Exploring Australia’s Deserts

Australia is a very dry country. Approximately 70% of the continent is considered to be semi-arid, arid or desert (arid means dry). In fact, the only continent to receive less rainfall than Australia is Antarctica!

There are ten major desert areas across Australia. These can be found mostly in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory (though small areas of Queensland and New South Wales are also classified as desert). Only 3% of the Australian population lives in these desert areas.

A diverse number of environments can be found in the deserts of Australia including gorges, sand dunes and salt lakes. These places are home to unique plants and animals which have adapted to the harsh desert climate.

Ready-Made Lessons on Australia’s Deserts

Recognising the natural features of places is an important part of geographical understanding.

This teaching presentation has been designed to introduce students to deserts as a natural feature of Australia’s landscape. It addresses the following content:

• an explanation of how deserts form
• an overview of Australia’s deserts
• a list of the ten deserts of Australia
• a case study of the Simpson Desert.

This PowerPoint presentation includes:

• informative slides
• links to resources
• whole class activities
• independent tasks.

Download, Project, Teach!

Access the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation via the Download button above.

Project onto your interactive screen and work through the slides for a ready-made, paperless Geography lesson!