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Great Artesian Basin
Large artesian aquifer in Australia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Great Artesian Basin (GAB)[1] of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over 1,700,000 square kilometres (660,000 sq mi). Measured water temperatures range from 30 to 100 °C (86 to 212 °F). The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia.[2]
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The basin underlies 22% of the Australian continent,[3] including most of Queensland, the south-east corner of the Northern Territory, north-eastern South Australia, and northern New South Wales. It is 3000 metres (9800 feet) deep in places and is estimated to contain 64,900 cubic kilometres (15,600 cubic miles) of groundwater.[4] The Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee (GABCC)[5] coordinates activity between federal, state/territory and local levels of government and community organisations.