Brief summary about Australia. Briefly about Australia. Australian inland waters
culture
Australia is an amazing country. When it snows in much of the world, Australians bask on sunny beaches. Here live the most unique and deadly animals that you will not find anywhere else in the world.
Name Australia from Latin "Terra Australis Incognita", which means "Unknown southern land" appeared during the reign of the Roman Empire.
Australia consists from 6 states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. In addition, there are two main mainland territories: the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, as well as a number of fairly independent islands.
The capital of Australia is Canberra, the largest city inland and the 8th largest in Australia.
Geography of Australia
1. Australia - the largest island And smallest continent in the world.
2. Australia - driest inhabited continent on Earth, the driest is Antarctica.
One third of Australia is desert, the rest is also quite arid.
3. The Australian Snowy Mountains get annual more snow than the Swiss Alps.
4. Australia is the only one continent with no active volcano.
Animals of Australia
5. 6 of the 10 most venomous snake species in the world live in Australia. australian fierce snake or the coastal taipan is the most venomous snake in the world. The poison from one bite can kill 100 people.
6. More than 750,000 single-humped wild camels walk in the Australian deserts. This is one of the largest herds on Earth.
7. Kangaroo and emu have been chosen as symbols of the Australian coat of arms, as they, unlike most animals, are rarely seen moving backwards.
8. The longest living structure in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. also located in Australia. Its length is 2600 km. By the way, the Great Barrier Reef even has its own mailbox.
9. Lives in Australia 3.3 times more sheep than people.
10. Excrement of wombats - marsupials of Australia, have the shape of a cube.
11. Australian male koalas have a forked penis and females have two vaginas and two uteruses.
12. Koalas and humans are the only animals in the world that have unique fingerprints. Koala fingerprints are almost indistinguishable from human fingerprints..
13. The largest type of earthworm on earth Megascolide australis reaches a length of 1.2 meters.
Australian population
14. Population density in Australia is calculated in square kilometers per person and not in people per square kilometer as in other countries.
It has one of the lowest population densities in the world, which is 3 people per sq. km. The average population density in the world is 45 people per sq. km.
Australia
Australia is the smallest and driest continent on the planet, as well as the flattest of all known in the world. The surrounding seas and oceans have little effect on the climate of the interior, so there is little precipitation.
About half of the country's territory is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts. But along the northeast coast, where it rains more often, rainforests grow. As you move deeper into the mainland, they are replaced by light eucalyptus forests. Several types of eucalyptus trees grow here. The leaves and bark of these trees are rich in essential oils, which are widely used in medicine and technology.
The fauna of the fifth continent is peculiar. Only in Australia marsupial mammals are found: kangaroo, a small, charming marsupial bear living in trees - a koala, marsupial squirrels and rats. But Australia's main marsupial is the kangaroo. Their cubs are born weak, small, so mothers carry them in a bag - a fold of skin on the stomach. Of the many species of kangaroo (about 40-50), 9-12 are able to climb trees. They are called: tree kangaroos. The length of the animals is about 60 cm. They feed on the buds and leaves of plants, lianas, love ferns, berries, and fruits. Their front legs are somewhat longer than their hind legs. All fingers have long hooked claws, which help them to cling to knots and branches. If necessary, they can jump from a height of 18 m without any harm to themselves.
Only in Australia you can find egg-laying mammals: platypus and echidna. Scientists believed that they completely died out millions of years ago. This is why Australia is often called the museum of living fossils. There are many birds in Australia. The largest of them is the emu, the most beautiful are birds of paradise dressed up like a rainbow, the most amusing mockingbirds. Budgerigars fly in huge flocks. There are no large full-flowing rivers in Australia. Many rivers dry up periodically - they are called "creeks" ("streams"). Droughts with formidable forest fires after heavy rains give way to devastating floods.
In the bowels of Australia there are almost all types of minerals: gold, silver, copper and iron ores, coal and bauxite, uranium, aluminum. Many of these riches are exported to other countries. The most important branch of the economy is sheep breeding; sheep's wool, cheese go to many countries of Europe, Asia and America.
The first European ship landed on the coast of Australia in the 17th century. Among the discoverers of the mainland were the Dutch and the British. From 1770 Australia became an English possession. In 1788, a ship from England landed on the east coast of Australia, carrying several hundred convicts. The British government chose Australia as a place of exile. The convicts began to settle in the continent. And the indigenous people - the aborigines began to be pushed back into the most inconvenient areas for life. Now there are no more than 250 thousand of them. The appearance of Australian aborigines is characterized by the features of Negroids and Caucasians: like Negroids - dark skin color, wide nose, thick lips, like Europeans - long wavy hair, a large beard. They are divided into numerous tribes and speak different, but closely related languages.
