Channel Country

The Channel Country is a remote and sparsely populated landscape in the Australian outback.

Geographical location

The Channel Country comprises 883,181 km ² in the interior of eastern Australia. The largest part of the area belongs to Queensland, the Northern Territory border areas, to New South Wales and South Australia.

Landscape and Climate

The Channel Country is one of the driest areas of Australia. It bears his name because of the dry riverbeds of various sizes that cross the country. Since the low rainfall evaporate due to the arid climate or be absorbed by the soil, the rivers usually carry no water. During this time it is hot and dusty. Temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius in summer. Characteristic of red clay, chalk and sandstone form low hills and gentle plains.

Often it is only after several years of fill, after extensive and particularly heavy monsoon rains in the tropical north of the continent during the months of January and February, the watercourses of the Channel Country. Through countless small channels and streams, the water column, a process that takes several weeks flows south.

In some areas, this leads to severe flooding. It produces large, shallow lakes, which some villages are completely cut off for some time from the environment. Within a short time then as nature awakens from a long sleep. The vegetation is green and blooming everywhere and suddenly out of seeming nothingness immerse huge flocks of water birds such as pelicans on.

It is one of only 250 different species of grasses and herbs. There are also salt - and drought-resistant shrub and tree species.

The channels of the Channel Country shall form a common water system, the most important rivers in the Cooper 's Creek and the Diamantina River are. All rivers end in endorheic Lake Eyre Salt Flats.

Economy

Despite the drought, farming is done in the Channel Country. Since the sparse vegetation gives off a bad food for the cattle, large areas are needed. To feed a cow is expected to 1 sq. km country. Farms therefore have a size of 50,000 hectares or more and are usually hundreds of miles apart.

To overcome these distances are light aircraft the usual transportation.