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    Visit the Virtual Australia Photo Library
      
    Butterfly photoWe have photos from all over Australia that are available for use in photographic printing and digital media. To date, our photos have been used by companies, organisations and individuals from all over the world, for use in calendars, brochures, magazines, books, posters, business cards, websites, CDs, and Power Point presentations.

    Click on the images to enlargen & explore. You can also license the originals.
    Byron Bay photo
    +Byron Bay
    Barrier Reef  photos
    +Barrier Reef
    Cape Tribulation photo
    +Cape Tribulation
    Jervis Bay photos
    +Jervis Bay
    Gold Coast photos
    +Gold Coast
    Sydney Beaches photos +Sydney Beaches
    Sunshine Coast photos
    +Sunshine Coast
    Port Douglas photo +Port Douglas
    Cairns photo
    +Cairns
    Fraser Island  photos
    +Fraser Island
    Boambee Beach photo
    Boambee Beach
    Dunk Island photo
    Dunk Island

    Garie Beach photoAustralia is an island continent which is surrounded by water on all sides, so its border is not shared with any other country. To the east lies the South Pacific Ocean; west the Indian Ocean; to the north the Timor, Arafura and Coral Seas; and to the south the Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea. The Bass Strait separates Tasmania from the mainland.

    Australia boasts some of the best beaches on the planet and the huge coastline stretches for nearly 37,000 km, which includes 11,011 beaches, more than any other nation. Most of Australia's cities and towns are situated on the coast, within a few kilometres of the ocean, which amounts to 85% of Australia's population living within one hour's drive of the coastline. Nearly 90% of these people live in a 50 km wide coastal strip that runs from Cairns to Adelaide.

    Australia's coastline extends through a wide range of climates from tropical areas in the north to temperate areas in the south. Coastal environments include areas of rainforest, mangroves, estuaries, lagoons, rocky and sandy shores, cliffs, islands, towns, cities and coastal communities.

    Highlights of the Australian coastline are as follows:

    The Great Barrier Reef, (the largest reef on earth) extends for over 2000 km, about the same size of the USA's eastern coastline. The Barrier Reef is actually made up of about 3000 individual reefs and has been designated a World Heritage Area as well as one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. The Reef also contains over 900 pristine tropical islands.

    Fraser Island another World Heritage site, is the largest sand island in the world. The island stretches approximately 144km along the Queensland coast and is between 25 and 50km wide with sandhills rising to almost 240m in places. There are numerous freshwater lakes on the island, some more than 60m deep, and parts of the island are covered by dense rainforest. The reason for the island's World Heritage status, is due to the complex ecosystems that exist on top of the sand. Sand doesn't retain water, but water is retained when plants decay; that material forms a layer on top of the sand. This in turn allows more plants to grow, and this also explains why river levels flow according to the rainfall that fell decades ago. It takes this long for rain water to filter through the top soil and sand, to join the river system.

    The Twelve Apostles, another major attraction are located along the coastline of Victoria, near Port Campbell. The Twelve Apostles are rock formations which rise out of the ocean and stand up to 100m above sea level.

    Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia is a must see destinations for scuba divers or snorkellers. Near the small town of Exmouth, this spectacular reef is famous for the appearance of the enormous whale shark. There are also Manta Rays, Dugongs, and Humpback whales which are regular seasonal visitors.

    Statistical breakdown of the Australian coastline in km.

    
        Australia (total)   36,735km 
    
        Western Australia   12,500km 
        Queensland           7,400km 
        Northern Territory   6,200km 
        South Australia      3,700km 
        Tasmania             3,200km 
        New South Wales      1,900km 
        Victoria             1,800km 
        ACT (inc Jervis Bay)    35km  

      

     



    All photos in this web site are under copyright ©. It is illegal to copy or use any photo without permission.
    All our photos can be licensed for commercial and non-commercial use, (unless otherwise specified).