Module 7 Overview The Austral Realm This module focuses on the overall geography (topography, historical, economic, political, and cultural/human) of the Austral Realm, which is mostly comprised of Australia and New Zealand.  You will begin by describing the topography of the Austral Realm.  The historical geography of the Austral Realm will be explained.  The political and economical geography of the Austral Realm will be compared and contrasted with the rest of the world’s political and economical systems.  In addition, you will analyze the diverse religions of the Austral Realm.  Lastly, the cultural geography of the Austral Realm will be analyzed in relation to the rest of the world. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this module, you should be able to: 2N examine the landform regions, climate zones, and influence of the Southern Ocean, biogeography, and human-environmental interactions in Australia and New Zealand. 6I describe the Australia’s major geographic features as well as its basic historical, cultural, political, urban, economic geography, and the current issues it faces, especially relations with its Aboriginal population. 6J evaluate New Zealand’s general layout as well as its basic historical, political, and cultural geography, especially relations with its indigenous Maori population. Module 7 Reading Assignment de Blij, H. J., & Muller, P. O. (2012). Geography: Realms, regions, and concepts (15th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 11. The Austral Realm Topography of the Austral Realm Australia’s location makes it the most isolated and diverse.  It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the northwest, west, and south, the Timor Sea to the north, the Coral Sea to the northeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the east.  Its famous Great Barrier Reef is located to the northeast near the Coral Sea.  Most of the inland areas are dominated by large deserts due to the global subtropical high pressure.  Australia consists of very flat plains.  Geologically, it is the oldest continent (part of Gondwana) due to its isolation.  Antarctica is located to the extreme south of Australia, New Zealand is located to the east, and Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are located to the North. Australia is divided into six distinct landform regions or divisions, the Eastern Highlands, the Eastern alluvial Plains and Lowlands, the South Australian Highlands, the Western Plateau, the Central Deserts, and the Northern Plateau and Basins. New Zealand is a very mountainous region and experiences more of a temperate climate (mostly wet and cold in the mountainous regions to more subtropical and wet in the coastal areas closer to the north) due to less inland areas (continuality) and being located further south toward the Arctic South Pole than Australia.  New Zealand is made up of two main islands and experiences some very intense earthquakes due to different oceanic plates (subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate) convergi ...

1. Module 7 Overview
The Austral Realm
This module focuses on the overall geography (topography,
historical, economic, political, and cultural/human) of the
Austral Realm, which is mostly comprised of Australia and New
Zealand. You will begin by describing the topography of the
Austral Realm. The historical geography of the Austral Realm
will be explained. The political and economical geography of
the Austral Realm will be compared and contrasted with the rest
of the world’s political and economical systems. In addition,
you will analyze the diverse religions of the Austral Realm.
Lastly, the cultural geography of the Austral Realm will be
analyzed in relation to the rest of the world.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:
2N
examine the landform regions, climate zones, and influence of
the Southern Ocean, biogeography, and human-environmental
interactions in Australia and New Zealand.
6I
describe the Australia’s major geographic features as well as its
basic historical, cultural, political, urban, economic geography,
and the current issues it faces, especially relations with its
Aboriginal population.
6J
evaluate New Zealand’s general layout as well as its basic
historical, political, and cultural geography, especially relations
with its indigenous Maori population.
Module 7 Reading Assignment
de Blij, H. J., & Muller, P. O. (2012). Geography: Realms,
regions, and concepts (15th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley &

2. Sons. Chapter 11.
The Austral Realm
Topography of the Austral Realm
Australia’s location makes it the most isolated and diverse. It is
surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the northwest, west, and
south, the Timor Sea to the north, the Coral Sea to the
northeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the east. Its famous Great
Barrier Reef is located to the northeast near the Coral Sea.
Most of the inland areas are dominated by large deserts due to
the global subtropical high pressure. Australia consists of very
flat plains. Geologically, it is the oldest continent (part of
Gondwana) due to its isolation. Antarctica is located to the
extreme south of Australia, New Zealand is located to the east,
and Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are located to the North.
Australia is divided into six distinct landform regions or
divisions, the Eastern Highlands, the Eastern alluvial Plains and
Lowlands, the South Australian Highlands, the Western Plateau,
the Central Deserts, and the Northern Plateau and Basins.
New Zealand is a very mountainous region and experiences
more of a temperate climate (mostly wet and cold in the
mountainous regions to more subtropical and wet in the coastal
areas closer to the north) due to less inland areas (continuality)
and being located further south toward the Arctic South Pole
than Australia. New Zealand is made up of two main islands
and experiences some very intense earthquakes due to different
oceanic plates (subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-
Australian Plate) converging upon each other. The southern
island is more mountainous than the northern island due to plate
tectonics and volcanic activity. The Waikato River is the
longest river in New Zealand and is located on the northern
island. Lake Taupo is the largest lake and is also located on the
north island. And finally, New Zealand is the transition of the
Austral Realm to the Pacific Realm to the east.
Historical Geography of the Austral Realm
Most of the original migrants to Australia were European

