area is located in the desert state of South Australia, one of Australia's 12 biosphere reserves.

Average annual precipitation varies from 200 to 250 mm of rain. Thunderstorms occur frequently (15-20 per year). Daytime temperatures in summer are 32--40 °C, in winter 18--23 °C. Snow never falls in the desert.

The Great Victoria Desert is inhabited by several Aboriginal Australian groups, including the Kogarah and Mirning peoples.

Gibson Desert

The Gibson Desert is a sandy desert in Australia (in the center of Western Australia), located south of the Tropic of Capricorn, between the Great Sandy Desert in the north and the Great Victoria Desert in the south.

The Gibson Desert has an area of 155,530 km² and is located within a plateau that is composed of Precambrian rocks and covered with rubble resulting from the destruction of an ancient ferruginous shell. An early explorer of the region described it as “a vast, rolling gravel desert.” Average height The desert is 411 m high; in the eastern part there are remnant ridges up to 762 m high, composed of granites and sandstone. The desert is bordered on the west by the Hamersley Range. In Western and eastern parts consists of long parallel sandy ridges, but in the central part the relief levels out. In the western part lie several salt marsh lakes, including the 330 km² Disappointment Lake, which borders the Great Sandy Desert.

Precipitation is extremely irregular, its amount does not exceed 250 mm per year. The soils are sandy, rich in iron, and highly weathered. In some places there are thickets of veinless acacia, quinoa and spinifex grass, which bloom with bright colors after rare rains.

In 1977, a reserve (Gibson Desert Nature Reserve) was organized on the territory of the Gibson Desert, the area of which is 1,859,286 hectares. The reserve is home to many desert animals, such as great bilbies (threatened with extinction), red kangaroos, emus, Australian duckweed, striped grass wren and moloch. Birds flock to Disappointment Lake and neighboring lakes, which appear after rare rains, in search of protection from the dry climate.

Populated primarily by Australian Aborigines, the desert area is used for extensive grazing. The desert was discovered in 1873 (or 1874) by the English expedition of Ernest Giles, who crossed it in 1876. The desert received its name in honor of expedition member Alfred Gibson, who died in it while searching for water.

Small Sandy Desert

The Little Sandy Desert is a sandy desert in western Australia (Western Australia).

Located south of the Great Sandy Desert, in the east it becomes the Gibson Desert. The name of the desert is due to the fact that it is located next to the Great Sandy Desert, but has a much smaller size. According to the characteristics of the relief, fauna and flora, the Small Sandy Desert is similar to its large “sister”.

The area of the region is 101 thousand km². The average annual precipitation, which falls mainly in summer, is 150-200 mm, the average annual evaporation is 3600-4000 mm. Average summer temperatures range from 22 to 38.3 ° C, in winter this figure is 5.4-21.3 ° C. The internal flow, the main watercourse is Savory Creek, flows into Disappointment Lake, located in the northern part of the region. There are also several small lakes in the south. The headwaters of the Rudall and Cotton rivers are located near the northern borders of the region. Spinifex grass grows in red sand soils.

Since 1997, several fires have been recorded in the region, the most significant was in 2000, when 18.5% of the region's area was damaged. About 4.6% of the bioregion's territory has conservation status.

There are no large settlements within the desert. Most of the land belongs to the Aborigines, their largest settlement is Parnngurr. Crossing the desert to the northeast is the 1,600 km long Canning Cattle Trail, the only route through the desert running from the town of Wiluna through Disappointment Lake to Halls Creek.

Simpson Desert

Simpson Desert is a sandy desert in the center of Australia. for the most part located in the south-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, and a small part in the states of Queensland and South Australia.

It has an area of 143 thousand km², is bounded from the west by the Finke River, from the north by the MacDonnell Range and the Plenty River, from the east by the Mulligan and Diamantina rivers, and from the south by the large salt lake Air.

The desert was discovered by Charles Sturt in 1845 and was named Arunta in Griffith Taylor's 1926 drawing. After surveying the area from the air in 1929, geologist Cecil Medigen named the desert after Allen Simpson, president of the South Australian branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. It is believed that the first European to cross the desert was Medigen in 1939 (on camels), but in 1936 it was done by the expedition of Edmund Albert Colson.

In the 1960s-80s, oil was searched unsuccessfully in the Simpson Desert. At the end of the 20th century, the desert became popular among tourists; excursions in four-wheel drive vehicles are of particular interest.

