ASRIS
Australian Soil Resource Information System
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Themes - Physiographic Regions of Australia

Physiographic Regions of Australia

Overview
Physiographic Regions of Australia
Metadata
References
Downloads

Overview

The Australian Collaborative Land Evaluation Program (ACLEP) and the National Committee on Soil and Terrain (NCST) have released the revised Physiographic Regions of Australia (Pain et al. 2011). The map below shows the Physiographic Regions (smallest subdivisions), Provinces and Divisions (largest subdivisions). The Physiographic Provinces comprise Level 1 in ASRIS whilst the Physiographic Regions are the ASRIS Level 2 tracts.

The Explanatory notes gives an overview of physiographic mapping in Australia, describes current methods for mapping and provides a brief description of Australia’s landscapes and the regions that have been defined. The audience will range from those who are looking for a brief description of the physiography of Australia to those who will use the data for integrated studies of the environment.

The Physiographic Regions dataset consists of a planar vector GIS layer, and a relational database containing the hierarchy of attributes. The primary descriptors for regions are geographic name, a simple text description including major geologic and geomorphic features, and a list of regolith materials with their estimated proportions.

Physiographic Regions of Australia

Regions are basic geomorphological subdivisions of Australia, that is, physiographic regions are defined and mapped in terms of landform characteristics. At a continental scale of 1:2.5M each physiographic region has an internal unity that derives from an association of landform characteristics. The resultant mapped units are then described in terms of landform, underlying geology, regolith and soils.

“Apart from its descriptive role, a map of physiographic regions provides a regional system of reference for geomorphological and related physical geographical accounts. Through the groupings of physiographic regional characteristics at different levels, the action of underlying controls, for instance geologic or climatic, may be made apparent. Further, the map can provide a regional basis for an understanding of land characteristics that are dependent upon landforms, for example the distribution of soils or natural vegetation” (Jennings and Mabbutt 1986).

The physiographic regions presented here are a modification of those compiled by Jennings and Mabbutt (1977). Boundaries for these regions were firstly refined with new information provided by the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) elevation model. The SRTM Digital Elevation Model, hill-shaded from the NW for consistency, for each 1:1M map sheet (38 in total) covering continental Australia was plotted along with the original Jennings and Mabbutt (1977) lines. Using the SRTM data as a guide, the original lines were altered to more closely align with the landforms as portrayed on the shaded SRTM DEM. State and territory agency representatives then provided amendments to regions that reflected a more detailed understanding of local landscapes.

Example of mapping on STRM digital elevation data

The Physiographic Regions dataset consists of a planar vector GIS layer, and a relational database containing the hierarchy of attributes. The primary descriptors for regions are geographic name, a simple text description including major geologic and geomorphic features, and a list of regolith materials with their estimated proportions.

Download the Physiographic Regions of Australia (28 MB)

Download includes:

  • Physiographic Regions of Australia spatial dataset (PhysiographicRegions_2011.mdb - ESRI personal geodatabase)
  • Explanatory notes (PhysiographicRegions_2011.pdf)

Metadata

ANZLIC 2.0 metadata are included in the Physiographic Regions of Australia Explanatory notes.

References

Jennings, J.N. and Mabbutt, J.A. (1977) Physiographic outlines and regions. Australia: a Geography Jeans, D.N. (Editor), Sydney University Press, 38-52.

Jennings J.N. and Mabbutt J.A. (1986) Physiographic outlines and regions. In 'Australia, a geography. Volume 1. The natural environment.' (Ed. DN Jeans) (Sydney University Press: Sydney).

Pain, C., Gregory, L., Wilson, P. and McKenzie, N. (2011) The physiographic regions of Australia – Explanatory notes 2011. Australian Collaborative Land Evaluation Program and National Committee on Soil and Terrain.

Downloads

Physiographic Regions of Australia (28 MB)

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Last updated: April 18, 2013