AUSTRALIA their bark instead of leaves and a lot of flowers have no smell.
The animals in
The Commonwealth of Australia (the
official name was given on January 1,
1901) is situated in the south-west of the
Pacific Ocean. The area of the country is
about 8 million square kilometers. It is the
largest island and the smallest continent at
the same time. Sometimes Australia is
called “The Land of Wattle”, “The Lucky
Country”, and “Down Under” because of
its geographical position in the southern
hemisphere.
The highest point is Mount Kosciusko. The
western half of the continent is occupied by a desert
plateau that rises into hills near the west coast. It
includes Great Victoria Desert to the south and the
Great Sandy Desert to the north. The Great Barrier
Reef, lies along the north-east coast. The island of
Tasmania is off the south-eastern coast.
There are not many
rivers in Australia. Its best-
known river is the Murray; the
longest one is the Darling.
Australia’s climate is generally pleasant, without
extremes of heat or cold. There are 2 climatic zones:
tropical in the north and temperate below the Tropic of
Capricorn. Due to its
geographical location Australia’s
seasons are the opposite of the
northern hemisphere – summer
starts in December and winter – in June. The fact that
Australia is the driest continent makes it a great all-year
destination for tourists.
Australia is separated from many countries. The
isolation of the continent has created a sanctuary for
flora and fauna. The country has 20.000 species of
plants and wildflowers. It has 700 species of acacia and
1200 species of eucalypti or gum trees. Many trees lose
Australia cannot be found in other countries of the world. Among the animals
are the kangaroo, koala, opossum, anteater, and platypus. There are many
birds in the country – you can see parrots, lyrebird, kookaburra and cockatoos.
The emu is the biggest bird.
In Australia live nearly 20 million
people. The capital of the country is
Canberra. The city became the capital in
1927. Other big cities are: Sydney,
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin,
Brisbane, and Hobart.
Australia is an industrial country. It
has coal, nickel, zinc, diamonds, natural gas,
iron, gold. It is one of the most important
producers of metals and minerals. It exports wool, meat, fruit, and sugar.
Australia is a federal
parliamentary democracy. The
head of the state is the British
monarch represented by the
Governor-General. The Parliament
consists of the Senate and the
House of Representatives.
Australian population is
divided into 3 groups: “original
Australians” (Aborigines), “old
Australians” and “new Australians”. The ancestors of “original Australians”
are believed to have migrated to the continent from south-east Asia at least
40.000 years ago. “Old Australians” are people of Anglo-Saxon or Irish
descent who were born in Australia. “New
Australians” are post-war
immigrants.