Western Australia


Back Avon Valley Gascoyne Goldfields-Esperance Great Southern Kimberley Mid West Peel Perth (metropolitan area) Pilbara South West Wheatbelt	Western Australia
			Western Australia is Australia's largest state in area, covering the western third of the mainland, and is bordered by South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is, after Yakutia in Russia, the second largest subnational entity in the world. The state capital is the city of Perth, which lies on the south-western coastline. The Perth metropolitan area has grown to include the port of Fremantle and the town of Rockingham. Other important or well-known centres include Mandurah, Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton, Port Hedland and Broome, but these are all relatively small cities or towns.
		The southwest coastal area is relatively temperate and forested. Annual rainfall varies from 300 mm at the edge of the wheatbelt to 1400 mm in the wettest areas near Northcliffe, but the months of November to March are generally very dry and plants must be adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils., The central four-fifths of the State is semi-arid or desert, annual rainfall here averages about 200 to 250 mm. An exception to this is the northern tropical regions. The Kimberley has an extremely hot monsoonal climate with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 1500 mm.

		Western Australia is home to around 540 species of birds (depending on the taxonomy you choose to adopt). Of these around 15 are endemic to the state. The best areas for birds are the south-western corner of the state and the area around Broome and the Kimberley.

		Western Australia, in its south west region has some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world. Prior to European settlers expanding agriculture, it is speculated that there were significant numbers of flower and plant species that were never described before they became extinct.