Aborigines are good hunters, fishermen, they invented the boomerang. Aborigines are musical and skillfully perform their national dances. With the support of democratic circles in Australia, Aborigines are fighting for equality in work and wages, for the right to the land of their ancestors, for the preservation of their culture and identity. Mainland Australia is occupied by one state - the highly developed industrial-agrarian capitalist power of Australia.
Australians are mostly descendants of immigrants from England, Scotland, Ireland and speak English. They are engaged in agriculture, work in mines and mines, at metallurgical and chemical plants, at weaving and shoe factories, and produce cars. In 1988, Australia celebrated its 200th anniversary. This is a significant milestone in the life of a country that enjoys considerable international prestige. The Australian people seek to determine their own destiny by working with their Asian neighbors to ease international tensions. In 1985, the Australian government signed an agreement on a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific.
The country is expanding ties with many countries of the world. . Australians are proud of their history. The names of Australian writers and poets Henry Lawson, Katharina Pritchard, Patrick White and others are known to many nations. The Australian mainland was settled relatively recently, and therefore the country is not rich in ancient monuments. Australians do not have a national costume. They wear European clothes. Many Australians spend their leisure time in the same way as residents of the UK. They go to clubs, go in for sports. The most popular is swimming. Other sports are also developed: rowing, sailing regattas. Even in the smallest town there is always a tennis court. Australians love car racing, are fond of athletics, rugby, golf. Equestrian sports are popular.
Bibliography
Bolshakov VV Green continent in the blue ocean: Stories about Australia. Moscow: Malysh, 1982.
Sakharnov SV How the Earth was discovered. M.: Malysh, 1984. S. 74-87.
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.5.km.ru/
Australia is one of the most interesting places on our planet! Although most of the country is occupied by semi-deserts and deserts, there are diverse landscapes from alpine meadows to tropical jungles.
The most famous representatives of the Australian fauna are platypuses and echidnas, koalas, kangaroos, wombats and birds such as: emu, cockatoo and kookaburra.
Australia is also home to the largest number of venomous snakes and spiders in the world!
Here is such an inconspicuous, but the most poisonous land snake in the world - one bite of poison is enough to kill 100 people! It's simply called - cruel snake .
The capital of Australia is Canberra. The city is large in area, but there are practically no high-rise buildings, mostly cottages.
The population of Australia is 21 million people, with most of the population living in the country's largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and their suburbs.
Typical Australians. Seriously!
Today, the majority of the population of Australia are the descendants of Europeans who sailed here two hundred years ago. Emigrants came mainly from England, Scotland and Ireland. Therefore, they speak English in Australia and the flag is similar to English.
The historical population of Australia - the aborigines, today lead a very miserable, almost primitive way of life, not much different from the life of people thousands of years ago. At the same time, the culture and customs of the indigenous Australians have been lost, and huge modern ranches have been created on the most fertile lands.
Australian aborigines.
Australia Day -January 26- Australia's favorite holiday. Throughout the country, costumed performances depicting the landing of the first English fleet are held, numerous regattas and parades are held.
The celebration is marked by numerous fireworks.
On Australia Day, a music festival kicks off in Sydney, and a cricket match in Adelaide. Canberra hosts a live music concert, as well as the presentation of one of the country's most honorary awards - Australian of the Year.
By the way, for Australians of European origin, January 26 is a holiday, and most Aborigines perceive it as a Day of Mourning. As the true owners of the land, the natives consider this historical fact the beginning of the loss of their rights to live as they lived for 40 thousand years. Therefore, Indigenous Australians today are making every effort to restore these rights and restore respect for their culture and traditions.
Australia is the only continent with only one country. In fact, the state that completely occupies this mainland and some nearby islands also has the name Australia. This continent was discovered 100 years later than America.
Australia as a continent
The area of the continent is 7,659,861 km². The three climatic zones in which the mainland is located are subtropical, which occupies the northern part of Australia, equatorial, in the central part of the mainland, and subequatorial, in the southern region. The surface of the mainland consists mainly of steppe soils, in the central region there are mainly large deserts.
The steppe soils of the central part of the continent, like the northwestern ones, are not suitable for grazing animals, unless special fertilizers and top dressings are applied. Green pastures are located mainly in the northeastern region of the mainland.
Interesting information: in Australia, a fence was built, 5614 km long. It is designed to protect pastures from wild animals, namely dingoes.
The western and southern parts of the mainland are washed by the Indian Ocean, the northern and eastern parts by the Pacific Ocean.
Interesting information: in the waters washing Australia, medium-sized octopuses live, the bites of which, despite painlessness, lead to complete paralysis and death.
The relief of the mainland is flat, the uplands occupy less than 5% of the territory of the continent, the remaining 95% have a height of no more than 600 meters above sea level.