The soils are predominantly sandy with parallel ridges of dunes, sandy-pebble in the south-eastern part, and clayey near the shores of Lake Eyre. Sand dunes 20-37 m high stretch from northwest to southeast over distances of up to 160 km. In the valleys between them (450 m wide) the spinifex grass grows, fixing sandy soils. There are also xerophytic shrubby acacias (veinless acacia) and eucalyptus trees.

The Simpson Desert is the last refuge for some of Australia's rare desert animals, including the comb-tailed marsupial. Vast parts of the desert received the status of protected areas:

· Simpson Desert National Park, western Queensland, organized in 1967, occupies 10,120 km²

· Simpson Desert conservation park, South Australia, 1967, 6927 km²

· regional reserve Simpson Desert, South Australia, 1988, 29,642 km²

· Wijira National Park, northern South Australia, 1985 7770 km²

In the northern part, precipitation is less than 130 mm, dry creek beds are lost in the sand.

The Todd, Plenty, Hale, and Hay rivers flow through the Simpson Desert; in the southern part there are many drying up salt lakes.

Small settlements that raise livestock draw water from the Great Artesian Basin.

Australian desert fauna precipitation

Tanami is a rocky sandy desert in northern Australia. Area -- 292,194 km². The desert was the last frontier of the Northern Territory and was little explored by Europeans until the 20th century.

The Tanami Desert occupies the central part of Australia's Northern Territory and a small area of north-eastern Western Australia. To the southeast of the desert is the settlement of Alice Springs, and to the west is the Great Sandy Desert.

The desert is a desert steppe typical of central Australia with vast sandy plains covered with grasses of the genus Triodia. The main landforms are dunes and sand plains, as well as shallow water basins of the Lander River, which contain water holes, dry marshes and salt lakes.

The climate in the desert is semi-desert. 75-80% of precipitation falls in the summer months (October-March). The average annual rainfall in the Tanami region is 429.7 mm, which is high for a desert area. But due to high temperatures, the rain that falls quickly evaporates, so the local climate is very dry. The average daily evaporation rate is 7.6 mm. Average daytime temperature in the summer months (October-March) it is about 36--38 °C, at night it is 20--22 °C. The temperature in the winter months is much lower: daytime is about 25 °C, nighttime is below 10 °C.

In April 2007, the Northern Tanami Aboriginal Protected Area was created in the desert, covering an area of about 4 million hectares. It lives in a large number of vulnerable representatives of local flora and fauna.

The first European to reach the desert was explorer Geoffrey Ryan in 1856. However, the first European to explore the Tanami was Allan Davidson. During his expedition in 1900, he discovered and mapped local gold deposits. The area has a small population due to unfavorable climatic conditions. The traditional inhabitants of the Tanami are the Australian Aborigines, namely the Walrpiri and Gurindji tribes, who are the land owners of much of the desert. The largest settlements are Tennant Creek and Wauchope.

Gold mining is carried out in the desert. Tourism has been developing recently.

Strzelecki Desert

The Strzelecki Desert is located in the southeast of the mainland in the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. The desert area makes up 1% of Australia. It was discovered by Europeans in 1845 and named after the Polish explorer Pawel Strzelecki. Also in Russian sources it is called the Streletsky Desert.

Stone Desert of Sturt

The rock desert, which occupies 0.3% of Australia's territory, is located in the state of South Australia and is a collection of sharp small stones. Local aborigines did not sharpen their arrows, but simply dialed stone tips here. The desert got its name in honor of Charles Sturt, who in 1844 tried to reach the center of Australia.

Tirari Desert

This desert, located in the state of South Australia and occupying 0.2% of the mainland's area, has some of the harshest climatic conditions in Australia, due to high temperatures and virtually no rain. The Tirari Desert is home to several salt lakes, including Lake Eyre. The desert was discovered by Europeans in 1866.

Despite the fact that Australia is called the Green Continent, 40% of its territory occupy vast desert areas with harsh climatic conditions. Some parts of Australia's deserts have not seen rain for decades.

It is due to this that most of the continent remains dry throughout the year, which makes the Green Continent one of the driest on the planet.

The “queen” of the Australian desert system can be called the Red Desert or Great Sandy Desert, which occupies 360,000 km².

