Australia

Australia

The name of Australia comes from the Latin word Australis, which means southern. Since it lies entirely in the southern hemisphere, Australia is most commonly referred to as "down under". Australia, being a country, is also a continent. In land area it's the sixth largest for a country and the smallest continent.

Australia is a very dry, thinly populated country. Very few coastal areas receive enough rainfall to support a large population. The largest group of Australian people live in two large cities, Sydney and Melbourne. The vast interior is mainly desert or grassland and there are very few settlements. As a whole, the country has a density of six people per square mile.

The down under is famous for vast wide-open spaces, bright sunshine, bikini-clad beauties, enormous numbers of sheep and cattle, and unusual wildlife. Kangaroos, Koalas, platypuses, and wombats are a few of the erotic animals that live here.

Australia was originally settled by Great Britain as a prison colony in the late 1700's, so now most Australian people are of British ancestry. The immigrants brought all the customs too, such as driving on the left side of the road and their favorite warm drink, tea. They also speak English as the official language with their own Australian terms.

CLIMATE The northern third of the Australian continent lies in the tropics and is warm or hot year round. The rest of the country lies south of the tropics and has warm summers and mild cool winters. The rainfall is seasonal in Australia.

In the wet season, heavy downpours and violent storms cause floods. But the droughts that plague the nation are far more serious than any flood. Just about every section of Australia has a drought in the dry season. These droughts cause severe water shortages and cause the need for dramatic conservation laws as well as droughts there is also brush fires.

Rivers in Australia are one of its most vital resources. They supply the cities and towns with the much-needed water. They also supply the farms with irrigation water. Though the rivers are dry most of the year, dams and reservoirs keep water during the dry season.

Australia can basically be split into 3 parts-the eastern highlands, central lowlands, and the western plateau.

The highlands consist mainly of high plateaus and broken-in places by hills, low mountain ridges, and gorges. Grasses or forest cover most of the plateaus, but some have fertile lands for crops. The southern part is most likely the most heavily populated part in all Australia, from Brisbane to Melbourne. In the southern region lie the Australian Alps. The Murray River, Australia's only river that constantly flows from the Alps, is the longest river.

Australia's second major region, the central lowlands, is generally a flat area with infrequent rainfall along the north and south coasts and near the eastern highlands. Farmers in the southern region grow wheat but most of the region is to hot or to dry for crops. However the course grass or shrubs that cover the land make it suitable for livestock. The two large towns in the region have fewer than 30,000 people.

Australia's third major region, the western plateau, covers the western two thirds of Australia. A vast, dry, treeless plateau extends about 400 miles along the regions southern edge; while the central part is mostly desert. A lot of the desert area consists of swirling sands that often drift into giant dunes. In places the desert gives way to land covered by grass and shrubs. Grazing livestock can then use the land. The north and south has the regions heaviest rainfall. The regions two largest cities are Adelaide and Perth.

The Outback The bush, as the Australians call it, refers to the countryside. The term outback refers specifically to the interior of the country, with is mainly open countryside including vast expanses of grazing land. About 13 percent of Australia's people live in these rural areas. Many people live extremely isolated lives on sheep and cattle ranches called stations. Some of the largest stations cover more than 1,000 square miles from the nearest town.

The outback has few paved roads so travel by car is difficult or impossible. Floods sometimes close roads for weeks at a time. Most wealthy farm families own a light airplane, which they use to travel to town. Other families get to town only a few times a year making it difficult to maintain necessities.

The largest settlements in rural Australia are widely spread towns that have developed to support mining towns. For example, Kalgoorie, a town in western Australia, is the center of Australia's major gold and nickel fields. The town is in the arid region about 375 miles away from Perth and water must be pumped there.

All rural areas in the outback are subject to floods, droughts, and brush fires. Because they share the constant threat of disaster, the Australian communities have developed strong ties with each other. Many towns have their own traditional fairs, festivals, and sport competitions.

Outback animal life is varied and includes native species such as kagaroos, wallabies, and emus, and introduced species, such as rabbits. The large size of agricultural stations makes it prohibited to fence off crops from wildlife. Some animals have caused extensive damage to crops and grazing lands. Wild rabbits especially have been destructive. Recently rabbits have been targeted in a drive to wipe them out with a deliberately introduced disease.

CULTURE The great majority of Australians belong to the middle class. Most all Australians have similar educational backgrounds and hold similar values and attitudes. The way of life throughout the country is unusually similar. Even differences from rural to cities are very minimal.

Most Australians are of European descent from immigrants. Aborigines make up only one percent of the population. Australia relies heavily on immigrants to build up the work force. So many immigrants come to Australia by promise of high paying jobs.

Australia has admitted about 4 million immigrants since World War II (1939-1945). About half of the newcomers come from Great Britain. Most of the others come from mainland Europe, especially Italy, Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands. Since the 1970's the number of immigrants from New Zealand and southwest Asia has increased rapidly.

About 70 percent of Australia's people live in cities of more that 100,000 people. Most city dwellers live in suburbs, the residential areas that extend outward from a central business district.