The Great Artesian Basin: Hydrogeological Mechanics, Thermal Pressure, and the Underground Lifeline of Outback Australia
Spanning an astonishing 1.7 million square kilometres and underlying approximately one-fifth of the Australian continent, the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) represents one of the largest, deepest, and most structurally complex confined aquifer systems on the planet. Extending beneath the arid and semi-arid landscapes of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, this subterranean network holds an estimated 64,900 million megalitres of ancient groundwater. The basin functions as an indispensable hydrological engine; without its continuous yield, the vast interior of Australia would be largely uninhabitable and devoid of the massive agricultural and resource economies that define it today.