She stretches out at 900 km from Eighty Mile Beach on the Indian Ocean coast to the Tanami Desert deep into the Northern Territories.

In the south it turns into another desert of Australia - the Gibson Desert. Red sand dunes, the absence of a permanent population and the status of the hottest place in Australia make this desert area at the same time interesting and scary.

Not every tourist will want to visit these wild vast arid places. So, why don’t even the natives of this territory risk staying in the Great Sandy Desert for a long time?

Red Desert in detail

First of all, it is worth noting the relief of the Great Sandy Desert. Here dominated by ridges of sand dunes, whose height on average ranges from ten to twelve meters.

Maximum dune height The Red Desert is thirty meters. The Great Sandy Desert of Australia is characterized by rare filling of numerous salt lakes with water.

So, in the south Lake Disappointment fills with moisture from time to time, in the east - Mackay, and in the north - Gregory. If we take all the deserts of Australia, then the Great Sandy Desert leader in the hottest climate.

From December to February, when it is summer in Australia, the average thermometer here reaches 35°C, in winter, and from June to August, when it is winter on the Green Continent, the air temperature decreases on average up to 15-20 °C.

Interesting to know! Most precipitation falls in the north of the desert. In the south, the bulk of the already rare moisture either seeps into the sands or instantly evaporates.

The arid climate of this desert is due to the fact that precipitation here is extremely irregular. Moisture is mainly brought by the equatorial summer monsoons.

Territory of the Great Sandy Desert covered with red sands. A number of scientists suggest that the depths of the Red Desert may well contain minerals.

Nature and animals of the desert

Extremely harsh conditions, of course, do not contribute to the rich vegetation in the Red Desert.

That's why on sand dunes The red desert mainly grows like this xerophytic spiny grasses and shrubs like spinifex and acacia.

IN northern regions this desert grows low growing eucalyptus.

As for the animal world, then live here Australia's desert animals include the moth lizard, dingo, red kangaroo and goanna. The Red Desert also became home to such typical Australian marsupial species as:

comb-tailed mouse;
rabbit bandicoot;
mole-rufus.

As for the avifauna of the Red Desert, they have adapted to its extremely harsh hot conditions exclusively a few species of parrots Australia.

Life in the desert

The harsh climatic conditions that Australia's Great Sandy Desert offers are the reason why no permanent population.

However, in certain more or less favorable, if they can be called such, areas of the Red Desert to this day Several groups of Australian Aboriginal people live.

These are the tribes of the indigenous inhabitants of the Green Continent, such as: Ngina and Caradieri. But even these old-timers of the Great Sandy Desert are afraid of its harshness and dryness.

Each individual desert in Australia has its own characteristics. But the Red Desert is a real deserted huge territory, to which only certain species of flora and fauna have adapted.

The moisture-deprived territory frightens even the aborigines, who settled across its area in areas that are at least occasionally sprinkled with rain. Frightening and impressive The Great Sandy Desert is a true natural wonder and Australian heritage.

In conclusion, we invite you to look video about the natural mystery of Australia– Red Desert:

Australia is often called a continent of deserts, because about 44% of its surface (3.8 million sq. km) is occupied by arid territories, of which 1.7 million sq. km. km - desert. Even the rest is seasonally dry. This suggests that Australia is the driest continent on the globe.

