Nullarbor Plain

The Nullarbor Plain (English: Nullarbor Plain ), also called the Nullarbor Plain (from Latin nulla arbor, not a tree '), is a flat, sprawling desert karst in southern Australia just off the Great Australian Bight. It has approximately 200,000 square kilometers, the largest piece of limestone in the world. At its widest point it measures about 1200 km in east-west direction.

Climate and vegetation

The plane has the arid to semi-arid climate a sparse flora, the vegetation consists mainly of small bushes. The plain is largely treeless, hence their name. The Nullarbor Plain is the driest spot in Australia - even though this is usually suspected in the Northern Territory. In the town of Farina, South Australia, the annual precipitation is 142 mm, also in dry Alice Springs, however, 281 mm of rain fall on average per year.

A large part of the Nullarbor Plain is protected by the Nullarbor National Park.

The south to Ocean flows through in some places subterranean caves, resulting in gas bubbles and holes that are up to several hundred meters inland. One such area that can be visited are the Murrawijinie Caves in South Australia. Most other caves can only be visited with permission from the wildlife authorities.

Traffic

The two ways to cross the Nullarbor Plain on country, the Indian - Pacific Railway ( Transaustralische railway) from Sydney via Adelaide to Perth and the Eyre Highway from Norseman to Port Augusta. The flat landscape is 478 km around the longest straight railway track in the world. The railroad runs directly through the plane, while the Eyre Highway affected only the southern parts. Part of the bus route is the longest completely straight paved road in Australia with 146.6 kilometers.

The group AC / DC, traveling on the tour bus, here wrote the song Highway to Hell.

Towns

The most populated areas of the Nullarbor Plain is found in small settlements near the railway line and in a small hotel complex called The Nullarbor on the Eyre Highway. The town of Cook in South Australia was originally a fairly lively village with 40 inhabitants, with a school and even a golf course. It was abandoned by rationalization of the railway operating in the city and the resulting job loss and has now (2006 ) only four (2 couples) permanent residents.

Similarly, small population Forrest ( a married couple ). Before the jet age Forrest was an important refueling stop for aircraft on the way to Australia. The runway lights together ( longest illuminated runway of Australia outside a capital city ) is kept ready for emergency landings still today. She regularly used by small private aircraft for scheduled refueling (about three landings / takeoffs per week).

Along the railroad there is also an uninhabited place called Ooldea, used to water supply.