•The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia.•It is over 700 km wide from west to east.•It covers an area of 348,750 square km in Western Australia and South Australia.

•The rainfall is low, only 8 to 10 inches in one year.•Thunderstorms are common, around 15 to 20 storms per year.•In summer it is hot, daytime temperatures range from 32 to 40 degrees celsius.•In Winter it does not get very cold, daytime temperatures range from 18 to 23 degrees celsius.•The nights are very cold with frosts in winter.• It never snows

The Great Victor ia Desert is made up of. Small Sand Hills. Grassland Plains.

Salt Lakes. Desert Pebbles.(Gibber plains)

Plants and animals need to adapt to the dry conditions to survive.These plants are:Eucalyptus trees Marble Gum and Mallee. Mulga shrubs (Acacia aneura.),Spinifex grasses particularly Triodia Basedowii,Wildflowers, Grevilleas and Acacias in yellows , mauves and white.

These animals are:The Great Desert Skink(Egernia kintorei), Bilby, Malleefowl, Sandhill Dunart(Sminthopsis psammophila),The Perentie(Varanus giganteus),Many types of lizards and geckos,Bandy Bandy Snake,Water holding frog,The Thorny Devil,Camels, Dingos,Taipans,Wedge Tailed Eagle, Marsupial Mole,Crested parrot,crest-tailed Mulgara.

* The conditions are too hot and dry for Agriculture.

*The Thorny Devil(Moloch horridus) is an

Australian lizard.

*It grows up to 20cm in length.

*It can live up to 20 years.

*They are colored in camouflaging shades of

desert browns and tans helping them hide from

predators.These colors change from pale colors

during warm weather,to darker colors during cold weather.

*They are covered entirely with spines.These hard sharp spines help deter predators.

*They also have a tiny false head,on the back of its neck,and show it to predators, by dipping its head.

*Its body is rigid , they can collect water from any part of their bodies,water is channeled in the grooves between the spines to its mouth.

*They can eat thousands of ants in one day.

*The Malleefowl ( Leipoa ocellata ) is a ground- dwelling bird about the size of a chicken.

* They live in semi- arid mallee scrub in South Australia.

*They are known for their large nesting mounds, made between the mallee trees.

*They are shy and only fly away to escape danger.

*They freeze if a predator approaches, and rely on their camouflage ( patterned feathers)to hide them.

*They eat ants, the seeds of wattle

and senna plants,flower blossoms

and herbs, beetles and cockroaches.

•Spinifex (Triodia) is a tussock- forming grass,with clumps of pointed blades fanning out.•It is a hardy grass adapted to the poorest and driest soils of arid regions of Australia.•It is a perennial grass and the leaves are 30-40cm long. •The roots grow in two directions, horizontally and vertically, in order to reach both surface and deeper ground water.•The heart of the grass makes good shelter for small desert animals as the heart stays cool.•The leaves curl inwards,creating a hollow tube,this keeps water droplets from evaporating.•These hollow rods are needle sharp so grazing animals stay away. •One of the main types found in The Great Victoria Desert is the ringed spinifex.(pictured below)•Used by Aboriginals , for collecting seeds to make seed cakes,resin in spinifex was used as an adhesive for spear heads,and to make smoke signals to communicate,as burning the grass makes a black smoke.•Also used for building shelters and trapping fish against creek beds.

*The Mulga (Acacia Aneura) is shrub or small tree, native to arid areas of Western Australian mulga shrublands.*The Mulga varies in form , height and shape.It can form dense forests up to 15 metres high,or small low shrubs spread well apart.*Most commonly it is a tall shrub.*It can live up to 200- 300 years.* The Mulga is suited to the desert with its thick skin, reducing water loss. And adapts to the dry conditions ,by loosing its leaves,to the ground, forming a layer of mulch,where nutrients can be recycled.*The branches stand up to aviod midday sun,and any rain that falls is channelled down the branches to be collected in the soil right next to the trunk.*The roots go deep into the ground to collect moisture.*Their roots also have bacteria that help deal with poor soils.

*The Mulga (Acacia Aneura) is shrub or small tree, native to arid areas of Western Australian mulga shrublands.*The Mulga varies in form , height and shape.It can form dense forests up to 15 metres high,or small low shrubs spread well apart.*Most commonly it is a tall shrub.*It can live up to 200- 300 years.* The Mulga is suited to the desert with its thick skin, reducing water loss. And adapts to the dry conditions ,by loosing its leaves,to the ground, forming a layer of mulch,where nutrients can be recycled.*The branches stand up to aviod midday sun,and any rain that falls is channelled down the branches to be collected in the soil right next to the trunk.*The roots go deep into the ground to collect moisture.*Their roots also have bacteria that help deal with poor soils.