Editing South Australia (section)

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of South Australia}}
[[File:Eastern South Australia Satellite Photo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|A satellite image of eastern South Australia. Note the dry lakes (white patches) in the north.]]

The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low [[mountain range]]s. The most important (but not tallest) is the [[Mount Lofty Ranges|Mount Lofty]]-[[Flinders Ranges]] system, which extends north about {{convert|800|km|mi}} from [[Cape Jervis (headland)|Cape Jervis]] to the northern end of [[Lake Torrens]]. The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; [[Mount Woodroffe]] ({{convert|1435|m|ft|0}}) is in the [[Musgrave Ranges]] in the extreme northwest of the state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/highmtns.htm#state |title=Highest Mountains |publisher=[[Geoscience Australia]] |access-date=28 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421195512/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/highmtns.htm#state |archive-date = 21 April 2006}}</ref>

The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited [[Nullarbor Plain]], fronted by the cliffs of the [[Great Australian Bight]]. Features of the coast include [[Spencer Gulf]] and the [[Eyre Yorke Block|Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas]] that surround it. The [[Temperate Grassland of South Australia]] is situated to the east of [[Gulf St Vincent]].

[[File:Vignoble barossa automne.jpg|thumb|The [[Barossa Valley (wine)|Barossa Valley]], northeast of Adelaide. South Australia's wine industry is the largest in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |title=South Australia |url=http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |publisher=Wine Australia |access-date=24 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409203807/http://www.wineaustralia.com/Australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |archive-date=9 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
[[File:South Australia Köppen.svg|thumb|The different [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] in South Australia]]

The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNj-OKU4CFwC&q=South+Australia+are+wheat%2C+wine+and+wool.|title=Australian Agriculture: Its History and Challenges|last=Henzell|first=Ted|date=2007|publisher=Csiro Publishing|isbn=9780643993426|language=en}}</ref> More than half of Australia's wines are produced in the South Australian wine regions which principally include [[Barossa Valley (wine)|Barossa Valley]], [[Clare Valley wine region|Clare Valley]], [[McLaren Vale]], [[Coonawarra wine region|Coonawarra]], the [[Riverland wine region|Riverland]] and the [[Adelaide Hills wine region|Adelaide Hills]]. ''See [[South Australian wine]].''

===South Australian boundaries===
{{Further|South Australian borders}}

South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian mainland state and territory except the [[Australian Capital Territory]] and the [[Jervis Bay Territory]].<!-- There are MANY territories that SA does NOT have a border with. --> The [[Western Australia border]] has a history involving the South Australian government astronomer, G.F. Dodwell, and the [[Western Australian Government Astronomer]], [[Harold Curlewis|H.B. Curlewis]], marking the border on the ground in the 1920s.

In 1863, that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia, by letters patent, as the "Northern Territory of South Australia", which became shortened to the Northern Territory on [[Territorial evolution of Australia#6 July 1863|6 July 1863]].<ref>[[Territorial evolution of Australia#6 July 1863|Territorial evolution of Australia – 6 July 1863]]</ref> The Northern Territory was handed to the federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory.

According to Australian maps, South Australia's south coast is flanked by the [[Southern Ocean]], but official international consensus defines the Southern Ocean as extending north from the pole only to 60°S or 55°S, at least 17 degrees of latitude further south than the most southern point of South Australia. Thus the south coast is officially adjacent to the south-most portion of the Indian Ocean. ''See [[Southern Ocean#Existence and definitions|Southern Ocean: Existence and definitions]]''.

<gallery>
File:Flinders ranges pastoral land.JPG|Arid land in the [[Flinders Ranges]]
File:Second Valley 2.JPG|The rugged coastline of [[Second Valley, South Australia|Second Valley]], located on the [[Fleurieu Peninsula]]
</gallery>

===Climate===
The southern part of the state has a [[Mediterranean climate]], while the rest of the state has either an [[desert climate|arid]] or [[semi-arid climate]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Climate and Weather | work = Government of South Australia | publisher = Atlas South Australia | date = 28 April 2004 | url = http://www.atlas.sa.gov.au/go/resources/atlas-of-south-australia-1986/environment-resources/climate-and-weather | access-date = 6 December 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100315233707/http://www.atlas.sa.gov.au/go/resources/atlas-of-south-australia-1986/environment-resources/climate-and-weather | archive-date = 15 March 2010 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> South Australia's main temperature range is {{convert|29|C|F|0}} in January and {{convert|15|C|F|0|abbr=on}} in July. 
The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was {{convert|50.7|C|F|1|abbr=on}} at [[Oodnadatta, South Australia|Oodnadatta]] on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature was {{convert|-8.2|C|F|1|abbr=on}} at [[Yongala, South Australia|Yongala]] on 20 July 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf |title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National |publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]] |access-date=14 November 2009 }}</ref> The region's overall dry weather is owed to the [[Australian High]] on the Great Australian Bight.
{{Weather box
|width=auto
|location = South Australia
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 50.7
|Feb record high C = 48.2
|Mar record high C = 46.5
|Apr record high C = 42.1
|May record high C = 36.5
|Jun record high C = 34.0
|Jul record high C = 34.2
|Aug record high C = 39.4
|Sep record high C = 41.5
|Oct record high C = 45.4
|Nov record high C = 47.9
|Dec record high C = 49.9
|year record high C = 50.7
|Jan record low C = 0.2
|Feb record low C = 0.8
|Mar record low C = -2.2
|Apr record low C = -3.5
|May record low C = -6.6
|Jun record low C = -8.1
|Jul record low C = -8.2
|Aug record low C = -6.6
|Sep record low C = -4.5
|Oct record low C = -4.4
|Nov record low C = -2.4
|Dec record low C = -0.5
|year record low C = -8.2
|source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/daily_extremes.cgi?period=%2Fcgi-bin%2Fclimate%2Fextremes%2Fdaily_extremes.cgi&climtab=tmax_high&area=tas&year=2013&mon=1&day=11|title=Official records for Australia in January|date=1 July 2017|work=Daily Extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref>
|date=March 2012
}}