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The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,375 km long, drains one-seventh of the Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia. The name of the basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River
Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
 and the Darling River
Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales, New South Wales....
.

Most of the 1,061,469 kmē basin is flat, low-lying and far inland, and receives little rainfall.






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Murray Catchment Map Mjc02
The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,375 km long, drains one-seventh of the Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia. The name of the basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River
Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
 and the Darling River
Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales, New South Wales....
.

Most of the 1,061,469 kmē basin is flat, low-lying and far inland, and receives little rainfall. The many river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
s it contains tend to be long and slow-flowing, and carry a volume of water that is large only by Australian standards.

Overview

Although the Murray-Darling Basin receives 6% of Australia's annual rainfall, a very large proportion of Australia's irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
 resources are concentrated there. It contains 42% of the nation's farmland and produces 75% of the nation's food.

The basin drains roughly three-quarters of New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
 (including all of the A.C.T.
Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory is the Capital districts and territories of the Australia and its smallest States and territories of Australia....
), half of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
, a substantial portion of southern Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, and a small part of eastern South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
. In the drought
Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
 throughout much of Australia during the early years of the 2000s, many people complained that upriver dams were stopping too much of the water flow in the lower parts of the river system.

In general, the climate is hot and dry in summer and mild in winter. Much of the terrain is semi-arid
Semi-arid

A Semi-arid climate or steppe climate generally describes climate regions that receive low annual rainfall . A more precise definition is given by the K?ppen climate classification that treats steppe climates as intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential....
 and nearly all of it is only a few tens of metres above sea level. Typically, tree-lined watercourses meander slowly through mulga
Mulga

Acacia aneura, commonly known as Mulga or True Mulga, is a shrub or small tree native to arid outback Australia....
 or mallee
Mallee

Mallee may refer to:* Mallee , the habit of woody plants that grow with multiple stems from underground lignotubers* Mallee , a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia...
 scrub, grasslands or chenopod shrublands. Rainfall is unpredictable and varies from place to place, as well as year to year, but is typically 250 to 300 mm a year (10 to 12 inches).

In the south-east, average temperatures are lower and 500 mm (20 inches) of rain per year is representative, most of it falling in winter and spring. Along the southern and eastern borders of the basin are the inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the 4th longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan_Island,_Queensland off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria...
. It is here that most of the water in the rivers of the basin originates either as rainfall or, in the case of the Australian Alps
Australian Alps

The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in south-eastern Australia and straddle the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria, Australia....
 which straddle the New South Wales-Victoria border, as winter snowfall.

Native fauna

The Murray Darling Basin is home for many native animal species. The true numbers are not known, but a fairly accurate estimate has been made of these animals and the current status of their population. Among the indigenous fauna in the region, the study found that there were:

  • 367 species of birds, with 35 endangered.
  • 85 species of mammals, with 20 extinct and 16 endangered.
  • 53 species of frogs, with none endangered.
  • 46 species of snakes, with 5 endangered.
  • 5 tortoises, with none endangered
  • 34 species of fish, with none endangered.


Introduced species

Common Carp
The Basin has also played host to a variety of introduced species. One of the most well known is the Carp
Carp

Carp is a common name for various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish originally from Eurasia and southeast Asia....
.

Introduced in around 1850, the four varieties of Carp were used to stock up fish dams. Since then they have made their way into the river systems, where they spread quite quickly. These fish are very mobile, as they can travel easily on flood waters and their eggs can be transported by birds.

These fish are a problem because they feed by sucking gravel from the river bed and taking all the edible material off it, before returning the rest to the water. This stirs up all the sediment, reducing the quality of the water.

Physiography

This area is one of the physiographic provinces of the larger East Australian Basins division, and encompasses the smaller Naracoorte Platform and Encounter Shelf physiographic sections.

Hydrology

Total water flow in the Murray-Darling basin in the period since 1885 has averaged around 24,000 gigalitres per year, although in most years only half of it reaches the sea and in dry years much less. Estimated total annual flows for the basin range from 5,000 gigalitres in 1902 to 57,000 gigalitres in 1956. The hydrology of the streams within the basin is quite varied even considering its size. There are three main types:

  • The Darling and Lachlan basins. These have extremely variable flows from year to year, with the smallest annual flow being typically as little as 1 percent of the long-term mean and the largest often more than ten times the mean. Periods of zero flow in most rivers can extend to months and in the drier parts (Warrego, Paroo and Lower Darling basins) to years. Flows in these rivers are not strongly seasonal. Though in the north most floods occur in the summer from monsoonal penetration, in most of the Darling and Lachlan catchments it is typical to see high or low flows begin in winter and extend to the following autumn (see El Niņo).