Interesting information:
- One of the Australian mountains is called Kosciuszko, it occupies the first place in height. However, it was previously called Townsend and was considered the second highest, and the first had the name Kosciuszko. After it was found out that its height is 20 meters higher than the current Townsend, it was renamed Kosciuszko, thereby leaving the name of the highest mountain unchanged.
- Australia is the lowest continent, on average its height above the sea is about 330 meters.
The flora of Australia is different from other continents. More than 9 thousand plants growing on it are endemic. That is, these plants grow only on this mainland. In total, there are about 12 thousand plant species on the continent.
Interesting fact: the discoverers who first arrived on the continent did not find on it the types of crops they were used to.
Australia as a country
The official name of the country is the Commonwealth of Australia. In addition to the mainland with the same name, the state occupies several islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, as well as the island of Tasmania. This state occupies the sixth place in terms of territory, but its population is relatively small, approximately 21 million people.
Interesting information: the population of cities is about 60% of the total. Cities are overpopulated, but when calculating relative to the entire territory, one person has an average area equal to one thousand square meters.
The territory of the country, which is now occupied by the city of Canberra, was chosen in 1908 as the capital as a compromise, because it was assumed that the choice would be made between the two largest cities at that time: Sydney and Melbourne.
It is worth noting that the standard of living of Australians is high, in terms of quality of life, education, Australia is in the top ten countries in the world.
Most of the population are immigrants, the number of indigenous people is less than 1.5%, social assistance centers and training complexes have been established in the country to support the natives.
Russians visit the continent on average every fifth person every five years.
Geographical position, size of the territory and nature of the coastline.
Australia (from Latin australis - southern) is the smallest continent on Earth. For its small size, it is sometimes called the mainland-island. Australia differs from other continents in that there are no active volcanoes, glaciers, and there are many endemics in the organic world. There are features in the development of the mainland by man, in changing his nature.
Australia is located entirely in the southern hemisphere. Almost in the middle, the mainland crosses the Southern Tropic, so its northern part is in hot, and the southern part is in moderate lighting zones. Most of the mainland is located in the hot thermal zone. From the north, west and south, Australia is washed by the Indian Ocean, and from the east by the Pacific.
Australia is a separate continent, remote from all other continents except Eurasia and Antarctica. In the north, archipelagos and inland seas link it to Southeast Asia. In relation to Europe, Australia is one of the most remote regions of the world. The main world trade routes pass away from it.
The contours of the mainland are simple, the shores are slightly indented. The most dissected is the northern coast, where there is a shallow bay wide open to the ocean. Carpentaria .In the south is located Big Australian bay. The largest island Tasmania , the peninsula Cape York. Most of the coast is inconvenient for navigation. Only in the east and southeast there are quite a few relatively small bays. Significant difficulties for navigation are created by ridges of coral islands, which form off the eastern coast of the mainland. Great Barrier Reef.
Brief information from the history of the study of the mainland.
Geographers of antiquity and the Middle Ages believed for a long time in the existence of an unknown continent, which, serving as a counterweight to the continents of the north, "did not allow the Earth to tip over." Australia became known to Europeans later than other continents. Their first appearance off the coast of Australia dates back to the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. In 1605, the Dutch navigator Willem Janzon penetrated the low desert coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1653, the Dutch navigator Tasman sailed along the southern coast of the mainland. In 1770, the famous English navigator James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia. Soon, on the southeastern coast of the mainland, the British founded the city of Sydney. From the end of the 18th century began the colonization of Australia by the British, its development and study. The study of the interior of Australia was associated first with the search for pastures and water for livestock, and later with the search for mineral deposits. Lack of water, exceptional dryness, heat, thorny bushes still create significant difficulties for researchers in the study of inland territories.
Relief and geological structure. Minerals.
Australia is the flattest and lowest continent. Most of it is a plain, the edges of which are raised, especially significantly in the east. Only 2% of the territory is above the thousand-meter mark, and the highest peak - Mount Kosciuszko in South Wales - rises only 2228 meters. The lowest point is the salt lake Eyre - 16 m below sea level.
In the geological past, most of Australia was part of the Gondwana mainland, from which it separated towards the end of the Mesozoic. The basis of the mainland is the Precambrian rigid platform - part of the Indo-Australian lithospheric plate. The crystalline foundation of the platform in the north, west and in the central part comes to the surface in places, forming shields. In the rest of the territory, it is overlain by strata of sedimentary rocks of continental and marine origin. In the east, a mountainous region of Paleozoic folding joined the ancient rigid platform.
According to the structure of the surface in Australia, there are: Western Australian plateau, Central plain and East Australian mountains, which are based on Big Dividing ridge. The relief of the western part is dominated by plateaus and elevated denudation plains. In some places, the latest tectonic movements have created regenerated blocky mountains on the platform. Long-term destruction processes led to the formation of remnants composed of solid crystalline rocks. On the eastern mainland, the mountains formed in the Paleozoic were subsequently severely destroyed, and in the era of Alpine folding they were broken by faults and uplifted.
