The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia. Located between between the Eastern Goldfields Region, West Australia and Gawler Ranges, South Australia, this remarkable biome spans a huge area of approximately 348,750 km2. The Great Victoria Desert was named by Ernest Giles who became the first European explorer to cross the biome in 1875, during the time that Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom.

Explore one of Australia's most interesting biomes with our facts about the Great Victoria Desert. Find out important information about the location, climate, plant life, vegetation, wildlife and size of the Great Victoria Desert. Take a look at the formation and structure of this biome and learn interesting facts about wildlife species and how animals manage to adapt to the extreme weather conditions experienced in this region.

Interesting Facts about Australian Deserts for Kids:- The major deserts of Australia include the Great Victoria Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Desert, and Simpson Desert of which the Great Victoria is the biggest in this country. Discover interesting facts for kids about Australia and this incredible ecosystem of plants and animals.  Did you know that the Great Victoria Desert experiences very high temperatures during the summer?  Did you know that the term 'desertification' can be defined as the process by which fertile land becomes desert? Did you know that many wildlife species live in the Great Victoria Biome? Do you know many plants have adapted to the hot, dry conditions of the Great Victoria Desert?

Interesting Facts about Australian Deserts for Kids:- Check out our interesting Facts for Kids on Australia's Great Victoria Desert. With a free printable list of fun facts, Kids can learn key information about the Great Victoria Desert biome with facts about the its location, size, animals, plants, food web, rainfall, climate, history, formation and structure.

Interesting Great Victoria Desert Facts for Kids

Australian Deserts Fact File for Kids:- Name: Great Victoria Desert *** Average Summer Temperature: 30-40 degrees Celsius *** Average Winter Temperature:  20-25 degrees Celsius *** Climate: The Great Victoria Desert is hot and dry *** Size: 348,750 square kilometres (134,665 square miles) *** Location: The Great Victoria Desert is located in Australia

Interesting Facts for Kids 1:- Where is the Great Victoria Desert located?
The Great Victoria Desert is located in Australia, between the Eastern Goldfields Region (W. Australia) and Gawler Ranges (S. Australia). The Western Australia Mailee shrub ecoregion is situated on the west side of the Great Victoria. In the northwest, the biome is limited by the Little Sandy Desert. The north is delimited by the Central Ranges xeric shrub lands and the Gibson Desert, while in the east lays the Tirari - Sturt Stony Desert. The Nullarbor Plain is a flat, almost treeless area located south of the Great Victoria Desert, separating the biome from the Southern Ocean.

Interesting Facts for Kids 2:- What is the temperature in the Great Victoria Desert?
The temperature of the Great Victoria Desert is extremely high in summer time, due to its arid climate. The temperature can rise up to 30 – 40 degrees Celsius during the day, while the night temperatures cease to fall lower than 15 degrees Celsius. During winter, the average daytime temperature is around 20 – 25 degrees Celsius while during night time, it can reach freezing point. The temperatures can vary significantly during daytime and night time hours, and throughout the course of the year. The amount of humidity can leave high temperatures feeling even higher.

Interesting Facts for Kids 3:- What is the climate of the Great Victoria Desert?
The climate of the Great Victoria Desert can be described as hot and dry, with very high temperatures, low precipitation and very high evaporation rates. This type of climate is characteristic to inner Australia where the weather conditions are even harsher than the outer regions.

Interesting Facts for Kids 4:- Great Victoria Desert Rainfall Facts
Subject to a hot and dry climate, the Great Victoria Desert receives about 200-250mm rainfall per year. This is not very low, considering the amount of rainfall many other deserts receive. What is different, is the evaporation rate that the Great Victoria Desert experience, as it is around two times greater than the amount of rainfall. Precipitation comes from thunderstorms, which have proven to be isolated and unpredictable. These thunderstorms are most likely to appear in the north part of the Great Victoria Desert. The southern region of the biome receives winter rainfall.

Interesting Facts for Kids 5:- How big is the Great Victoria Desert?
The exact size of the Great Victoria Desert is uncertain and researchers have struggled to provide the right dimensions. Most sources report the size as being 348,750 square kilometres but there are many numbers implied, some of them impacting the ranking position of this biome. The numbers vary significantly from 150,000 to 348,750 to 424,000 square kilometres, with each size placing the Great Victoria Desert in different ranking positions according to size. The Great Victoria Desert biome stretches from west Australia to the southern Australia.

Interesting Facts for Kids 6:- What animals live in the Great Victoria Desert?
The Great Victoria Desert is home to many species of animals including approximately 10 threatened mammals species, 95 reptile species and 15 bird species, 4 of which are threatened. The following list of animals can be sighted in the Great Victoria Desert: Great Desert Skink, Sandhill Dunnart, Crest-tailed Mulgara, Water-holding Frog, Southern Marsupial Mole, Chestnut-Breasted Whiteface, Mallee Fowl, Dingo, Perentie and Sand Goanna.