  • The south-western basins (Campaspe, Loddon, Avoca, Wimmera). These have a marked winter rainfall maximum and relatively lower precipitation variability than the Lachlan or Darling. However, the age and infertility of the soils means that run-off ratios are exceedingly low (for comparison, around a tenth that of a Europe
    Europe

    Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
    an or North America
    North America

    North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
    n catchment with a similar climate    ). Thus, variability of runoff is very high and most of the terminal lakes found in these basins very frequently dry up. Almost all runoff occurs in the winter and spring and, in the absence of large dams for regulation, these rivers are often or usually seasonally dry during summer and autumn.
    • A number of small catchments in South Australia, of which the largest are the Angas River flowing through Strathalbyn
      Strathalbyn, South Australia

      Strathalbyn is a town in South Australia, in the Alexandrina Council. The town has a population of 3894 people....
       and the Finniss River further west, are considered part of the Murray-Darling Basin because they flow into Lake Alexandrina, even though they have no actual connection with the Murray. These rivers are seasonal, being usually dry in the summer, but their winter rainfall and stream flow is more reliable than those of the south-western rivers of the "proper" Murray-Darling Basin.


  • The Murrumbidgee, Murray and Goulburn basins (except the Broken River which resembles the south-western basins). Because these catchments have headwaters in alpine country with relatively young peaty
    Histosol

    In both the FAO soil classification and the USA soil taxonomy, a histosol is a soil comprised primarily of organic materials. They are defined as having or more of organic soil material in the upper ....
     soil
    Soil

    Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
    s, the runoff ratios are much higher than in other parts of the basin. Consequently, although gross precipitation variability is no lower than in the Lachlan or Darling basins, runoff variability is markedly lower than in other parts of the basin. Typically these rivers never cease to flow and the smallest annual flow is typically around 30 percent of the long-term mean and the largest around three times the mean. In most cases the flow peaks very strongly with the spring snow melt and troughs in mid-autumn.


Of the approximately 13,000 gigalitres of flow in the basin which studies have shown to be divertible, 11,500 gigalitres is removed for irrigation, industrial use, and domestic supply. Agricultural irrigation accounts for about 95% of the water removed, with the growing of rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
 and cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
 being highly controversial among scientists in Australia, owing to their high water use in a region extremely short of water (as much due to exceptionally low run-off coefficients as to low rainfall).

Major streams

The Murray River
Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
 is the largest of the basin's many rivers, the Darling River
Darling River

The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales, New South Wales....
 the longest. It is 3370 kilometres from the Queensland headwaters of the Darling to the Coorong in South Australia, where the Murray flows into the sea. The major rivers of the basin are:

  • Murray River
    Murray River

    The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
    • Darling River
      Darling River

      The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales, New South Wales....
      • Paroo River
        Paroo River

        The Paroo River is considered a major tributary of the Darling River in eastern Australia, yet in most years the flow dissipates before it reaches the Darling....
      • Warrego River
        Warrego River

        The Warrego River is situated in south west Queensland and north west New South Wales, Australia. It briefly flows westwards from its source in the Carnarvon Ranges towards Tambo, Queensland, but then turns to flow basically southwards from the Carnarvon Ranges in central Queensland through to its junction with the Darling River, downstream f...
      • Condamine River
        Condamine River

        File:Condamine R.JPGThe Condamine River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia....
      • Barwon River
        Barwon River (New South Wales)

        The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, between the MacIntyre River and Gwydir River rivers, forming a section of the border with Queensland....
        • Namoi River
          Namoi River

          The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia....
      • Gwydir River
        Gwydir River

        The Gwydir River is a large inland river in the northern part of the Australian States and territories of Australia of New South Wales.The river rises on the southern part of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales near the town of Uralla, and flows about 668km generally north west and then west onto the plains where it eventually joins t...
      • Macquarie River
        Macquarie River

        The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales. It headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon, New South Wales....
    • Murrumbidgee River
      Murrumbidgee River

      The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee travels from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains, through the ACT, and to a confluence with the Murray....
      • Numeralla River
        Numeralla River

        The Numeralla river in New South Wales, Australia, is a beautiful ecosystem diverse and rich with many different animal species such as the uncommonly seen Wanderer's Kingfisher and the Kiora frog....
      • Naas River
        Naas River

        The Naas River rises in the southern ranges of the Australian Capital Territory within Namadgi National Park. Its watershed boundary defines the southern border of the A.C.T....
      • Cotter River
        Cotter River

