13.9 What are underground landscpaes? • Karst landscapes are found all over the world, predominantly in tropical regions. • Karst forms where slightly acidic water filters through soluble bedrock, such as limestone, creating underground hollows and caves. • The largest arid limestone karst cave system is located on Australia’s Nullarbor Plain. 13.10 The cultural and spiritual significance of landscapes • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia have been in Australia for over 65 000 years and have a close connection to the land. • The Australian landscape is culturally significant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their beliefs regarding the land conflicted with those of European settlers. • Shell middens provide archaeological evidence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ activity in coastal environments and a physical link to their culture and history. 13.11 How do we manage and preserve landscapes? • The World Heritage List preserves places of natural and cultural significance for future generations. • Australia’s Artesian Range is one example of a natural and culturally significant site in Australia. • The inaccessible nature of the Artesian Range has protected it from human activity; however, it is threatened by introduced species. • Coastal regions use hard and soft engineering strategies. • Multiple strategies that take account of natural processes are needed to manage coastal environments. • People rely on rivers for agricultural, industrial, commercial, residential and recreational purposes. • Proper management is essential due to the human demands on rivers. 13.12 Investigating topographic maps • The Daintree Rainforest is located in Far North Queensland. • The Daintree is a significant region, a national park with World Heritage status. 13.13 Inquiry: Coastal environment case study • Many coastal locations use strategies to manage coastal processes with varying levels of effectiveness. 13.14.2 Key terms aquifer a body of permeable rock below the Earth’s surface that contains water, known as groundwater backwash the movement of water from a broken wave as it runs down a beach returning to the ocean billabong a U-shaped body of water created when a wide meander is cut off from the main channel of a river after it changes its course. Also known as an oxbow lake. compost a mixture of various types of decaying organic matter such as dung and dead leaves constructive waves waves that deposit sand on the beach convection currents currents created when a fluid is heated, making it less dense and causing it to rise through surrounding fluid and sink if it is cooled; a steady source of heat can start a continuous current flow cuspate spits projections of a beach into an enclosed or semi-enclosed lagoon deposition the laying down of material carried by rivers, wind, ice and ocean currents destructive wave a large powerful storm wave that has a strong backwash downstream nearer the mouth of a river, or going in the same direction as the current drainage basin an area of land that feeds a river with water, or the whole area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries ecosystem an interconnected community of plants, animals and other organisms erosion the wearing away and removal of soil and rock by natural elements, such as wind and water, and by human activity escarpment a steep slope or cliff formed by erosion or vertical movement of the Earth’s crust along a fault line estuary the wide part of a river at the place where it joins the sea
TOPIC13 Landforms and landscapes – diversity, significance and management 351
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