Australia

Autor: Kamča Nová | 14.9.2010 20:01 | 0 komentářů | Přečteno: 1958 krát

Geography 
area: 7,686,848 sq km 
population: 17,336,000 
capital city: Canberra 
other towns: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle 
Australia = the smallest continent, 6th largest state 6 states and 2 territories 
Western Australia - 1/3 of Australia, city of Perth 
South Australia - middle, capital Adelaide 
Queensland - tropical north-eastern corner 
New South Wales - the most populous state 
Victoria - 2nd smallest state 
Tasmania - smallest and island state 
Northern Territory - the least populated and developed region 
Australian Capital Territory - Canberra 
three major land regions: 
The Western Plateau - mostly vast desert, 2/3 of all land 
The Central Lowlands - the eastern half of Australia, south - crops, mostly hot, dry 
The Eastern Highlands - eastern edge, Great Dividing Range, fertile soils, the most heavily populated part of Australia highest mountains - Australian Alps, Snowy Mountains (Mt. Kosciusko - 2228 m) 
rivers - mostly dry; the Murray - the longest permanently flowing river; the Darling river (in winter dry) lakes - mostly artificial; Lake Argyle (Western Australia), Lake Gordon (Tasmania), Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens, Lake Gairdner 
deserts: Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert 
the Great Barrier Reef - a collection of more than 2,500 reefs - world's largest coral reef; 2,300 km long along north-east coast 
Ayers Rock - central Australia, world's biggest rock, 2.4 km long, 300 m high; the walls in its caves are covered with Aboriginal rock paintings 

History 
Australia's native inhabitants, the Aborigines, arrived in Australia at least 40,000 ago the existence of this continent was believed long ago - ancient times, Marco Polo the 1st European discovery in 1606 by a Dutch navigator Willem Jansz, than Abel Tasman 
1770 - first explorations done by James Cook - east coast, he claimed the region for Great Britain and named it New South Wales 
1787 - the 1st white settlement - 730 prisoners (overcrowding British prisons) + 300 soldiers Botany Bay, beginning of the city of Sydney 
January 1, 1901 - the Commonwealth of Australia 
1901 - the Immigration Restriction Act rich mineral resources -> mining, export of minerals and metals all over the world - coal, iron ore, bauxite, uranium highly developed agriculture, mainly east and west coasts agricultural production: cattle, sheep, wheat, wool, dairy products, fruit, sugar cane 
Political system 
Australia is an independent sovereign nation within Commonwealth, retaining the British monarch as a head of state and represented by a governor general the constitution - from January 1, 1901 the Federal Parliament consisting of two chambers: Senate (76 members, 12 from each state, 2 from each territory; for 6 years; proportional representation), House of Representatives (148 members, elected by universal adult suffrage every 3 years; single-member constituencies with preferential voting); voting is compulsory the main political parties are the Liberal Party, the National Party (normally in coalition), the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Democrats the last relicts of the UK legislative control were removed in 1986 
states: New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth), Tasmania (Hobart) 
territories: Northern Territory (Darwin), Australia Capital Territory (Canberra) 

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