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Alice Springs is the second largest city in the
Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as
"the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is
situated in the geographic centre of Australia near
the southern border of the Northern Territory. The
site is known as Mparntwe to its traditional
inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the
Central Australian desert in and around what is now
Alice Springs for more than 50,000 years. Alice
Springs has a population of 27,481 people which
makes up 12 per cent of the territory's population.
Averaging 576 metres (1,890 ft) above sea level, the
town is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.
There are six suburbs altogether in Alice Springs
which are close to the Alice Springs town centre.
Alice Springs is mostly residential.
The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry
Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell
Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is
known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, and
is an arid environment consisting of several
different deserts. In Alice Springs, temperatures
can vary by up to 28 °C (82 °F) and rainfall can
vary quite dramatically from year to year. In
summer, the average maximum temperature is 36.6 °C
(97.9 °F), whereas in winter the average minimum
temperature can be 7.5 °C (45.5 °F). |