Australia is the smallest, and flattest, of all the continents. Its surface details are largely the result of erosion. Many rivers drain into the continent’s harsh, arid interior, where they terminate in salt lakes that are dry for most of the year. Australia’s coastal regions, however, are famous for astounding biodiversity, from the Great Barrier Reef in the northeast to Shark Bay in the west. [Source Images for earth energy mandalas and geographical information courtesy of U.S.Geological Survey National Center for EROS (Earth Resources Observation and Science) and NASA Landsat Project Science Office.]