Queensland - The Sunshine State

• The area of Queensland is app. 1 733 000 sq kilometres or 173 300 000 hectares

• Queensland has 7400 kms of Coastline

• Queensland is a vast state. Rainforests meet the sea, searing hot deserts extend for thousands of kilometres, and in the north the wet season lasts for five months of the year.

• If two people could start their cars in Brisbane at the same time, one headed north, one south, after 24 hours of driving, including rest stops, the person heading north would still be in Queensland, probably driving into Cairns. After the same travelling time, the driver heading south may have travelled through three States, and be arriving in Melbourne.

• About 17 million hectares contained in over 400 national parks and reserves are set aside for the conservation and management of natural ecosystems.

Original Shell

Flyover Brisbane

Gateway Bridge

Coloured Sands

• App   77% of the land in Queensland is held in leasehold tenure.

• A swarm of locusts can contain a billion insects, and many consume 30 tonnes of vegetation in one day.

• Rabbits are a major environmental pest, costing 1 billion in damage and control annually.

• There are currently 175 landcare groups in Queensland carrying out with vital activities which contribute to the health and productivity of Queensland.

• Australia's Great Artesian Basin is the world's largest Artesian Basin. It extends from Cape York to South Australia, covers an area of 1 711 000 square kms and contains 8700 million megalitres of water.

• Only 1% of the world's water is readily available for human use: 97% is salty and 2% is ice.

• In most places in Queensland the annual evaporation of water is greater than rainfall.

• The world's tallest tree is Australia's Mountain Ash.

• The fig tree has the deepest root system, extending 120 metres underground.

• Trees absorb solar energy, and with the use of water and carbon dioxide and chlorophyll, convert it to wood. This conversation process releases oxygen and purifies the atmosphere.