Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. It is one of the largest countries on Earth.
A Natural Wonder: The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. It is the longest and largest reef complex in the world. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. Some of the Reef’s inhabitants, such as turtles and crocodiles, have been around since prehistoric times and have changed little over the millennia. Tiny soft-bodied organisms called coral polyps help to form coral reefs.
- CAPITAL: Canberra
- POPULATION: 23,470,145
- OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English
- MONEY: Australian dollar
- AREA: 2,969,906 square miles (7,692,024 square kilometers)
- MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Great Dividing Range, Macdonnell Ranges
- MAJOR RIVERS: Murray-Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan
It is one of the largest countries on Earth. Although it is rich in natural resources and has a lot of fertile land, more than one-third of Australia is desert. There are dense rain forests in the northeast. The famous outback (remote rural areas) contains the country’s largest deserts, where there are scorching temperatures, little water, and almost no vegetation.
Australia’s ecosystem is an unusual one because of its remote location. As a result, there are many animal species that occur here and nowhere else in the world, such as the platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and koala. Australia has 516 national parks to protect its unique plants and animals.
Australia is home to many of the deadliest species of animals on the planet. There are 36 species of poisonous funnel-web spiders in eastern Australia. There are also 20 types of venomous snakes, including the taipan, which attacks without warning and bites repeatedly, killing its victim in minutes.
There are several types of rain forests in Australia. Tropical rain forests, mainly found in the northeast, are the richest in plant and animal species. Subtropical rain forests are found near the mid-eastern coast, and broadleaf rain forests grow in the southeast and on the island of Tasmania.
Visit this link to see some great images of Australia: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/australia/#/australia-bondi-beach.jpg
