Australian Geography
Introductory Snapshot
A vast island continent situated south of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Australia lies between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The world's sixth-largest country, Australia measures some 4,000km east to west and 3,200km north to south. Much of the interior of the country is flat, barren and sparsely populated. The bulk of the population lives on the narrow, fertile eastern coastal plain and on the southeastern coast. The country's size means there's a lot of climatic variation, which also means that any time is a good time to be somewhere in Australia.
Climate
Nearly a third of Australia is in the tropics and the rest is in the temperate zone. The coldest areas are in the south-eastern corner of the mainland and Tasmania.
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Seasons in Australia
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Summer
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December – February
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Autumn
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March – May
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Winter
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June – August
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Spring
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September – November
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Time zones
Because of its large size, there are three time zones in Australia. Daylight saving also comes into force in some parts of Australia during the summer period.
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Time zones in Australia
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Australian eastern standard time (AEST)
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Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) plus 10 hours
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Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria
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Central standard time (CST)
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AEST minus 30 mins
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South Australia, Northern Territory
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Western standard time (WST)
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AEST minus 2 hours
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Western Australia
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Australian daylight saving time (ADST) end of October – end of March
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AEST plus 1 hour
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Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria
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Australian States and Territories
Click a state on the map or a link below to get more information on geography and climate in that area.