Australia is rich in minerals. The crystalline foundation rocks of the platform contain deposits iron, copper, lead-zinc, uranium ores, tin, gold, platinum. Deposits are confined to sedimentary rocks phosphorites, table salt, rock And brown coal, oil, natural gas.Many deposits occur at shallow depths and are mined open-pit.
In terms of reserves of iron ores and ores of non-ferrous metals (bauxites, lead, zinc, nickel), as well as uranium, Australia occupies one of the first places in the world. It has become a major supplier of raw materials to the world market.
Climate.
Australia is the driest continent on Earth. Climatic conditions on the continent are determined by its position near the equator, on both sides of the tropic. It is characterized by a large amount of solar radiation. The Pacific Ocean and trade winds have a certain influence on the climate. The small indentation of the coasts, mountains in the east, plateaus and plateaus in the west and north weaken the influence of the surrounding water spaces on the climate of the interior of the mainland. Therefore, the climate in most of Australia is dry and continental. In general, 5 times less precipitation falls over the continent than over Africa.
Australia is located in 3 climatic zones: subequatorial, tropical And subtropical. Most of the island of Tasmania is located in moderate climatic zone.
Australia is the hottest continent. Two-thirds of the continent is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts. During the summer in the Simpson Desert, temperatures reach 60°C in the shade. Lush tropical vegetation is found only in a narrow coastal strip or in the valleys of a few rivers.
Inland waters.
The Australian mainland is the poorest in rivers. The annual flow of all rivers in Australia is 350 cubic kilometers. This is half the annual runoff of the Yenisei. But Australia is very rich in groundwater. Artesian basins occupy 2.5 million square kilometers - almost a third of the continent.
natural areas.
Australia differs from other continents in the originality of the organic world. Due to long-term isolation, geographical location and natural conditions on the mainland, there are a large number endemic forms. Among plants, endemics make up 75%. The animals of Australia are even more peculiar than the plants. Almost all mammals belong to ancient groups that disappeared on other continents.
Australia ranks first among the continents in terms of the relative area of deserts and the last in terms of forest area.
The zone of humid and variable-moist tropical forests is located in the northeast of the mainland, where there is a lot of precipitation. As you move to the interior of the mainland, forests with a diverse species composition give way to light and dry eucalyptus forests, which turn into tropical sparse forests and savannahs. The inner parts of the mainland occupy vast expanses of semi-deserts and deserts.
Enviroment protection.
The wild vegetation of Australia did not give a single plant that played a significant role in agriculture. However, there are species used by humans: plants give wood, tannins, essential oils. Many species of trees, shrubs and herbs have been brought to Australia from Europe and other parts of the world. Along with cereals and their weeds, fruit trees appeared on the mainland, as well as oaks, poplars and other species. Many animals have been brought in. Rabbits bring great harm to the economy. Foxes and rats pushed aside or severely exterminated local animal species. In general, the flora and fauna of Australia are highly modified by man. Huge tracts of forests have been brought down and destroyed by fires. Savannahs and light forests have been plowed up or turned into pastures in large areas. Nature protection laws in Australia were adopted in the last century. However, they were reduced to the creation of protected areas, national parks in order to preserve only rare plants and animals, and not to protect natural complexes in general. In recent years, national parks with unique natural monuments have been created on the mainland. More than 5% of the territory of Australia is assigned to subnational parks and reserves, of which 11 are enlisted by the UN in the list of territories of exceptional importance for humanity. Thanks to environmental protection measures, relict two-thousand-year-old pines have been preserved on the continent, as well as surprisingly clean rivers untouched by economic activity. The development of agriculture in the coastal regions and in the interior valleys has negatively affected the forest cover, and the government adopted a program ten years ago that called for the planting of a billion trees by the year 2000. This number is estimated to be over three hundred million.
The population and economy of Australia.
18.3 million people live on the mainland. The modern population consists of two groups: Anglo-Australians and indigenous people (Aborigines). Australia is the least densely populated continent (2 people per 1 sq. km). At the same time, Australia is one of the most highly urbanized countries in the world: about 86% of the population lives in cities.
According to many economic indicators (primarily the volume of GDP and its size per capita), Australia is one of the most developed countries in the world. The accelerated growth of its economy was facilitated by: 1) the unification of disparate territories into a single state; 2) a wide influx of foreign capital; 3) an abundance of land resources with a small population; 4) wealth in mineral raw materials, etc.
Australia's main industries:
Mining industry
Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy
Mechanical engineering
· Chemical industry
· Agriculture (grazing).
The Commonwealth of Australia belongs to the group of highly developed countries of the modern world. This is the state of the so-called resettlement capitalism, the formation of the economy was facilitated by both historical and natural factors.
