The Nullarbor Plain is a vast, treeless plain stretching over 77,000 square miles in southern Australia. It contains very sparse vegetation like saltbush and blue bush scrub due to receiving only 200 mm of rain per year. The first European to successfully cross the Nullarbor Plain was Edward John Eyre in 1841, which took him about 8 months. Today, the longest straight road in the world, the Eyre Highway, connects Western Australia to South Australia across the southern part of the Nullarbor Plain and was first crossed by motorcar in 1912.