Visiting Australia
For travel guide for Australia and practical advice regarding eating, drinking, shopping, how to get around, price levels on lodging and holiday
accomodation (e.g. hotels, vacation rentals by owner, b&b's, vacation rental homes, holiday villas, condos, cabins, hostels, self-catering cottages)
and safety hints please click here. |
Australia facts, geography & history
Facts
Government: Democracy.
Population (est.): 20,265,000.
Capital, population (est.): Canberra, 328,000.
Language: English 79%, native and other languages.
Monetary unit: Australian dollar.
Geography
Australia's 7,686,850 square kilometres (2,967,909 sq. mi) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans,
Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 kilometres (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive
Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic
Territory.
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi).
The world's largest monolith, Mount Augustus, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range
is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 metres
(9,006 ft).
By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least
fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. The majority of the population lives along the
temperate south-eastern coastline. The northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, has a vegetation consisting of rainforest, woodland,
grassland, mangrove swamps and desert. Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niņo southern oscillation, which is correlated
with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia...........
Adopted from and read more at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
History
If you are interested in this country's history, please take a look
here. |
