Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

and its immediate surrounds including the

MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte language, Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australia ...

. Commonly, it refers to an area up to from Alice Springs, in every direction. In its broadest use it can include almost any region in inland Australia that has remained relatively undeveloped, and in this sense is synonymous with the term

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

. In a modern, more formal sense it can refer to the administrative region used by the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

government, as of 2022. Centralia is another term associated with the area, most commonly used by locals.

Administrative region of the NT

Economic region

There are six regions in the Northern Territory for the purposes of economic planning, as defined by the

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

: * Central Australia * Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield * East Arnhem (also a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

(LGA)) *

Barkly Region The Barkly Region, formerly Barkly Shire, is a Local Government Areas of the Northern Territory, local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia, administered by the Barkly Regional Council. The region's main town is Tennant Creek ...

(also an LGA) *

Big Rivers Region Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * '' Big!'', a Discover ...

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

This region has an estimated population of total regional population of 41,000, serviced by Alice Springs (population 28,000). The town also services parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. LGAs make up the region: *

Town of Alice Springs The Alice Springs Town Council is a local government area in the Northern Territory. On 1 July 1971, Alice Springs was gazetted as a Municipality with the town council elected on 25 July 1971. It is situated south of Darwin. The council governs ...

(town) *

Central Desert Region The Central Desert Region is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia, administered by the Central Desert Regional Council (formerly Central Desert Shire). The council's main towns are Ti-Tree, Yuendumu, and Lajamanu. ...

(region) * MacDonnell Region (region) *

Yulara Yulara is a town in the southern region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It is an unincorporated enclave within the MacDonnell Region. At the , Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099, in an area of . It is by road from the World Heri ...

( unincorporated town)

Colloquial or general use

In more general usage, or when referring to the

flora and fauna An organism is any living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have been pro ...

of Australia, the term "central Australia" may refer to a large area in the interior of the continent, including the

Lake Eyre Basin The Lake Eyre basin ( ) is a drainage basin that covers just under one-sixth of all Australia. It is the largest endorheic basin in Australia and amongst the largest in the world, covering about , including much of inland Queensland, large port ...

, which stretches across three states and the NT. For many, the term "

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

" is almost synonymous with central Australia.

Climate

The region has a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

environment, meaning it is very dry, receiving on average just of rainfall annually. Most of the annual rainfall falls during extreme rainfall events in the summer months. Moderate dry winters persist between May and October with hot, long summers from November to April.

References

External links