Gascoyne

The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the north west of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gascoyne has about 600 km of Indian Ocean coastline; extends inland about 500 km; and has an area of 138,000 km² (including islands).

Population

The Gascoyne has the lowest population and lowest population density of any region of Western Australia, with a population of about 14,500 people. The majority of residents are non-Aboriginal people born in Australia (74%). Just over half live in Carnarvon (8,616) where Aboriginal residents account for 18% of the population. Other centres are Exmouth, Denham, Gascoyne Junction and Coral Bay.

Climate

The Gascoyne has a moderate arid tropical climate. It is generally warm all year round, with mean maximum daily temperatures ranging from 22 °C (72 °F) in July to 35 °C (95 °F) in January. The region receives about 320 days of sunshine per year. Annual rainfall is low and variable, averaging about 200 mm (8 in), most of which occurs as a result of cyclonic activity. Because of the semi-arid climate, most of the Gascoyne is covered in scrub, primarily spinifex and mulga, with very little tree cover.

Gascoyne (biogeographic region)

Gascoyne is an interim Australian bioregion located in Western Australia and part of the Mulga shrublands ecoregion, as assessed by the World Wildlife Fund.

References

Further reading

Gascoyne (disambiguation)

Gascoyne may refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also