3. explorers. It is believed that people migrated to this region
during the end of the last ice age when sea levels were much
lower, similar to the way people migrated from Asia to North
America. There have been some tensions between the
Europeans and the indigenous people of this region throughout
time. New Zealand has had some influence from the Polynesian
culture in the Pacific Rim region. Please visit the Australia's
Geography and History website for more information.
Historically, this region has been isolated from the mainland,
and not until recently has been fully influenced by the
mainland. As a result, many new animal species and cultures
have been introduced, thus causing many biological and cultural
challenges.
Political Geography of the Austral Realm
Australia's political system is quite stable and very well
interwoven into the global world. It has very good relations
with its neighboring countries. Very little political strife is
present. Australia is divided into six states, which are the
following: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia,
Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
New Zealand is made up of a parliamentary representative
democratic monarchy similar to England. New Zealand also has
a very progressive form of politics that holds environmental
issues very sacred. In both Australia and New Zealand, the
people mostly live clustered in more urban areas near the
coasts. Most of Australia’s population lives on its eastern and
southeastern coasts. Please view the Political Map of Australia.
Economical Geography of the Austral Realm
Australia's economic geography is very strong due to its
abundant mineral resources and wheat production. Australia
has more abundant agriculture than New Zealand. The areas
near the coast are very urbanized and serve as strong economic
centers of trade and commerce. Tourism is quite high as well.
New Zealand is dominated by the export of livestock products
and wine. Both Australia and New Zealand rely on the Asian
Pacific Rim as trading partners to keep its overall economy

4. strong. The region’s isolation from many other parts of the
world has challenged its overall economy, but with the recent
globalization, this challenge has become more manageable.
Please view the Economic Geography and Economic
Performance in Australia website for more information.
Culture Geography and Religions of the Austral Realm
The entire Austral Realm has been isolated for most of its
history. Recently, it has made some moves to associate more
with the neighboring Asian Realm and global culture. Also,
more and more people are migrating to this region each year.
Like many other regions experiencing immigration, some
cultural identity issues are always at play. In the case of the
Austral Realm, it is the aboriginals vs. the newer immigrants to
this region.
Australia is predominantly Christian with some indigenous
religious rituals and forms of animism. Small pockets of
Buddhism and Islam also exist. Australia speaks mostly
English with some small pockets of Spanish and French in
addition to the original indigenous languages from the
Austronesian family. Its foods and dress are very unique
because of its unique location and isolationism. English and
Maori are the two official languages spoken in New Zealand.
Please visit the Australia and Oceania: Human Geography -
National Geographic Education website for more information on
the human geography of this region/realm.
Required Presentation:
Please view the Chapter 11 presentation.
[INSERT TITLE HERE] 1
Running head: [INSERT TITLE HERE]

5. [INSERT TITLE HERE]
Student Name
Allied American University
Author Note
This paper was prepared for [INSERT COURSE NAME],
[INSERT COURSE ASSIGNMENT] taught by [INSERT
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME].
1. What climatic and geologic hazards threaten the Austral
Realm? What have been some of the historical events impacting
this whole region? How do you think any Global Warming or
Climate Change will impact this region?
PART I: SHORT ESSAY
Please answer the following question in a 1-2 page short essay
using APA Format. Please be sure to use the course readings
and/or other outside documented research to support all of your
ideas, facts, and opinions.
1. Pick any individual region in the Austral Realm and then
describe and explain its individual physical, historical,

6. economic, political, cultural/human, and religious/spiritual
geography. How and why is it different than the countries it
borders? What future challenges do you see for this country?
Have you ever visited this country before? Would you like to if
you have not? Why or why not?
PART II: GEOGRAPHY JOURNAL
Task #1. Please utilize LIRN (you may visit the Academic
Resource Center for a guide on how to utilize LIRN
successfully) and search for one peer reviewed research article
that covers any of the following:
examine the landform regions, climate zones, and influence of
the Southern Ocean, biogeography, and human-environmental
interactions in Australia and New Zealand.
describe the Australia’s major geographic features as well as its
basic historical, cultural, political, urban, economic geography,
and the current issues it faces, especially relations with its
Aboriginal population.
evaluate New Zealand’s general layout as well as its basic
historical, political, and cultural geography, especially relations
with its indigenous Maori population.
Then write a 1-2 page review/reaction/reflection paper
describing that article using APA format (please visit the
Academic Resource Center for a concise guide on APA format).
Be sure to include the following:
Goals/Objectives: What is the purpose of the article? What
does it attempt to solve, determine, or demonstrate?Data: Which
data are assessed or analyzed to determine if the
goals/objectives are met?Methods: What specific methodology
is used to analyze the data in the context of the
goals?Analysis/Conclusion: What resulted from methods being
applied to the data? What do the author(s) conclude from the
analysis or how do they interpret the analysis/results?

7. Your critical review of the article must include the following:
Assessment: Were the goals and objectives clearly stated? Did
the goals match the methods and results? Was the article easy
to follow?Importance: What, in your view, is the importance of
this research? What impactdoesknowing this have on
geography?Improvement: What, if anything, could the author(s)
have done to improve the article?Reaction: What is your
opinion of the research conducted?
Task #2. For Modules 2-8, you will reflect on the specific
region and then will turn in your complete work (for Modules 2-
8) at the completion of Module 8. You will only turn in a rough
draft of your Task #2 work in this module’s homework
assignment.
Please write a 1-2 page reflection paper on how the physical,
economic, political, historical, and cultural/human geography of
the Austral region or realm would impact you if you lived there.
You can compile this as a document, PowerPoint Presentation,
or even create an online blog (please ask instructor). You can
also set this up as a diary with daily entries. Be creative.