Northern Territory territory (1991 pop. 132,780), 520,280 sq mi (1,347,525 sq km), N central Australia. It is bounded on the N by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin is the territorial capital. In the north are lowlands, in the southeast are low plains sloping toward the Lake Eyre depression, and in the southwest are the MacDonnell Ranges. The main rivers are the Victoria, Daly, Adelaide, and Roper, all of which drain into the northern seas. The climate in the north is tropical, with a monsoon season; the south becomes colder and drier as the elevation rises. About three fourths of the population live in the Darwin and Alice Springs metropolitan areas. Australian aborigines represent nearly one fourth of the Northern Territory's population and own the land of 15 reservations with a total area of 94,000 sq mi (243,460 sq km); the Arnhem Land preserve is the largest. Much of this land is important to the uranium mining and tourist industries. The territory's economic development has been accelerating in recent years. Gold is worked to a small extent; uranium, bauxite, manganese, iron, lead, and zinc deposits are increasingly exploited. Stockbreeding, encouraged by government development projects, is the major rural activity. There is very little farming in the territory. Peanuts, pearl shell, and trepang are the principal exports. Northern Territory's first settlement was established at Port Essington in 1824 in an attempt to...
Northern Territory territory (1991 pop. 132,780), 520,280 sq mi (1,347,525 sq km), N central Australia. It is bounded on the N by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin is the territorial capital. In the north are lowlands, in the southeast are low plains sloping toward the Lake Eyre depression, and in the southwest are the MacDonnell Ranges. The main rivers are the Victoria, Daly, Adelaide, and Roper, all of which drain into the northern seas. The climate in the north is tropical, with a monsoon season; the south becomes colder and drier as the elevation rises. About three fourths of the population live in the Darwin and Alice Springs metropolitan areas. Australian aborigines represent nearly one fourth of the Northern Territory's population and own the land of 15 reservations with a total area of 94,000 sq mi (243,460 sq km); the Arnhem Land preserve is the largest. Much of this land is important to the uranium mining and tourist industries. The territory's economic development has been accelerating in recent years. Gold is worked to a small extent; uranium, bauxite, manganese, iron, lead, and zinc deposits are increasingly exploited. Stockbreeding, encouraged by government development projects, is the major rural activity. There is very little farming in the territory. Peanuts, pearl shell, and trepang are the principal exports. Northern Territory's first settlement was established at Port Essington in 1824 in an attempt to...
