Australia is an island continent in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also a large country that is just a little smaller than continental USA. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through the middle of this big, relatively flat country.
On Australia’s eastern flank is the Great Dividing Range. This mountain chain runs from Cape York Peninsula in the north to Melbourne in the south. It is about 4,000 feet high in most places with the highest peaks at over 7,000 feet in the south. Rising in the Great Dividing Range is the Murray-Darling River which is Australia’s largest river system. The river flows westward toward the interior of the continent.
The great flat interior region of Australia is known as the Outback. It is dry and consists mostly of scrubland and deserts with a sparse population who are predominantly of aboriginal heritage. In the middle of the Outback lies Uluru (formerly called Ayers Rock) which is a massive red sandstone island mountain. It is two miles long and over one thousand feet high. Uluru is a sacred spot for the aboriginal inhabitants of the Outback but it is a major attraction for tourists from around the world. The town of Alice Springs is in the middle of Australia and it is two hundred miles northeast of the sacred rock, Uluru.
In the northeastern waters of Australia lies the world’s largest barrier reef. Extending for some 1,600 miles and composing over 2,900 individual coral reefs and 900 islands, the Great Barrier Reef attracts millions of tourists annually. Visitors sail, snorkel or dive to see corals, fish, and other marine animals there.
Politically, Australia has six states and two territories. They are Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and West Australia. The territories are Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Ninety percent of Australia’s population is concentrated in urban areas located along its eastern, southeastern and southwestern coasts. Sydney is the largest city while Canberra is the capital of the country. Other cities include Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart.
Australia has a many resources and its economy is diversified and productive. It has huge reserves of coal, iron ore, gold, copper, nickel and other valuable minerals. Data from 2020-21 show the main economic sectors are mining at 10.6 percent, manufacturing at 5.9 percent, construction at 7.3 percent and agriculture, forestry and fishing at 2.6 percent. The largest sector is services at 65.7 percent and this category includes professional, scientific, finance, insurance, education, health, hospitality, retail, media and other activities. Australia is the sixteenth largest economy in the world.
Only 26 million people inhabit this large country (2022 data) and vast areas such as the Outback are sparsely populated. The first peoples of Australia or the aboriginals make up less than 5 percent of the population. Nearly 85 percent of Australians have European heritage either from English colonialism since 1788 or immigration especially in the 1940s. Greeks, Italians as well as British arrived in waves to settle in Australia. Later in 1970s when the official whites-only immigration policies ended Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans and South Asians arrived in greater numbers. Today, many big cities in Australia are dynamic cultural and economic hubs with residents and visitors from all around the globe. Many languages can be heard in the larger cities but English is the dominant language.
Photos from the State of Victoria and South Australia
Melbourne skyline
Twelve Apostles - view along the Great Ocean Road
Coonawarra - Wine Region - South Australia
Sunset at Victor Harbor - South Australia
Photos from Tasmania
Ruins of the Penitentiary at Port Arthur, a former Penal Colony in Tasmania
Russell Falls - Tasmania Island
Cradle Mountain in the distance with Dove Lake in the foreground, Tasmania
Wineglass Bay - Tasmania
Photos from New South Wales and Sydney environs
Sydney Skyline - Sydney Opera House in the foreground
Sunrise over Sydney Harbor - Photo taken from Sydney Harbor Bridge
Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, West of Sydney
Manly Beach, North Sydney