Australia

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and smallest continent in the world situated in the southeast Asia between Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is an island continent, which was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770. The official name of Australia is the Commonwealth of Australia deputy to the British Queen. The head of government is the Prime Minister. Australia is divided into six states – New Souft Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and three territories – Northern Territory, Coral Sea Island Territory and Ausralian Capital Territory.

The capital city is Canberra, founded in 1913. It is the seat of the Government and the Federal Parliament and there is the Captain Cook Memorial Waterjet – 134 metres high. In Ausralia there are many large cities.
Melbourne is the most elegant city founded in 1801 by an Australian John Batman. It has beautiful parks, Museums, galleries, concert halls and three universities.
Sydney is the oldest city, founded in 1788 as a convict colony. It is the largest city in Australia. The most important sights in Sydney are the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
The next cities in the Australia are Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs and Hobart.

Population
Australia has iver 15 milion inhabitants, the density is 2 people per one square kilometre. Most people live on the coast.

The Climate
Most of the land has continental climate, but Australians know every type of climate. Northern and centrals parts are tropical.

Trade, Industry
The main exports sre metals, coal, petroleum, meat, meat products. The main industries are food industries and oil refineries.
Australia imports cars, heavy machines and electronics.

Australian Nature
In Australia lives many kind of rare and special animals and plants. E.g. the kangaroo, the platypus, the termites, the wild horses, the koala bears. The best known trees are eucalyptus trees in Australia. There are about 120 national parks and reservations there. In the Australia is the largest monolith in the world. It is about 600 metres high and it is called Ayers Rock.

Geography
In Australia there are two big rivers – Murray and Darling. Two thirds of Australia surface are made up of desert – the Great Victorian Desert, the Great Sand Desert, the Gipson Desert, the Simpson Desert. The highest part of it are the Australian Alps with the highest peak Mt. Kosciusco 2230 metres.