South West drainage division
The south-west corner drainage region of Western Australia is one of only two temperate and relatively fertile parts of mainland Australia. It covers about, or a little less than 2% of the continent. For comparison, this is about the same size as North Carolina or a little larger than England.
The landscape is generally flat and sandy but there are several major features, in particular the Stirling Range near Albany, which reaches at its highest point, and the Darling Scarp.
The climate is temperate Mediterranean. Summers are warm to hot and dry, winters are cool and wet. Mountains near the coast concentrate rainfall in that area, with parts of the extreme south-western corner receiving as much as per year. Away from the coast, however, precipitation drops rapidly, with inland areas averaging about per year.
Other Western Australian drainage divisions include:
- Pilbara freshwater ecoregion
- Timor Sea drainage division in the Kimberley and the Northern Territory Top End.