Northern territory

Northern Territory is an administrative area of northern central Australia. Its territory is 523,620 sq. miles with population about 175,000 including 19,000 aborigines. Tribal conditions still exist among some of the aborigines. The capital of Northern Territory is Darwin. The explorer John Stewart first entered the NT in 1860. In 1978 NT was granted self-government. The northern area has grassing regions, the south is sandy. The flat coastal plain is tropical; the interior tablelands are semiarid. Large areas are desert, particularly in the west. The rivers include the Victoria, Daly, Roper and South Alligator. The temperature in January is +27°C and +25°C in July. Main occupation of the population is cattle ranching. NT has 1 million cattle, 36,000 horses and 9,000 sheep. There are experimental schemes to grow rice, fodder crops and fruit. NT is rich in gold, copper, uranium, tungsten, mica, and manganese, as well some silver. Pearling is an important industry. “A Flying Doctor” operation uses radio and aircraft service to help the sick.