The Outback is the remote and arid interior and north of Australia, although the term colloquially can cover any lands outside of the main urban areas. The term "Outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas deemed "the bush". The Outback does not officially exist within any governmental frameworks or boundaries. Many local government shires do use the term to enhance tourist appeal for their own shire.

The marginally fertile parts, mainly within the Lake Eyre Basin, are known as rangelands and have been traditionally used for sheep or cattle farming, on sheep stations and cattle stations which are leased from the Federal Government. Whereas these grassy areas have fairly fertile clay soils, the remainder of the Outback has exceedingly infertile paleosols which cannot support fodder nutritious enough for the economic raising of stock. Although the north of Australia has high (if extremely seasonal) and fairly reliable rainfall, giving it almost all the continent's runoff, the soils there are so poor and eroded (consisting mainly of ironstone or bauxite) as to make cropping impossible even with fertilisers such as superphosphate.

Along with agriculture, tourism and mining are the main economic activities in this vast and sparsely settled area. Due to the complete absence of mountain building and glaciation since the Permian (in many areas since the Cambrian), the Outback is extremely rich in iron, aluminium, manganese and uranium ores, and also contains major deposits of gold, nickel, lead and zinc ores. Because of its size, the value of grazing and mining is considerable.

Outback Population

Less than 10 percent of the Australian population lives outside the urban settlements on the coastal fringes. Despite this, the Outback and the history of its exploration and settlement provides Australians with a mythical backdrop, and stories of swagmen, squatters, outlaws such as Ned Kelly (though Ned Kelly spent virtually all his time in the relatively temperate Great Dividing Range) and so on are central to the national ethos of the country. The song Waltzing Matilda, which is about swagmen and squatters, is a popular traditional Australian song.

Medicine in the Outback

Due to the wide expanses and remoteness of people in the Outback, The Flying Doctor Service exists. This service was created in 1928 in Cloncurry, Queensland. The aim of the service is to provide medical care, primary and emergency, to people who cannot reach hospitals or general practitioners. Consultations are carried out via radio or telephone and for serious situations, doctors are flown out to patients.

Outback Terminology

Culturally, many urban Australians have had very generalised terms for the otherwise complex range of environments that exist within the inland and tropical regions of the continent. Regional terminology can be very specific to specific locations in each mainland state.

Traditionally you are only in "the bush" unless you're beyond the Black Stump (The Australian expression 'black stump' is the name for an imaginary point beyond which the country is considered remote or uncivilised, an abstract marker of the limits of established settlement.), which might be near a different town depending upon where you are. Once past the Black Stump, you've entered the Outback.

"The Never-Never" is a term referring to remoter parts of the Australian Outback. The Outback can be also referred to as "back of beyond", "back o' Bourke" although these terms are more frequently used when referring to something a long way from anywhere, or a long way away. The well-watered north of the continent is often called the "Top End" and the arid interior "The Centre".

Tourist Attractions in the Outback

	Alice Springs
	Birdsville - a small town located in Western Queensland, Australia.
	Uluru (Ayers Rock) - a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory.
	Coober Pedy - a small town in northern South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway.
	Devils Marbles - formations of naturally rounded and oval boulders called Karlu Karlu by the local Aborigines.
	Katherine River Gorge - a river in the Northern Territory. Its headwaters are in Nitmiluk National Park, and it is a tributary of the Daly River.
	Kakadu National Park - attractions include the opportunity to learn about the people, geology, plants and animals which make Kakadu a unique and precious resource, not only for Australians but for all the people in the world.
	Kings Canyon (Watarrka) - the walls of Kings Canyon are over 100 metres high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. Part of the gorge is a sacred Aboriginal site and visitors are discouraged from walking off the walking tracks.
	The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) - also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are large rock formations located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 465 km southwest of Alice Springs.
	MacDonnell Ranges - a 644 km (400 mile) long mountain range located in the centre of Australia (23°42′S 132°30′E), and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs. The range is composed of red sandstone peaks and gorges with the highest peaks being Mount Liebig (1,524m AHD/ 5,000 ft) and Mount Zeil (1,510 m / 4,955 ft).
	Mount Isa - a city in North-West Queensland, Australia in the tropics. It came into existence for the single reason that underneath it and around it there are vast mineral deposits to be extracted.
	Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame - a centre set up in Longreach, Queensland, Australia, to pay tribute to pioneers of the Australian outback.
	Monkey Mia - a resort 25 km north-east of the town of Denham in the Shark Bay Marine Park and World Heritage Site.
	Broome - a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley in the far north of Western Australia.
	Mount Augustus National Park - a national park based around the largest monolith in the world called Mount Augustus, or Burringurrah as it is known by the local Wadjari Aboriginal people.

Organised travel to the Outback is popular, although some Australian and international tourists travel in their own vehicles. Such a trip, particularly once off the few bitumen roads in the Outback, requires considerable advance planning and a suitable vehicle (usually a four wheel drive). On remote routes considerable supplies and equipment may be required, this can include prearranged caches. Some trips cannot be undertaken safely with a single vehicle instead requiring a convoy approach. Deaths from tourists and locals becoming stranded on Outback trips occur, and rescues for the ill-prepared are a regular occurrence.