Editing Outback (section)

{{Short description|Sparsely populated interior of Australia}}
{{About|the interior of Australia|the American restaurant chain|Outback Steakhouse|other uses}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Outback
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = Area
| image_skyline      = Mount Conner, August 2003.jpg
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = View across sand plains and salt pans to [[Mount Conner]], Central Australia
| image_flag         = 
| flag_alt           = 
| image_seal         = 
| seal_alt           = 
| image_shield       = 
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| etymology          = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_map          = Map of the Australian Outback.svg
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Red and dark red areas form the Outback, dark red and striped areas forms the modern Outback.{{efn|The "modern Outback" is an area determined by cultural and natural factors, from a study by the [[Pew Charitable Trusts]].}}
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|-25|130|display=inline, title}}<!-- {{Coord}} -->
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[Australia]]
| subdivision_type1  = Continent
| subdivision_name1  = [[Australia (continent)|Australia]]
| subdivision_type2  = 
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| unit_pref          = Metric
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->| area_footnotes     = 
| area_urban_footnotes = <!-- <ref name="auto"> </ref> -->
| area_rural_footnotes = <!-- <ref name="auto"/> -->
| area_metro_footnotes = <!-- <ref name="auto"/> -->
| area_magnitude     = <!-- <ref name="auto"/> -->
| area_note          = 
| area_water_percent = 
| area_rank          = 
| area_blank1_title  = 
| area_blank2_title  = <!-- square kilometers -->
| area_total_km2     = 
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| area_blank2_km2    = <!-- hectares -->
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| population_as_of   = 
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 607,000 (Rangelands){{efn|As the definition of the outback varies by population, no universal figure can be determined. This figure is for the legally defined area of the Rangelands, which is sometimes referred to as the Outback.}}
| population_density_km2 = auto
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}}

[[File:Yalgoo Shire.jpg|thumb|[[Tourism]] sign post in [[Yalgoo, Western Australia]]]]

The '''Outback''' is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of [[Australia]]. The Outback is more remote than [[Australian bush|the bush]]. While often envisaged as being [[arid]], the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a number of climatic zones, including [[tropical climate|tropical]] and monsoonal climates in northern areas, arid areas in the "red centre" and [[semi-arid]] and [[temperate climate|temperate]] climates in southerly regions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/10/the-modern-outback|title=The Modern Outback|website=pewtrusts.org|date=14 October 2014 |access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218131310/http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/10/the-modern-outback|archive-date=18 December 2016}}</ref> The total population is estimated at 607,000 people.{{efn|As the definition of the outback varies by population, no universal figure can be determined. This figure is for the legally defined area of the Rangelands, which is sometimes referred to as the Outback.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=FROM THE PRESIDENT {{!}} Australian Rangeland Society |url=https://austrangesoc.com.au/from-the-president-14/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |language=en-US |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308010032/https://austrangesoc.com.au/from-the-president-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Geographically, the Outback is unified by a combination of factors, most notably a low human population density, a largely intact [[natural environment]] and, in many places, low-intensity land uses, such as [[pastoralism]] (livestock grazing) in which production is reliant on the natural environment.<ref name=":0" /> The Outback is deeply ingrained in Australian heritage, history and [[folklore]]. In [[Australian art]] the subject of the Outback has been vogue, particularly in the 1940s.<ref name="atoa">{{cite book |last1=Splatt |first1=William |last2=Burton |first2=Barbara |date=1977 |title=A Treasury of Australian Landscape Painting |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1417435/Details |publisher=Rigby |page=56 |isbn=9780859020138 |access-date=31 October 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031095558/https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1417435/Details |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2009, as part of the [[Q150]] celebrations, the [[Queensland]] Outback was announced as one of the [[Q150 Icons]] of Queensland for its role as a "natural attraction".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|title=PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS|last=Bligh|first=Anna|author-link=Anna Bligh|date=10 June 2009|publisher=[[Queensland Government]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524033717/http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|archive-date=24 May 2017|access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>