Deserts of Australia - Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria, Simpson (Arunta). The deserts of Australia are confined to ancient structural elevated plains. Climatic conditions Australia due to her geographical location, orographic features, the vast area of the Pacific Ocean and the proximity of the Asian continent. Of the three climatic zones of the southern hemisphere, the deserts of Australia are located in two: tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupied by the latter zone. In the tropical climate zone, which occupies the territory between the 20th and 30th parallel in the desert zone, a tropical continental desert climate is formed. A subtropical continental climate is common in southern Australia adjacent to the Great Australian Bight. These are the outlying parts Big Desert Victoria. Therefore, in the summer, from December to February, average temperatures reach 30C, and sometimes higher, and in winter (July - August) they drop to an average of 15-18C. In some years, the entire summer period can reach 40C, while winter nights in the vicinity of the tropics drop to 0C and below. The amount and territorial distribution of precipitation is determined by the direction and nature of the winds. The main source of moisture is the "dry" southeast trade winds, since most of the moisture is retained by the mountain ranges of Eastern Australia. The central and western parts of the country, corresponding to about half the area, receive an average of about 250-300 mm of precipitation per year. The Simpson Desert receives the least amount of precipitation, from 100 to 150 mm per year. The precipitation season in the northern half of the continent, where monsoon winds prevail, is confined to the summer period, and in the southern part, dry conditions prevail during this period. It should be noted that the amount of winter precipitation in the southern half decreases as one moves inland, rarely reaching 28 S latitude. In turn, summer precipitation in the northern half, having the same trend, does not extend south of the tropic. Thus, in the zone between the tropics and 28 S. latitude. there is a belt of aridity. Australia is characterized by excessive variability in average annual precipitation and uneven distribution throughout the year. The presence of long dry periods and high average annual temperatures prevailing over large parts of the continent cause high annual evaporation values. In the central part of the continent they are 2000-2200 mm, decreasing towards its marginal parts. The surface waters of the continent are extremely poor and extremely unevenly distributed throughout the territory. This especially applies to the desert western and central regions of Australia, which are practically drainless, but make up 50% of the continent's area. Australia's hydrographic network is represented by temporary drying watercourses (creeks). The drainage of Australia's desert rivers belongs partly to the Indian Ocean basin and the Lake Eyre basin. The continent's hydrographic network is supplemented by lakes, of which there are about 800, with a significant part of them located in deserts. The most large lakes- Eyre, Torrens, Carnegie and others are salt marshes or dried-out basins covered with a thick layer of salts. The lack of surface water is compensated by the abundance of groundwater. There are a number of large artesian basins here (the Desert Artesian Basin, the North West Basin, the northern Murray River Basin and part of Australia's largest groundwater basin, the Great Artesian Basin).

The soil cover of deserts is very unique. In the northern and central regions red, red-brown and brown soils are distinguished ( characteristic features These soils are acidic, colored by iron oxides). In the southern parts of Australia, sierozem-like soils are widespread. IN Western Australia Desert soils are found along the edges of drainless basins. The Great Sandy Desert and Great Victoria Desert are characterized by red sandy desert soils. In the drainless inland depressions in southwestern Australia and in the Lake Eyre basin, salt marshes and solonetzes are widely developed.

Australian deserts in landscape terms are divided into many different types, among which most often Australian scientists distinguish mountain and foothill deserts, deserts of structural plains, rocky deserts, sandy deserts, clayey deserts, and plains. Sandy deserts are the most common, occupying about 32% of the continent's area. Along with sandy deserts, rocky deserts are also widespread (they occupy about 13% of the area of arid territories. Foothill plains are an alternation of coarse rocky deserts with dry beds of small rivers. This type of desert is the source of most of the country's desert watercourses and always serves as a habitat for aborigines. Deserts Structural plains occur in the form of plateaus with a height of no more than 600 m above sea level. After sandy deserts, they are the most developed, occupying 23% of the area of arid territories, confined mainly to Western Australia.

The Simpson Desert was named in 1929 in honor of the president of the Geographical Society of Australia. She is also called Arunta. It occupies the extreme eastern foothills of the MacDonnell and Musgrave Mountains in Central Australia. This is a sandy dune-ridge desert, which includes vast rocky and gravelly massifs. Its area is 300 thousand square meters. km. The Simpson Desert is characterized by extreme aridity; in the southeastern part of the desert there are a number of salt lakes. The Simpson Desert is rich in groundwater.

Great Sandy Desert with an area of 360 thousand square meters. km is located in the northwestern part of the continent, and stretches in a wide strip (over 1300 km) from the coast of the Indian Ocean to the MacDonnell Ranges. The surface of the desert is raised above sea level to a height of 500-700 m. The typical form of relief is latitudinal sand ridges. The amount of precipitation in the desert varies from 250 mm in the south to 400 mm in the north. There are no permanent watercourses, although there are many other dry riverbeds along the periphery of the desert.

Great Victoria Desert with an area of 350 thousand square meters. km is located south of the Musgrave and Yurburton ranges, which limit it from the Great Sandy Desert. This is a sandy area of Western Australian peneplain with altitudes of 150-300 m above sea level. Sand ridges up to 10 m high and hills are common, but they are much shorter and more irregular than in the Simpson Desert and Great Sandy Desert.

