Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin is a very special place in Australia. It is the biggest and deepest artesian basin in the whole world! It covers more than one million square kilometres, which is about a quarter of Australia. This basin is very important because it gives fresh water to many places in the dry interior of Australia.

The basin stretches across several states and territories. It includes most of Queensland, parts of the Northern Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales. In some spots, it is more than three thousand metres deep! The water in the basin can be very warm, from about the temperature of a warm bath to even hotter.

People have used this water for a long time. It helped explorers travel across Australia and now it is very important for farms, towns, and even some electricity. Special groups work together to protect this important water source so it can keep helping people and animals for many years to come.