        The Cotter River is a fresh water river in the Australian Capital Territory. It is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River.It is named after a convict Garrett Cotter....
      • Molonglo River
        Molonglo River

        The Molonglo River rises on the western side of the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia in the state of New South Wales. Its source is on the other side of the mountain range from where the Shoalhaven River rises, in Tallaganda state forest at ~1200 metres altitude....
        • Queanbeyan River
          Queanbeyan River

          The Queanbeyan River joins the Molonglo River at Oaks Estate, Australian Capital Territory just within the Australian Capital Territory. The headwaters of the Queanbeyan River are approximately 70 kilometres east-southeast of Queanbeyan near the village of Jerangle....
      • Yass River
        Yass River

        The Yass River is a river in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The town of Yass, New South Wales is located on the Yass river a short distance from its Confluence with the Murrumbidgee River....
      • Goodradigbee River
        Goodradigbee River

        The Goodradigbee River is in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It flows into Burrinjuck Dam and thus is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River....
      • Tumut River
        Tumut River

        The Tumut River is a river in New South Wales, Australia.The Tumut River rises on the northern face of Mount Jagungal in the Snowy Mountains of southern New South Wales....
      • Lachlan River
        Lachlan River

        The Lachlan River is a significant river in central New South Wales, Australia....
        • Abercrombie River
          Abercrombie River

          The Abercrombie River is a river in New South Wales, Australia. Its closest airport is the American River in southern New South Wales. The river flows through freehold land as well as the Abercrombie River National Park area, which provide important habitats for platypus and rakali....
    • Edward River
      Edward River

      The Edward River is a river in the south west Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The river is an anabranch of the Murray River, the longest river in Australia....
       (anabranch
      Anabranch

      An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main watercourse channel and rejoins the mainstem downstream.In the simplest case, an island or rock in the river creates a main course and an anabranch course; a more significant anabranch would diverge for a distance of several kilometres before rejoining....
      )
    • Avoca River
      Avoca River

      File:Avoca river-Logan.jpgThe Avoca River drains a substantial part of Victoria, Australia, the southernmost state of mainland Australia. The river rises at the foot of Mt Lonarch in the Victorian Central Highlands near the small town of Amphitheatre, Victoria, and flows north for 270km through Avoca, Victoria, Charlton, Victoria and Quamba...
    • Loddon River
      Loddon River

      The Loddon River is a 392-km long tributary of the Murray River that flows through central and northern Victoria , Australia. The river rises near Trentham, Victoria and flows by Glenlyon, Victoria....
    • Campaspe River
      Campaspe River

      The Campaspe River is a river in Victoria , Australia, and was named, by Major Mitchell for Campaspe, a mistress of Alexander the Great.The river was known as yalooka by the local aboriginal people....
    • Goulburn River
      • Broken River
        Broken River (Victoria)

        The Broken River is a minor river in Victoria , Australia that is a part of the larger Murray-Darling Basin. It flows into the Goulburn River near Shepparton, Victoria....
      • Jamieson River
      • Howqua River
    • Ovens River
      Ovens River

      The Ovens River is a river in the Australian state of Victoria .Hume and Hovell expedition the area in 1824, naming the Ovens River. The river was called Burwang by the local Australian Aborigines....
      • King River
      • Buffalo River
        Buffalo River

        Buffalo River can refer to:* Buffalo National River , a tributary of the White River in the United States* Buffalo River , a tributary of the Red River in the United States...
      • Buckland River
        Buckland River

        The Buckland River is a 67 mi. long river in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows NW to the Chukchi Sea at Eschscholtz Bay, 40 mi. SW of Selawik, Nome Census Area, Alaska....
    • Kiewa River
      Kiewa River

      The Kiewa River is a major tributary of the Murray River in Australia.The river's headwaters include Victoria 's highest mountain, Mount Bogong, and wind their way north-west about 100 kilometres, gradually slowing before joining the Murray east of Albury, New South Wales....
    • Mitta Mitta River
      Mitta Mitta River

      The Mitta Mitta River is a major tributary of the Murray River in Australia and the source of approximately 40% of the Murray's flow.The river's headwaters include Victoria 's highest mountain, Mount Bogong, and wind their way north about 100 kilometres, gradually slowing before joining the Murray east of Albury, New South Wales....


2007 drought and Commonwealth Government take-over


In April 2007 the former Australian prime minister John Howard announced that the region was facing an "unprecedentedly dangerous" water shortage and that water might have to be reserved for "critical urban" water supplies. He commented that "We should all pray for rain because the situation for the farmers of Australia in the irrigation area, the Murray-Darling Basin, is critical" amid concerns about the impact of the drought on Australian agriculture.

