1. AUSTRALIA

2. Australia in Brief Australia is an independent Western democracy with a population of more than 22 million. It is one of the world’s most urbanised countries, with about 70 per cent of the population living in the 10 largest cities. Most of the population is concentrated along the eastern seaboard and the south-eastern corner of the continent. Australia’s lifestyle reflects its mainly Western origins, but Australia is also a multicultural society which has been enriched by over six million settlers from almost 200 nations. Four out of ten Australians are migrants or the first-generation children of migrants, half of them from non-English speaking backgrounds.

3. Australia in Brief Australia is the only nation to occupy an entire continent. Its land mass of nearly 7.7 million square kms is the flattest and (after Antarctica) driest of continents, yet it has extremes of climate and topography. There are rainforests and vast plains in the north, snowfields in the south east, desert in the centre and fertile croplands in the east, south and south west. About one third of the country lies in the tropics. Australia has a coastline of 36,735km

4. Geographic Features In land area, Australia is estimated to be 7,692,024 square Kilometers and the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. It has, however, a relatively small population. Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands. The mainland is the largest island and the smallest, flattest continent on Earth. It lies between 10° and 39° South latitude. The highest point on the mainland, Mount Kosciuszko, is only 2,228 metres.

5. Australia’s highest mountains The highest peak on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko which is 2228 metres above sea level. Kosciuszko is located in the Snowy Mountains region in New South Wales. Australia’s Longest River The lengths of the 10 longest rivers in Australia were re- calculated in September 2008 by Geoscience Australia using data from the National Topographic Database. The calculations confirmed that Australia’s longest single river is the River Murray at 2,375 kilometres.

6. Australia ’ s Deserts Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent in the world. About 35 per cent of the continent receives so little rain, it can be classified as desert. The largest Australian desert is the Great Victoria desert at 348,750 square kilometres, spanning Western and South Australia. The runner up is the Great Sandy desert in Western Australia at 267,250 square kilometres. The total desert area equates to 18 per cent of the total mainland area of Australia

7. Australian Islands The Australian mainland is in fact the world’s largest island and is often referred to as an island continent. Australia is also surrounded by thousands of smaller islands ranging is size from rocky outcrops to some more than twice the size of the Australian Capital Territory. The larges of these is Melville Island in the Northern Territory with an area of 5,786 square kms. Fraser Island off the Queensland coast is Australia’s fifth largest island but the World’s largest sand island.

8. Australia ’ s Flags The Australian National Flag was first flown on September 3, 1901 over the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The date is still celebrated as ‘Australian National Flag Day’. Today, the National Flag is a symbol of the Australian identity and serves as an important part of almost all our national events. The colours and symbols within the Australian Flag have great significance, there are three primary elements; The Union Jack The presence of the Union Jack in the upper hoist quadrant of Australia’s Flag is an acknowledgment of Australia’s connection and history with the United Kingdom. The Southern Cross Located in the second and fourth quarter (right hand side), the Southern Cross is a constellation of fixe stars that is a prominent feature of the night sky and only visible in the southern hemisphere. It is a significant navigational feature and intended to represent Australia’s geographical location. The Commonwealth Star This large seven point star is placed centrally in the third quarter of the flag. The seven points denote the six states of Australia and the combined territories of the Commonwealth. The seventh point was an addition eight years after the original in 1909.

10. OPRACOWANIE Mateusz Stopka kl. 2a źródło:http://www.about-australia.com