Western Australia is Australia's largest state and with just 10% of the national total number of inhabitants also Australia's emptiest state. Not surprisingly with a landmass that covers over 2000km from north to south, Western Australia knows many contrasts. Most of the state's inhabitants live in the south western corner, a region that enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate. Otherwise Western Australia consists for a large part of endless barren deserts, stretching out all the way to the picture perfect coasts of the Indian Ocean. In the north the desert gradually changes into a tropical region. Here torrential monsoonal rains and thunderstorms can change the landscape within minutes.