The Federal Government proposed a $10 billion Commonwealth take-over of the Murray-Darling Basin, arguing that effective management could not be undertaken by competing state governments. While the states of New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
, Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
 and South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
 as well as the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory is the Capital districts and territories of the Australia and its smallest States and territories of Australia....
 accepted the proposal, the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
 refused to co-operate, arguing that its irrigators would be disadvantaged. The Victorian Farmers Federation, however, has since backed the Federal Government's plan.

In July the Federal Government said that in the absence of co-operation from all states it would legislate to achieve a federal take-over, but the Victorian Government has declared that it would challenge this in the High Court
High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States and territories of Australia, and interprets the Const...
.

Legislation to create the Murray-Darling Basin Commission
Murray-Darling Basin Commission

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority reports to the Australian Government Minister for Climate Change and Water and is in charge of managing the Murray-Darling Basin....
 was introduced into Federal Parliament and was passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in August 2007.

On 26 March 2008, at the Council of Australian Governments
Council of Australian Governments

The Council of Australian Governments is an organisation consisting of the Government of Australia, the governments of the States and territories of Australia and the Australian Local Government Association....
 meeting, Premier John Brumby
John Brumby

John Mansfield Brumby , Australian Labor Party politician, is the 45th Premiers of Victoria, assuming office on 30 July 2007 after the resignation of Steve Bracks....
 indicated that the Victorian government
Government of Victoria

The Government of Victoria , under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas....
 would participate in the program, in return for $1 billion to upgrade irrigation and continue water security for farmers.

See also

  • Australian south-west coast drainage division
  • Indian Ocean drainage division: see Pilbara region of Western Australia
    Pilbara region of Western Australia

    The Pilbara is a regions of Western Australia in the north of Western Australia. It is one of nine regions of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, and is also a region under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia ....
  • Timor Sea drainage division: see Top End
    Top End

    The Top End is the second northernmost point on the continent of Australia, behind the Cape York Peninsula. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres bounded by sea on three sides , and by the almost waterless semi-arid interior of Australia to the south....
     and Kimberley region of Western Australia
    Kimberley region of Western Australia

    The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert and Tanami Desert Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory....
  • Gulf of Carpentaria
    Gulf of Carpentaria

    File:Gulf of Carpentaria map.pngFile:Gulf-of-Carpentaria-Australia-Otto-Petri-1859-Rotterdam.jpgThe Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea ....
  • Australian north-east coast drainage division
    Australian north-east coast drainage division

    The north-east coast drainage division is the area of Queensland between the Great Dividing Range and the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Torres Strait and an arbitrary line drawn along the Queensland - New South Wales border....
  • Australian south-east coast drainage division
    Australian south-east coast drainage division

    The south-east coast drainage division is the very long, narrow area of southern Australia between the Great Dividing Range and the sea. It includes the small part of south-eastern South Australia which lies to the east of the Murray-Darling Basin, and all of coastal Victoria, Australia and coastal New South Wales....
  • South Australian gulf drainage division
    South Australian gulf drainage division

    The South Australian gulf drainage division is the area surrounding the Gulf Saint Vincent and Spencer Gulf and a sliver of country to the immediate north....
  • Lake Eyre Basin
    Lake Eyre Basin

    The Lake Eyre Basin is a drainage basin that covers one-sixth of all Australia. It is one of the largest internal drainage systems on Earth, and covers 1,140,000 square kilometres, including much of inland Queensland, large portions of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and a part of western New South Wales...
  • Western Plateau
    Western Plateau

    The Western Plateau is Australia's largest drainage division and is composed predominantly of the remains of the Shield of Gondwanaland. It incorporates two thirds of the continent; 2,700,000 square kilometres of arid land including large parts of Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory....
  • Salinity in Australia
    Salinity in Australia

    Soil salinity and dryland salinity are two problems degrading the environment of Australia. It is a concern in most states, but especially in the south-west of Western Australia....
  • Climate change in Australia
    Climate change in Australia

    Climate change has become a major issue in Australia due to drastic climate events since the turn of the century that have focused government and public attention.....
  • Murray-Darling Cap
    Murray-Darling Cap

    The Murray-Darling Cap is a policy limiting the water diversions in the Murray-Darling Basin at 1993 levels. It seeks to strike a balance between the amount of water available to Irrigation in Australia and the security of their water supply....


External links