Interesting Facts for Kids 7:- How do Great Victoria Desert animals survive?
Animals living in the Great Victoria Desert have to make many adaptations in order to survive the tough conditions of the outback. Most of the animals have developed a nocturnal behavior. They are generally more active during night time when the climate conditions are cooler. Many animals prefer to sleep or stay passive during daytime hours when temperatures are very high and the heat is intense. Some animal species, such as the Jack-Rabbit, have ears that radiate. There are rodents found living in the Great Victoria Desert that are highly adapted to this type of environment. Their paws are protected from hot surface temperatures as they are covered with fur. Most desert animals obtain water from the food they consume; either through insects, larvae or plants. Many plants found growing in the Great Victoria Desert provide a good source of water to animals, especially the type of plants that store and retain water in their leaves.

Interesting Facts for Kids 8:- Australian Bilbies in the Great Victoria Desert
There are many species of marsupial animals living in the Great Victoria Desert including Bilbies which are marsupial omnivores that can grow up to 20-25 cm long. This animal adapts to the harsh climate conditions of the Great Victoria Desert as it has a long muzzle and large ears that it can use to radiate heat. Bilbies are nocturnal and they do not drink water. They obtain moisture from their diet of insects, larvae, plants, fruits and seeds. This animal escapes its predators by digging up burrows. This type of marsupial animal is classed as an endangered species.

Interesting Facts for Kids 9:- Great Victoria Desert food web facts
The Great Victoria Desert food web is similar to many other deserts chains across the world. On the first layer, are the Producers which are eaten by the First Consumers. The First Consumers generally consist of insectivores, herbivores, ants and termites. These animals will be eaten by the Second Consumers which are made up of carnivores, small animals and lizards. Next in the food web are the Third Consumers, formed mainly by larger animals and powerful predators. When the predators die, they will be consumed by termites and bacteria, leading us back to the beginning of the Great Victoris Desert food web with the Producers.

Interesting Facts for Kids 10:- 10 Facts about the Great Victoria Desert:
Fact 1: The Great Victoria Desert is the biggest desert in Australia spanning 348,750 kilometres of Australia.
Fact 2: The Great Victoria Desert is located between the Eastern Goldfields Region (W. Australia) and Gawler Ranges (S. Australia).
Fact 3: The Great Victoria Desert was named by Ernest Giles who became the first European explorer to cross the biome in 1875, during the time that Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom.
Fact 4: The Great Victoria Desert can experience extremely high temperatures in the summer.
Fact 5: All sorts of animals survive in the Great Victoria Desert including mammals, birds and reptiles.
Fact 6: The Great Victoria Desert Nature Reserve provides protection to endangered animal species.
Fact 7: Plant roots can grow very long to allow them access to water sources underground!
Fact 8: The Great Victoria Desert climate is hot and dry but plants still manages to grow and survive.
Fact 9: Tests carried out in the 1950s / 1960s may have left some areas of the Great Victoria Desert contaminated with radiation.
Fact 10: The Great Victoria Desert receives about 200-250mm rainfall per year.

Interesting Facts for Kids 11:- What plants grow in the Great Victoria Desert?
There are many species of plants found growing in the Great Victoria Desert including eucalyptus (Gongylocarpa, Pyriformis – Pear-fruited Mallee, Socialis- Red Malle), Casuarina, Hummock Grass, and shrubs (Maireana Sedifolia- Bluebush / Pearlbush, Dodenaea Attenuata-Narrow-Leaf Hopbush, Acacia Aneura- Mulga).

Interesting Facts for Kids 12:- Great Victoria Desert plant adaptations
The plants of the Great Victoria Desert have made many adaptations in order to survive the harsh conditions presented by the Great Victoria Desert. Most plants found growing in this type of biome have very small leaves, meaning that the transpiration process is reduced to minimum. Some of the Great Victoria Desert plants have learned to search for water underground with some plant roots reaching 100m deep. Some species cover their seeds with a protective coat, and grow small roots underground. Once the rain starts, it washes the protective coat away leaving the plant ready to bloom across parts of the Great Victoria Desert.

Interesting Facts for Kids 13:- Great Victoria Desert landscape and vegetation
The landscape of the Great Victoria Desert is formed mainly of hot soil and arid surfaces. The precipitation is very low and the climate conditions are harsh making it hard, but not impossible, for plants to survive. Where nature permits and offers the slightest opportunity of life, the animal kingdom and vegetation manages to grow, adapt and survive. The landscape of the Great Victoria Desert can appear barren and lifeless at times, but all this changes once the rain begins to fall and the plants start to bloom.

Interesting Facts for Kids 14:- Unusual facts about the Great Victoria Desert
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Great Victoria Desert, due to its vast and empty landscape, presented an ideal place to conduct a number of tests involving nuclear weapons. However, the repercussions of these tests means that some areas are possibly contaminated by radiation, with Plutonium 239 deposits. Besides the dangers implied by tests carried out in the 1950s and 1960s, the Great Victoria Desert, unlike many other deserts, isn’t at great risk from human impact as the population is sparse and the climate of the Great Victoria Desert is too harsh for most farms and agriculture to exist.

Interesting Facts for Kids 14:- Great Victoria Desert Nature Reserve
The Great Victoria Desert Nature Reserve is one of Australia’s many national reservations entrusted to take care of threatened wildlife species. The welfare of the animals is protected from potential harm and danger. The animals at the Great Victoria Desert Nature Reserve are supervised to ensure they are safeguarded from human predators who hunt animals illegally.

Interesting Great Victoria Desert Facts for Kids

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