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Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica . The Landscape. Atolls form when coral reefs build up on the rim of submerged volcanoes. Inside of most atolls are lagoons, which are pools of shallow, clear water. Atolls and Lagoons. The Great Barrier Reef. New Zealand.
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Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica The Landscape
Atolls form when coral reefs build up on the rim of submerged volcanoes. • Inside of most atolls are lagoons, which are pools of shallow, clear water Atolls and Lagoons
New Zealand is located 1,200 miles SE of Australia • The country is composed primarily of two islands (North Island and South Island) • There is a mountain chain that runs along the western edge of South Island – this chain is called the Southern Alps????
Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia! • The continent lies at the very bottom (south) of Earth • Antarctica is almost entirely covered in ice (98%) and in some areas the ice is almost 2 miles thick! • Scientists like to study there because the atmosphere is completely unpolluted
Climates You’re so hot! Stop being so frigid…
Australia has a wide variety of climates ranging from tropical rain forests, to deserts, to Mediterranean climates! • Most of the Oceania climates are tropical rain forests with temperatures ranging from 70 – 80 degrees year round…VACATION ANYBODY!? • In Papua New Guinea there are mountains who remain snow-covered year round • New Zealand experiences a Marine West Coast climate with summers ranging from 65 – 85 and winters from 35 – 55 degrees • New Zealand averages 25 to 60 inches of rain per year but the Southern Alps receive up to 315 inches per year!
Antarctica is Earth’s highest, driest, windiest, and coldest continent! • Temperatures have reached as low as 129 degrees BELOW ZERO! This is almost 20 degrees colder than dry ice. • Snowfall on Antarctica averages only 2 inches per year – most of the time it is too cold to snow. • Despite the harsh conditions there are nearly 800 species of plants that live on Antarctica – with almost half of them being lichen (a fungus that grows with a photosynthetic partner) WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? • The Antarctic Peninsula has flower plants and can reach 60 degrees in the summer!
