Australia

Australia , the country, is divided into six states.

Physical Australia

• The major area of hills and mountains in Australia is the Great Dividing Range.

The Outback

• A low area of desert land called the Western Plateau covers nearly 2/3 of the country. Australians call this area the Outback.

Great Barrier Reef

• One of the world’s most famous natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef, lies just off Australia’s northeastern coast.

• Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770.

• At first, Australia was used as a colony for convicts from Great Britain.

Australia is one of the world’s leading exporters of:•Beef•Mutton•Lamb•Wool

• Australian sheep herders are called graziers.

• Australian ranches are called stations.

Other natural resources include:

• Uranium• Iron ore• Copper• Lead• Gold• Diamonds• Silver

Climate and Weather

• Doldrums: frequently windless areas near the equator.

• Typhoons: hurricanes that form in the Pacific Ocean.

Vegetation

• Acacia: called wattles by early settlers

Vegetation

• Manuka: shrubs found in New Zealand

Human Characteristics

• The native people of Australia are called Aborigines.

• Dreamtime: The Aborigines’ belief of how all things were created and came into being. All beings have souls and spirits that helped to shape the earth in some way. According to the Dreamtime, humans are the custodians of the land.

• Much like the Native Americans, the Aborigines were greatly affected by white settlement.

• The British brought many diseases that the Aborigines were not immune to. Many also died trying to defend their land.

Ethnic Groups Living in Australia

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

EuropeanAsianAborigine

Human Characteristics

• 85% of Australia’s people live in cities or towns.

• Very few people choose to live in the Outback.

Human Characteristics

• Population:

Transportation and Communication

• Large parts of the Australian outback are without any roads.

• Desert and mountainous terrain make travel difficult

• The rail gauges, width between the rails, do not match from state to state. This also makes travel difficult.

Religious Beliefs

80%

1%

12%7%

ChristianHinduNonreligiousOther

Languages• English is the predominant language spoken in Australia.

• Strine is the name for the English spoken in Australia.

Animal Life• Australia’s most well-known

native animals are all marsupials, meaning they are mammals that give birth to offspring who mature in the mothers’ pouches.