THE TEN DESERTS OF AUSTRALIA-AN INTRODUCTION

Matthew Flinders provided the first complete outline map of Australia from his 1802-03 circumnavigation. The European colonisation which began in 1788 provided settlements that were concentrated on the coastal fringes. The vast interior of Australia was, for Europeans, regarded as “the outback”, "the land beyond “the black stump”, “the inland”. The presence of Aboriginal groups was overlooked and a big question mark placed over the area. European explorers ventured inland and progressively provided maps to reduce the question mark.
Most of the interior proved to be desert or semi-desert land. The anticipated large inland fresh water lake was not found. The desert areas were given names. They had common features of low rainfall, hot days and cold nights, animals and plants adapted to conditions, remoteness from the settled coastal fringes.
Use this unit as an introduction to the ten deserts, Use the fill-in summary sheets to provide a ten-desert record. You may need to revisit the ten desert pages to find answers. If stumped for answers you could screen the final attachment.