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Australia - the red continent
Much of Australia as we know it today, with its dry woodlands and deserts, is in geological terms a recent development of the last 5 Mill years.
The
breaking up of Australia and Antarctica
and Australia's journey to the north caused a large-scale change of the currents in the Pacific and southern Oceans.
As a result of this change, less and less moist air crossed the Australian continent. Australia became increasingly arid and is today one of the driest continents on earth.
Due to its unique geographic features, a 150km wide strip along the East Coast experienced a different scenario.
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The Great Escarpment and the adjacent coastal lowlands - a Noah's Ark for moisture loving forests and its animal inhabitants
Eastern
trade winds
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Australia's Great Escarpment in the region of New England National Park
Some 70km inland of the coast, the high plateau of the New England Tableland drops from 1,500m down to the coastal lowland and forms a particularly dramatic part of the Great Escarpment with several hundred metre high cliffs.
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