 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Central Australia" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Central Australia | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Central Australian landscape | |
  Central Australia | |
| Coordinates:23°42′0″S133°52′12″E / 23.70000°S 133.87000°E /-23.70000; 133.87000 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Northern Territory |
| LGAs | |
| Population | |
| • Total | 41,000 (2016)[1] |
Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as theRed Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre ofAustralia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town ofAlice Springs and its immediate surrounds including theMacDonnell Ranges. Commonly, it refers to an area up to 600 km (370 mi) from Alice Springs, in every direction. In its broadest use it can include almost any region in inland Australia that has remained relatively undeveloped, and in this sense is synonymous with the termOutback.
In a modern, more formal sense it can refer to the administrative region used by theNorthern Territory government, as of 2022.
Centralia is another term associated with the area, most commonly used by locals.
There are six regions in the Northern Territory for the purposes of economic planning, as defined by theNorthern Territory Government:[2]
This region has an estimated population of total regional population of 41,000, serviced by Alice Springs (population 28,000). The town also services parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.[3]LGAs make up the region:[citation needed]
In more general usage, or when referring to theflora and fauna of Australia, the term "central Australia" may refer to a large area in the interior of the continent, including theLake Eyre Basin, which stretches across three states and the NT.[4] For many, the term "outback" is almost synonymous with central Australia.[5]
The region has adesert environment, meaning it is very dry, receiving on average just 150 millimetres (6 in) of rainfall annually.[6] Most of the annual rainfall falls duringextreme rainfall events in the summer months. Moderate dry winters persist between May and October with hot, long summers from November to April.[7]
| Topics |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Regions | ||
| Major settlements | ||
