Australia is the world's smallest continent but sixth largest country. It has a variety of climates from arid to temperate to tropical. Key physical features include the Western Plateau, Eastern Highlands, Great Barrier Reef, and Murray-Darling River Basin. Australia has a federal monarchy government and GDP per capita of $42,640. Major issues include alcohol abuse, deforestation leading to soil salinity, and overfishing depleting fish stocks. The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by pollution from agricultural and chemical runoff.

1. MY RESEARCH PROJECT:
AUSTRALIA
KAYLIE SMITH
PER. 2

2. • AUSTRALIA IS THE WORLD’S SMALLEST CONTINENT
BUT THE SIXTH-LARGEST COUNTRY.
*THE SEA BREEZE KNOWN AS THE, “FREMANTLE
DOCTOR” AFFECTS THE CITY OF PERTH ON THE WEST
COAST OF AUSTRALIA. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST
CONSISTENT WINDS IN THE WORLD.
Australia

3. LOCATION/REGION
27 degrees South, 133 degrees East
Oceania, continent between the South Pacific and Indian Ocean
Australia is slightly smaller than the US.
This picture displays
the size of Australia
compared to the US.

4. CLIMATE
Generally little to no rain (arid)
Temperate climate in Southern and Eastern Australia
Tropical climate in North Australia

5. PHYSICAL FEATURES

6. WESTERN PLATEAU:
-low, flat area that has eroded down
-fossilized sea creatures can be found here
-sink holes and many deserts have developed

7. EASTERN HIGHLANDS REGION:
-highest part of Australia
-tallest mountains can be found here
-“Great dividing range”….slopes divide rivers in this region

8. GREAT BARRIER REEF:
-world’s largest coral reef
-3000+ reef systems
-hundreds of tropical islands and beaches

9. MURRAY-DARLING RIVER BASIN:
-covers about 14% of Australia
-about half the length of the Nile River
-diverse plants, animals, and ecosystems
*Where the
two rivers
meet

10. HUMAN FEATURES

11. DARWIN:
-flattened twice
-bombed during WWII
-Cyclone Tracy demolished almost all
buildings

12. DINGO FENCE:
-world’s longest fence
-originally built to keep away rabbits

13. SNOWY MOUNTAINS HYDRO-ELECTRIC
SCHEME:
-migrants came to Australia to construct dams, tunnels, and power
stations
-took 25 years to complete
-Australia's largest engineering project

14. LANGUAGE
*18% of Australians speak a language other than English
*Some speak an English dialect known as “strine”
*Long “a” sound is pronounced as a long “I”

15. GOVERNMENT
• Federal Monarchy
• Parliamentary System

16. ECONOMICS
**Population: 22.8 million**
 GDP- $42,640 per capita
 970.8 billion

17. EDUCATION
 Primary School- kindergarten to 6th or 7th grade
 Secondary School- years 7th to 10th or 8th to 10th
 Senior Secondary School- years 11th and 12th
 Schooling is similar across all of Australia, there are a few
minor variations between the different states/territories

18. FAMILY
- Blended families with step parents and siblings are becoming
more common in Australia
- Nuclear family households is the common way of Australian
families, but extended family is still a great support system for
many of Australia’s families

19. RELIGION
 Australians are predominantly Christian
 There is no official national religion
 Immigration has made Australia one of the most
religiously diverse societies in the world

20. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL ISSUE
I. Alcohol abuse is a problem in Australia (similar to the US)
-The Australian Government is looking into the significant health
problems that come with over drinking, and getting that information out in
public places to remind people of the effects of alcohol abuse
II. Deforestation in Australia is leading to the over abundance of salt in the
soil. As a result of the salt in the water streams, it affects the downstream
water quality
III. Overfishing has majorly impacted the waters in Australia. The fish
stocks are currently dangerously low. Illegal fishing plays a part in the
reason why the waters are being overfished.

21. HUMAN/ENVIORNMENT INTERACTION
*Pollution in the Great Barrier Reef due to land based and chemical/nutrient
based pollution. This pollution is from the run off of fertilizers,
pesticides, and many other pollutants. Without stopping this on going
problem, the Barrier Reef will continue to become more and more
polluted.
*Poor Farming Practices leads to the clearing of river banks which then
leads to the main problem of erosion. With the common occurrence of
over rainfall and than drought the erosion levels are continuing to climb
as farmers do not change their practices.
*Loss of Australia’s Grasslands is highly impacting the amount of
biodiversity in Australia. With decreasing biodiversity, the land might be
invaded by different types of weeds and unwanted pests.

22. SOURCES
http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Australia.html
http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/stories/usa/the-australian-science-and-
technology-system/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2525911/The-longest-fence-world-
Boundary-stretches-3-500-miles-south-east-Australia-dingoes-bay.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-proof_fence
http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/