Australia
Australia Australia is the only country
in the world to occupy a single continent. It is a
land of contrasts containing many different climates
with unique flora and fauna found nowhere else on
earth. Australia also enjoys an international reputation
for being safe and friendly, English is the spoken
language and the good exchange rate to the Australian
dollar means you will get value for money when you
come here. Map of Australia Australia is situated
below Asia, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean,
the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the Tasman Sea,
the Coral Sea and the Arafura Sea. The nearest country
is not New Zealand but Papua New Guinea. However New
Zealand and Australia combined make up the area called
Australasia or Oceania. Australia's unique geographical
location means that it is isolated from the rest of
the Western World. But Australia is ideally suited
to trading with Asia more so than Europe or North
America. About half of Australian exports currently
go to Asia. Australia is about the same size in area
as the United States excluding Alaska. But the population
is much smaller. With around 20 million inhabitants
it is the most sparsely populated continent after
the Antarctica. photoThe climate in Australia is varied
and ranges from tropical to sub alpine. Australia
is also the oldest land mass on earth and the most
eroded of all continents, with some notable exceptions.
This vast land mass is also the most stable of all
continents, with few major fault lines. This means
that Australia lacks high mountains ranges such as
what you find in neighboring New Zealand. However
all the eons of erosion have formed some of the strangest
geographical features on earth, such as Ayers Rock
in the Northern Territory, or the Bungle Bungles Mountains,
and The Pinnacles of Western Australia. All this erosion
has also given Australia many spectacular sandy beaches,
in fact Australia has more beaches than any other
nation on earth. photoAustralia is also the driest
inhabited continent on earth, but the eastern seaboard
where the majority of the population is concentrated,
is a lush and fertile area, with a climate ranging
from temperate to tropical. The main mountain range
is known as the Great Dividing Range or Eastern Highlands.
This long mountain chain separates the green eastern
seaboard from the barren Outback. The southern end
of the Great Dividing Range has an area known as the
Snowy Mountains, or otherwise known as the the Australian
Alps. This area actually receives more snow than Switzerland,
and is the only area suitable for skiing in Australia.
Australia also contains many pockets of tropical and
temperate rain forest on the eastern coast, but the
predominate forest in Australia is Eucalyptus.
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