Australian Desert

The named deserts of Australia cover 1,371,000 km2, or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is effectively desert. The deserts in Australia are primarily distributed throughout the Western Plateau and interior lowlands of the country. The deserts in western Australia are well explained by the little evaporation of the cold sea current of the West Australian Current, of polar origin, which prevents significant rainfall in the interior of the continent.

By international standards, Australian deserts receive relatively high rates of rainfall. No weather station situated in an arid region records less than 100 mm of average annual rainfall. The deserts of Australia, particularly in the interior, lack any significant summer rains.Deserts are not necessarily completely devoid of vegetation, but have large areas where vegetation is very limited in height or extent.