Australia’s Physical Characteristics

The Australian Continent Australia is special in that it’s considered 3 types of land at once: –An island: the world’s largest –A continent: the world’s flattest –A country: the world’s sixth largest Australia is… –Located in the southern hemisphere –Located between latitudes 10 o S and 44 o S and between longitudes 113 o E and 154 o E –Part of the Asia-Pacific region –Nearest to Papua New Guinea (North) and New Zealand (East)

The Australian Continent “Australia is located between latitudes 10 o S and 44 o S and between longitudes 113 o E and 154 o E”

Australia’s Geographical Dimensions Area: square kilometres Nearest Neighbour: Papua New Guinea (150km North) Distance West to East: 3983km (Steep Point, WA to Cape Byron, NSW) Distance North to South: 3138km (Cape York, QLD to Wilson’s Promontory, VIC) or 3680 (Cape York, QLD to South-East Cape, TAS) Highest Point: Mt Kosciuszko, NSW (2228 metres) Lowest Point: Lake Eyre, SA (15 metres below sea level)

Australia Compared to Others The distance between Cairns and Sydney is the same as traveling between London and Paris 8 times Australia is the world’s sixth largest country after: 1.Russia – 17.1 million square kilometres 2.Canada – 9.97 million square kilometres 3.China – 9.59 million square kilometres 4.USA – 9.36 million square kilometres 5.Brazil – 8.51 million square kilometres Some comparisons of distances are: –Sydney to Melbourne: 870km –Sydney to Brisbane: 980km –Sydney to Adelaide: 1420km –Perth to Darwin: 4160km –Brisbane to Cairns: 1700km –Singapore to Kuala Lumpar (Malaysia): 310km –London (UK) to Paris (France): 320km –Los Angeles to San Francisco (USA): 580km –Los Angeles to New York (USA): 2650km

Australia Compared to Others Australia is divided up into states and territories –Western Australia: 33% of Australia ( square kilometres) –Northern Territory: 18% of Australia ( square kilometres) –Queensland: 22% of Australia ( square kilometres) –New South Wales: 10% of Australia ( square kilometres) –ACT: 0.03% of Australia (2400 square kilometres) –Victoria: 3% of Australia ( square kilometres) –Tasmania: 1% of Australia (67800 square kilometres) –South Australia: 10% of Australia ( square kilometres)