All Australian deserts lie within the Central Australian region of the Australian Floristic Kingdom. Although the desert flora of Australia is significantly inferior in species richness and level of endemism to the flora of the western and northeastern regions of this continent, however, in comparison with other desert regions of the globe, it stands out both in the number of species (more than 2 thousand) and in the abundance of endemics. Species endemism here reaches 90%: there are 85 endemic genera, of which 20 are in the family Compositae, or Asteraceae, 15 - Chenopodiaceae and 12 - Cruciferae. Among the endemic genera there are also background desert grasses - Mitchell's grass and triodia. A large number of species are represented by the families of legumes, myrtaceae, proteaceae and asteraceae. Significant species diversity is demonstrated by the genera Eucalyptus, Acacia, Proteaceae - Grevillea and Hakea. In the very center of the continent, in the gorge of the deserted MacDonnell Mountains, narrow-area endemics have been preserved: the low-growing Liviston palm and Macrozamia from the cycads. Even some types of orchids settle in deserts - ephemeral ones that germinate and bloom only in a short period after the rains. Sundews also penetrate here. The depressions between the ridges and the lower part of the slopes of the ridges are overgrown with clumps of the prickly grass triodia. The upper part of the slopes and the ridges of dune ridges are almost completely devoid of vegetation; only individual curls of the prickly grass Zygochloa settle on the loose sand. In interbarchan depressions and on flat sandy plains, a sparse tree stand of casuarina, individual specimens of eucalyptus, and veinless acacia is formed. The shrub layer is formed by Proteaceae - these are Hakea and several types of Grevillea. In slightly saline areas in depressions, saltwort, ragodia and euhilena appear. After the rains, the interridge depressions and lower parts of the slopes are covered with colorful ephemerals and ephemeroids. In the northern areas of the sands in the Simpson and Great Sandy Deserts, the species composition of background grasses changes somewhat: other species of Triodia, Plectrachne and Shuttlebeard dominate there; the diversity and species composition of acacias and other shrubs becomes greater. Along the channels of temporary waters, gallery forests of several species of large eucalyptus trees form. The eastern edges of the Great Victoria Desert are occupied by sclerophyllous mum scrub scrub. The southwestern Great Victoria Desert is dominated by low-growing eucalypts; The grass layer is formed by kangaroo grass, feather grass species and others.

The arid areas of Australia are very sparsely populated, but the vegetation is used for grazing.

Zoogeographically, the Australian desert region is located in the Mother Region of the Australian faunal kingdom. The long-term isolation of Australia from other continents has led to the exceptional uniqueness of the fauna of this continent, and in particular its desert region. Species endemism is 90%, and the remaining species are subendemic, that is, their distribution extends beyond the deserts, but not beyond the continent as a whole. Among the endemic groups there are: marsupial moles, Australian wheatears, lizards. In Australia there are no representatives of the orders of carnivores, ungulates, insectivores, and lagomorphs; the order of rodents is represented only by species of the mouse subfamily; Among the birds, the order of sandgrouse, the families of pheasants, bee-eaters, finches and a number of others are absent. The reptile fauna has also become impoverished: species of the families of lacertid lizards, colubrids, vipers and pit snakes have not penetrated here. Due to the absence of the mentioned and a number of other animals, local, endemic families and genera, as a result of widespread adaptive radiation, have mastered free ecological niches and developed a number of convergent forms in the process of evolution. Among the aspid snakes, species arose that were morphologically and ecologically similar to vipers; lizards of the scinnidae family successfully replaced the lacertids that were absent here, but especially many convergent forms are observed in marsupial mammals. They ecologically replace insectivores (marsupial shrews), jerboas (marsupial jerboas), large rodents (wombats or marmots), small predators (marsupial martens) and even, to a large extent, ungulates (wallabies and kangaroos). Small mouse-like rodents widely inhabit all types of deserts (Australian mouse, jerboa mouse, and others). The role of large herbivores in the absence of ungulates is performed by marsupials from the kangaroo family: brush-tailed kangaroos live in the Gibson Desert; giant red kangaroo, etc. Small predatory marsupials are similar in appearance and biology to shrews of the Old World (crest-tailed marsupial shrew, thick-tailed marsupial shrew). Marsupial moles lead an underground lifestyle and inhabit sandy plains. Marsupial badgers live in the Simpson Desert. The largest native predator in the deserts of Australia is the marsupial marten. About 10 thousand years ago, man entered the Australian continent and settled it. Together with the man, the dog, the constant companion of the primitive hunter, also came here. Subsequently, feral dogs spread widely in the deserts of the mainland, forming a stable form called the dingo dog. The appearance of such large predator caused the first significant damage to the native fauna, especially various marsupials. However, the greatest damage to the local fauna was caused after Europeans arrived in Australia. Either intentionally or accidentally, they brought here a whole range of wild and domestic animals (the European rabbit - they multiplied quickly, settled in large colonies, and destroyed the already meager vegetation cover). The common fox and house mouse have spread widely throughout central Australia. In the central and northern regions, small herds of feral donkeys or single dromedary camels are often found.

