Australia

From ArticleWorld


Australia is often considered as the largest island on earth. It is enclosed by water and has thousands and thousands of beaches. Australia is so massive, it could be its own continent, which it is! Australia is located in the southern hemisphere and it's area is over 7 million square kilometres and comes in as the sixth largest nation in the world.

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Multicultural Australia

Even though Australia came about as a British colony, today it is extremely multi cultural with folks from all over Earth now calling themselves Australians. The population now reaches up to around 21.3 Million.

Approximately 60% of the population is concentrated in and around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin and Adelaide.

Aborigenes

Lately, the indigenous Australian, called the Aborigine, only accounts for about 2 % of the total population. The Aboriginal history takes us back 42,000 years. They lived in most parts of the Australian continent much earlier than the arrival of any European.

Australia natural resources

Australia's natural resources are amazing. It generates 95% of the opals in the world and 99% of our world’s black opals. Also, one of Australia's largest exports is beef. Australia has over 27 million heads of cattle.

Wildlife of Australia

Australia develops with unique wildlife flora and fauna. Two of Australia's most popular wildlife animals are the kangaroo and the koala. The kangaroo is know as a marsupial, and belongs to a group of animals called macropods. “Macropod” translates to “big foot.” Another kind of Australian macropod in the same group as the kangaroo, is the wallaby. The tallest and heaviest kangaroo is the big red kangaroo; they stand about 2 meters tall and often weigh in at 90 kilos. You will find red kangaroos in Australia's arid red center.

The Koala

The koala is definitely the most popular wildlife animal known to Australia. The koala bear is a mammal, not really a bear, as the name might lead you to believe. It is also more related to the Australian wombat and kangaroo. Tourists come from places in every corner of the earth to see and get the opportunity to hold one of these fuzzy little teddy bear-like beings in one of Australia's plentiful nature parks.

Emu bird

Another weird creature unique to Australia is pretty close to the largest birds called the emu. Its name stems from a Portuguese word “emma", which means "a large bird". The male emu will sometimes stand as high as 2 meters, earning the prominent title of being Australia's largest bird.

Sydney

Australia has seven popular cities that thousands upon thousands of tourists flock to each year. Australia's biggest city is Sydney with a population of almost 4 million. What makes Sydney so pleasing is the harbor and its surrounding water ways. Its coastline is known for glorious beach after beach. A couple of Sydney's most popular landmarks are the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and Bondi beach. In the year 2000, Sydney was delighted to be the host nation of the Olympics. Sydney is a truly modern city and is full of five star restaurants and first class hotels.

Gold coast and Brisbane==

The eastern top coast of Australia, we have Queensland. Queensland contains one of the seven wonders of the world: the Great Barrier Reef. The capital city of Queensland is Brisbane, which is also a energetic and diverse city. It is also the best way to reach the tropical islands of the north. Brisbane is a popular destination loved by the older and more youthful tourists alike.

Melbourne

Geographically underneath Sydney, we are familiar with another current and cosmopolitan city called Melbourne. Melbourne's sophisticated environment is filled with some of the best restaurants in the world. Melbourne is second largest city to Sydney, with a population that is about 3 and a half million people. It is also called the sporting capital of Australia.

Adelaide

Adelaide is referred to as the City of Churches It is a more peaceful city compared to the faster ways of life of Sydney and Melbourne. It also is home to first class restaurants and hotels at much more affordable prices than Sydney or Melbourne. Adelaide is famous for its tasty wines from the Barossa valley.

Tasmania

The smaller island of Australia is Tasmania, which sits along the bottom of Australia's south east coast. It is very rich and green. If you are interested in the cooler climates, Tasmania is perfect for you. The capital of Tasmania is Hobart. Strangely enough Tasmania looks like a ripped off piece of Australia's mainland.

Perth

Westerly of Australia, is the city is Perth. Perth is a gorgeous city that sits by the Swan river - with a population of only a few hundred thousand people. Its residents lead a very easy going lifestyle.

Darwin

Farther to the top of Australia is Darwin, with its sizzling tropical weather patterns. It is thought of as Crocodile Country, and is also Australia’s northern path to Asia.