Beneath the Southern Cross
Beneath the Southern Cross
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Australia is the world's smallest continent and the sixth largest country. It's area is equal to the United States without Alaska, or double the size of Europe, excluding Russia. |
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More than one-fifty of its land area is desert. More than two thirds of the country is classified as arid or semi-arid. | |
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The length of mainland Australia's coastline is about 33,535 km. If it was possible to drive non-stop along the entire coast at 60km/h it would take 23 days to reach your starting point. | |
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The tip of Queensland's Cape York is the continent's most northernmost point (latitude 10o41'S), while Australia's most northerly town is Thursday Island. | |
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Queensland and Western Australia account for more than half Australia's land area. WA alone spreads over more than one-third of its surface. | |
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The hottest temperature recorded in Australia was 53.1C at Cloncurry in Queensland in January 1889. | |
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Australia has about 282 species of mammals. Almost half are marsupials and the rest are either placental mammals or monotremes. Most are unique to Australia. | |
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Australia is the lowest and flattest of all the continents because it lies near the centre of a tectonic plate. | |
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Australia is the only continent without current volcanic activity. The last eruption took place more than 1400 years ago at Mt Gambier | |
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Since European settlement, Australia has lost bout 75% of its rainforests and about 40% of its total forest area. Almost 70% of native vegetation has been removed or modified for agriculture, urban development and forestry since 1788. Land clearing continues at a rate of more than 600,000ha each year, with most occurring in NSW and Queensland. | |
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We have more species of venomous snakes than any other continent. Our spiders are also amongst the world's most poisonous. | |
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More than 500 shark attacks have been recorded off the Australian coastline since 1791. Less than half were fatal. | |
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The first recorded landing by Europeans on Australian soil was made in 1606 by Dutch explorers. | |
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Between 250,000 and 750,000Aborigines are thought to have lived in Australia when white settlement began. By 1930 this number had been reduced by about two-thirds through a combination of disease and violence. | |
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More than one in five people living in Australia were born overseas. With their Australian-born children, they account for about 40% of the population. | |
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Walkabout
/ Birds / Culture / Bush
Tucker / On-line secure store / stop_press |
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