Many birds (parrots, zebra finches, emblem finches, pink cockatoos, diamond doves, emus) gather near temporary watering holes in the hottest hours of the day in the desert. Insectivorous birds do not need watering places and inhabit desert areas far from any sources of water (Australian wrens, Australian warblers). Since true larks did not penetrate the deserts of Australia, their ecological niche was occupied by representatives of the warbler family, which have adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle and are surprisingly similar in appearance to larks. That's why they got the name "singing larks." Flat gravelly and rocky plains, salt marshes with sparse thickets of quinoa are inhabited by Australian wheatears. In the thickets of bushy eucalyptus trees, the large ocellated big-headed or weed chicken lives. Australian Carrion Crows can be seen in all desert habitats. Reptiles in the Australian deserts are extremely diverse (families skink, gecko, agamidae, and aspidae). Monitor lizards reach the greatest diversity in the deserts of Australia compared to other regions. Lots of snakes, insects (darkling beetles, bombardier beetles and others).

On the Australian continent, deserts have a huge area, almost half of the continent. Moreover, a significant part of the Australian deserts, namely those that have occupied western part continent, are located at some elevation - on a huge plateau approximately 200 m above sea level. Some deserts rise even higher, up to 600 m. Among the desert plains, two mountain fold systems with quite high peaks- some of them reach 1500 m.

The complex terrain divides the gigantic Australian desert into several, so to speak, independent, autonomous deserts. The largest of them, the Great Sandy Desert, is located in the northwestern part of the continent, and just to the south lies the huge Great Victoria Desert. If you look at the Australian deserts from a bird's eye view, or even better from space, not all of them are yellow or grey colour, like other deserts in the world. In the northern part of the Great Sandy Desert, the sands are red-brown in color, while many other areas are covered not with sand, but with dark rubble and pebbles.

Vast areas covered with parallel sand ridges, extending up to several kilometers, are real deserts. These include the Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Gibson, Tanami and Simpson Deserts. Even in these areas, most of the surface is covered with sparse vegetation, but their economic use is hampered by a lack of water. There are also large areas of rocky deserts that are almost completely devoid of vegetation. Significant areas occupied by moving sand dunes are rare. Most rivers fill with water sporadically, and most of the territory does not have a developed drainage system.

There are also several large sand and pebble deserts in Australia, and there are also purely sandy deserts. Perhaps the largest of them is the Arunta Desert, otherwise it is also called the Simpson Desert. It is located in the central part of the continent, somewhat closer to the west.

Among the endemic genera there are also background desert grasses - Mitchell's grass and triodia. A large number of species are represented by the families of legumes, myrtaceae, proteaceae and asteraceae. Significant species diversity is demonstrated by the genera Eucalyptus, Acacia, Proteaceae - Grevillea and Hakea. In the very center of the continent, in the gorge of the deserted MacDonnell Mountains, narrow-area endemics have been preserved: the low-growing Liviston palm and Macrozamia from the cycads.

Even some types of orchids - ephemeral ones that germinate and bloom only in a short period after the rains - settle in deserts. Sundews also penetrate here. The depressions between the ridges and the lower part of the slopes of the ridges are overgrown with clumps of the prickly grass triodia. The upper part of the slopes and the ridges of dune ridges are almost completely devoid of vegetation; only individual curls of the prickly grass Zygochloa settle on the loose sand. In interbarchan depressions and on flat sandy plains, a sparse tree stand of casuarina, individual specimens of eucalyptus, and veinless acacia is formed. The shrub layer is formed by Proteaceae - these are Hakea and several types of Grevillea.

