Great Victoria Desert, an area of shifting sand dunes, stretches for over 435 miles (700 kilometers) across southwestern Australia. The desert covers an area of about 162,000 square miles (420,000 square kilometers). Because it merges on the north into the Gibson Desert, its area is not sharply defined. The desert lies north of the Nullarbor Plain. At some points, the Great Victoria Desert spreads southward, to an area about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the southern coast of Australia. Several small salt lakes (dry salt pans that only sometimes contain water) lie in the center of this area.
