GEOGRAPHY
Location: Australia is located in Oceania, in the southern hemisphere,
occupying the entirety of the continent situated between the Indian Ocean
and the South Pacific Ocean as well as numerous islands, most notably the
island state of Tasmania. Neighboring nations include Indonesia to the
northwest, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to the northeast,
and New Zealand to the southeast. Antarctica lies to the distant south.
Size: Australia is slightly smaller than the 48 contiguous states of the United States. Its total area is 7,686,850 square kilometers, of which 68,920 square kilometers are water. Australian territory and dependencies include thousands of islands that vary greatly in size and proximity.
Land Boundaries: None.
Disputed Territory: As of 2005, Australia and East Timor have failed to reach an agreement over how to delimit a permanent maritime boundary. In addition, the two nations disagree about how to share unexploited petroleum resources not covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty. This bilateral dispute in turn has hampered revision of the maritime boundary between Australia and Indonesia; Indonesian groups dispute Australian claims over the Ashmore Reef. Australia also asserts land and maritime claims in Antarctica.
Length of Coastline: Australia’s coastline totals 25,760 kilometers along the Timor Sea in the northwest, the Arfura Sea in the north, the Coral Sea in the northeast, the Tasman Sea in the southeast, and the Indian Ocean in the south and west.
Maritime Claims: Australia claims a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and a 200-nautical-mile continental shelf or the distance to the edge of the continental shelf. In 2004 Australia claimed a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone, an act that has caused concern among other states in the region.
Topography: Plateaus with areas of desert dominate the western two-thirds of Australia. The lowland plains of the east-central region gradually rise into a highland belt along the east coast. Mainland Australia’s highest point, at 2,228 meters, is Mount Kosciuszko; the lowest point, at 15 meters below sea level, is Lake Eyre. The highest point in Australian territory is Mawson Peak (2,745 meters high), located on Heard Island north of Antarctica.