The IBRA regions, with Great Victoria Desert in red

The Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid, and sparsely populated desert ecoregion in southern Australia. It falls inside the states of South Australia and Western Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grasslands and salt lakes. It is over 700 kilometres (435 miles) wide (from west to east) and covers an area of 424,400 square kilometers (163,900 mile²). The Western Australia Mallee shrub ecoregion lies to the west, the Little Sandy Desert to the northwest, the Gibson Desert and the Central Ranges xeric shrublands to the north, the Tirari-Sturt stony desert to the east, and the Nullarbor Plain to the south separates it from the Southern Ocean. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 764 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,257 × 986 pixels, file size: 83 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 764 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,257 × 986 pixels, file size: 83 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... An ecoregion, sometimes called a bioregion, is a relatively large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. ... For the song, see South Australia (song). ... Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the Golden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2005-06)  - Product ($m)  $107,910 (4th)  - Product per capita  $53,134/person... A sandhill is an ecological community type found in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. ... The Konza tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. ... A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts (mostly sodium chloride) and other minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least 3,000 milligrams of salt per liter). ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ... The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST, internally called HT-7U) is a project being undertaken to construct an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China. ... The Little Sandy Desert is desert in Australia, located in Western Australia near the Great Sandy Desert. ... A four wheel drive in the Gibson Desert The Gibson Desert is a Western Australian desert made up of sandhills and dry grass. ... For the roadhouse along the Eyre Highway, see Nullarbor, South Australia NASA - Visible Earth, Nullarbor. ...

Due to the aridity and dryness of the desert, almost no farming activity is carried out there, and it is a protected area of Western Australia. Agriculture refers to the production of food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic growing of plants, animals and other life forms. ...

Within South Australia, is Mamungari Conservation Park, one of the twelve World Biosphere Reserves [1] in Australia and contains pristine arid zone wilderness and possesses cultural significance. Mamungari Conservation Park (formerly known as Unnamed Conservation Park) is a wilderness reserve in South Australia (Australia) in the southern Great Victoria Desert and northern Nullarbor Plain, around 200 km west of Maralinga and 450 km northwest of Ceduna. ... For other uses, see Biosphere (disambiguation). ... A biosphere reserve is an international conservation designation given by UNESCO under its Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB). ...

The average annual rainfall is low, ranging from 200 to 250 mm (8 to 10 in) per year. Thunderstorms are relatively common in the Great Victoria Desert, with an average of 15 - 20 thunderstorms per annum. Summer daytime temperatures range from 32 to 40 °C (90 to 104 °F). In winter, this falls to 18 to 23 °C (64 to 75 °F). Snow never falls in the Great Victoria Desert. This article is about precipitation. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The degree Celsius (symbol: °C) is an SI derived unit of temperature. ... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ...

It is inhabited by many different groups of Indigenous Australians, including the Kogara and the Mirning. Language(s) Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religion(s) Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group...

In 1875, British explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cross the desert. He named the desert after the then-reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria. 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Explorer redirects here. ... William Ernest Powell Giles (7 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Queen Victoria redirects here. ...

It is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) region.^[1][2] The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Governments Department of the Environment and Heritage. ...

References

The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Art, formerly the Department of the Environment and Water Resources, is a department of the Australian federal government. ... The Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW), formely the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) is a department of the Australian federal government. ... The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation, and a parliamentary democracy. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Australasia ecozone
• Ecoregions of Australia
• List of deserts by area

The Australasia Ecozone The Australasian ecozone – is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous (by some definitions), with the geographic region of Australasia. ... Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Lord Howe Island subtropical forests Norfolk Island subtropical forests Queensland tropical rain forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Eastern Australian temperate forests Southeast Australia temperate forests Tasmanian Central Highland forests Tasmanian temperate forests Tasmanian temperate rain forests Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands... This is a list of deserts in the world ordered by area. ...

External links

• Climate of the Great Victoria Desert and Gibson Desert