In slightly saline areas in depressions, saltwort, ragodia and euhilena appear. After the rains, the interridge depressions and lower parts of the slopes are covered with colorful ephemerals and ephemeroids. In the northern areas of the sands in the Simpson and Great Sandy Deserts, the species composition of background grasses changes somewhat: other species of Triodia, Plectrachne and Shuttlebeard dominate there; the diversity and species composition of acacias and other shrubs becomes greater. Along the channels of temporary waters, gallery forests of several species of large eucalyptus trees form. The eastern edges of the Great Victoria Desert are occupied by sclerophyllous mum scrub scrub. The southwestern Great Victoria Desert is dominated by low-growing eucalypts; The grass layer is formed by kangaroo grass, feather grass species and others. The arid areas of Australia are very sparsely populated, but the vegetation is used for grazing.

American scientists have discovered that one of the Australian desert acacia species, Acacia victoriae, synthesizes the biologically active substance avicin, which has anticancer properties. The therapeutic and preventive effects of these compounds were revealed in experiments on mice. After treatment with avicins, the likelihood of developing precancerous tumors in mice decreased by 70%, and if tumors did appear, the risk of their occurrence was 90% lower than in mice not exposed to avicins.

Deserts of Australia - Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria, Simpson (Arunta). The deserts of Australia are confined to ancient structural elevated plains. The climatic conditions of Australia are determined by its geographical location, orographic features, the vast area of the Pacific Ocean and the proximity of the Asian continent. Of the three climatic zones of the southern hemisphere, the deserts of Australia are located in two: tropical and subtropical, with most of them occupied by the latter zone.

In the tropical climate zone, which occupies the territory between the 20th and 30th parallel in the desert zone, a tropical continental desert climate is formed. A subtropical continental climate is common in southern Australia adjacent to the Great Australian Bight. These are the marginal parts of the Great Victoria Desert. Therefore, in the summer period, from December to February, average temperatures reach 30 ° C, and sometimes higher, and in winter (July - August) they drop to an average of 15-18 ° C. In some years, the entire summer period temperatures can reach 40° C, and winter nights in the vicinity of the tropics drop to 0° C and below. The amount and territorial distribution of precipitation is determined by the direction and nature of the winds.

The main source of moisture is the "dry" southeast trade winds, since most of the moisture is retained by the mountain ranges of Eastern Australia. The central and western parts of the country, corresponding to about half the area, receive an average of about 250-300 mm of precipitation per year. The Simpson Desert receives the least amount of precipitation, from 100 to 150 mm per year. The precipitation season in the northern half of the continent, where monsoon winds prevail, is confined to the summer period, and in the southern part, dry conditions prevail during this period. It should be noted that the amount of winter precipitation in the southern half decreases as one moves inland, rarely reaching 28° S. In turn, summer precipitation in the northern half, having the same trend, does not extend south of the tropic. Thus, in the zone between the tropics and 28° S. latitude. there is a belt of aridity.

Australia is characterized by excessive variability in average annual precipitation and uneven distribution throughout the year. The presence of long dry periods and high average annual temperatures prevailing over large parts of the continent cause high annual evaporation values. In the central part of the continent they are 2000-2200 mm, decreasing towards its marginal parts. The surface waters of the continent are extremely poor and extremely unevenly distributed throughout the territory. This especially applies to the desert western and central regions of Australia, which are practically drainless, but make up 50% of the continent's area.

Australia's hydrographic network is represented by temporary drying watercourses (creeks). The drainage of Australia's desert rivers belongs partly to the Indian Ocean basin and the Lake Eyre basin. The continent's hydrographic network is supplemented by lakes, of which there are about 800, with a significant part of them located in deserts. The largest lakes - Eyre, Torrens, Carnegie and others - are salt marshes or dry basins covered with a thick layer of salts. The lack of surface water is compensated by the abundance of groundwater. There are a number of large artesian basins here (the Desert Artesian Basin, the North West Basin, the northern Murray River Basin and part of Australia's largest groundwater basin, the Great Artesian Basin).

The soil cover of deserts is very unique. In the northern and central regions, red, red-brown and brown soils are distinguished (the characteristic features of these soils are an acidic reaction and coloration with iron oxides). In the southern parts of Australia, sierozem-like soils are widespread. In Western Australia, desert soils are found along the edges of drainless basins. The Great Sandy Desert and Great Victoria Desert are characterized by red sandy desert soils. In the drainless inland depressions in southwestern Australia and in the Lake Eyre basin, salt marshes and solonetzes are widely developed.