New England Online > Geography
Geography
| Geography of New England | |
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| Continent: | Australasia |
| Region: | Oceania |
| Coordinates: | 29°50'S 151°00'E |
| Area: | Ranked 122nd 67,019km² |
| Coastline: | 345 km |
| Borders: | 1,146 km |
| Highest point: | Round Mountain 1,585m |
| Lowest point: | Tasman Sea 0m |
| Longest river: | Clarence River |
| Largest lake: | Lake Copeton |
The geography of New England encompasses a variety of biogeographic regions located on the eastern coast of the Australian continent. The majority of the country sits between 28°28' to 31°26' south of the equator and 150°36' to 152°54' east of the prime meridian. New England borders only one other nation, with Australia lying to the north, west and south.
New England is not a nation of geographical extremes, with the majority of the country is below 1,000 metres in elevation. The highest mountain is Round Mountain which stands at 1,585 metres and the lowest point is sea level.
With a strong environmental ethic, New Englanders have built a society that has a minimal impact on the land around them. That being said, New England is still a modern and robust country with clean, safe and friendly cities with good transport links and a sound system of modern and reliable infrastructure. Striking the balance between the two has been a constant challenge and has led to vigorous debate over many years.
Physical Geography
Climate - New England is divided into two major and distinct Climate Zones, they being sub-tropical and temperate. These zones can be further subdivided into inland and coastal divisions, which despite the similar climate, have quite different ecosystems.
Environment - New England is comprised of six separate ecosystems. These are distinct environments that contain a unique range of flora and fauna. New Englanders have prided themselves on their record of having some of the best conservation measures in the world. It's people have widely adopted carbon recycling, organic foods, renewable energy, public transport and water reuse as a matter of course.
It is widely accepted that New England is a very beautiful country, and while it does not have the striking beauty of New Zealand or Thailand, it is still a place with an amazing variety of wildlife. Amongst the forests and gorges of the eastern escarpment sits the Central Eastern Rainforest World Heritage Area, which was proclaimed in the 1990's. Out to sea, the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve provides one of the most southerly coral reefs in the world.
Human Geography
Administrative Subdivisions - As a highly urbanised society, most of New England's 3.1 million inhabitants live in the fourteen official cities. The cities, and all other areas, are bound by strict planning by-laws that restricts unchecked development and encourage a sense of community in even the largest of urban areas. New Englanders are particularly fastidious about cities being clean and safe places to live. It has become a well known social trait of New Englanders to frown upon actions that pollute or harm others. In every aspect, the cities and towns are well known as being well ordered with no expense spared on creating not just a clean and safe place to live, but an atheistically pleasing one as well.
Transport - New England has a high quality system of roads and railways that are considered the best in the southern hemisphere. As with all modern nations, there are also good airport and seaport facilities that has allowed New England's economy to grow at a modest and consistent rate. Despite this, the majority of New Englanders travel by train or car. Flying is very expensive and the use of the ferries is virtually unheard of.
Utilities & Services - As part and parcel with having livable cities, New England is complimented with stable and modern electricity and telecommunications systems. Just as they pedantic about cleanliness, New Englander's have a highly demanding expectation that the power and phones will be on and working all the time. The political fallout of a blackout can be fatal for a government that does not act quickly to fix the problem.
Geography Statistics
Location: Eastern Australia
Geographic coordinates: 29°50'S 151°00'E
Map references: Oceania
Area: 67,019km²
Area (Comparative): Slightly larger than Sri Lanka or Lithuania, and slightly smaller than Ireland or Georgia.
Land boundaries:
Total: 1486 km
Border countries: Australia
Coastline: 345 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Temperate/Sub-Tropical
Terrain: rich alluvial plains along the coast sloping to a large flat highland region dotted with rocky outcrops and forests.
Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Tasman Sea - 0m
Highest point: Round Mountain - 1,585m
Natural resources: timber, gold, fish, gemstones
Land use:
Arable land: 38%
Permanent crops: 13%
Permanent pastures: 25%
Forests and woodland: 52%
Other: 10% (2050 est.)
Irrigated land: 580 sq km (2050 est.)
Natural hazards: Bushfires over summer can potentially threaten urban areas around Armidale and Coffs Harbour. Flooding is also common over late summer and autumn in the coastal river valleys. Tropical storms are rare, but can cause flash flooding and wind damage.
Environment (Current Issues): water usage and recycling has caused problems in the country for some years. A new desalination plant has gone some way to rectifying this problem. New England is one of the cleanest, lowest polluting nations on earth. All electricity and heating is generated using renewable wind, solar and geothermal power. There are increasing problem with fertilizer pollution to river systems, which is currently under review by a royal commission.
Environment (International Agreements):
Party to: Biodiversity, Carbon Recycling, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Genetic Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: none
Geography Notes: strategic location between Australia's first and third largest cities, impeding direct air, rail and road access.
