Western Australia, covering the entire western third of the country, is made up mostly of the arid Outback. Its population is concentrated in its fertile southwest corner, home to the Margaret River wine region and the riverside capital, Perth. In the far north, the Kimberley region is home to ancient Aboriginal rock art, the Bungle Bungle sandstone domes and Broome, with Cable Beach camels and a pearling industry.

Across the Swan River from Perth is Fremantle, a port city noted for its 19th-century architecture. Also from Perth, the 1,000km Bibbulmun Track crosses forests, hills and coastline to Albany, site of annual whale migrations. North of the capital are the Pinnacles, wind-sculpted limestone pillars surrounded by sand dunes in Nambung National Park. The Ningaloo Coast has a long near-shore coral reef, whale sharks and karst caverns. Inland, the Karijini National Park has ochre-coloured gorges, rock pools and rock-wallabies. In the southwest interior, the remote gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie is home to 19th-century frontier buildings.

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