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The Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid and sparsely populated region in southern Australia. It is over 700 kilometres wide (from west to east) and is separated from the Southern Ocean by the Nullarbor Plain. It falls inside the states of South Australia and Western Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grasslands and salt lakes.
The rainfall is low, but not as low as many deserts, ranging from 200 - 250 mm (8-10 inches) per year. Also, thunderstorms are relatively common in the Great Victoria Desert, with an average of 15 - 20 thunderstorms per annum. Summer daytime temperatures range from 32-40 degrees celsius (90-104F). In winter, this falls to 18-23 degrees celsius (64-75F). Snow never falls in the Great Victoria Desert.
Very little farming activity is carried out in the Great Victoria Desert.
It is inhabited by many different groups of Australian Aborigines, including the Kogara and the Mirning.
The year 1875 saw British explorer Ernest Giles become the first European to cross the desert. He named the desert after the current British queen at the time, Queen Victoria.
List of Australasia ecoregions
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