"Australia:
Australia is the smallest continent and the sixth largest country in the world. It is situated between the Pacifik and the Idian Oceans in the south. The island was discovered by Captain James Look in 1770. Australia has only 22 million people. The first people to live there were Aborigines.

There are mostly plains in Australia and a great part of the surface is desert – the Great Sandy Desert and the Great Victoria Desert.Cape York Peninsula is covered with jungles. The southeast is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other trees.

Australia has the Australian Alps and the Great Dividing Range on the eastern coast. Avers Rock is the largest piece of rock in the world. Other mountains are for example the MacDonnel Ranges and Flinders Ranges in South Australia.
The highest mountain is Mt Kosciusko in the Australian Alps discovered by a Polish scientist.
In the central Australian Lowlands there are the Great Artesian Basin and the Lake Eyre Basin. In the Lake Eyre there is the lowest point of the continent.
This lake is the largest one in Australia. Other lakes are Lake Torrens and Lake Gairdner.
The largest rivers are the Murray and the Dabing.
Australia has more than 2000 national parks and nature reserves.

The Australian climate is warm and subtropical. Australian seasons are the opposite of the north. Summer starts in December, autumn in March, winter in June and spring in September

Australian animals and plants
Australia has a lot of special animals like kangaroo, koala, emu, kiwi, cockatoo, dingo, etc. Platypus is a very strange animal – it´s a mammal, but it has a beak and webbed feet. Typical plants of this country are eucalyptus and the national flower is wattle.

The main industries are iron, steel, textiles, electrical equipment, chemicals, cars…The country is rich in raw materials, especially in bauxite, coal, copper and oil.

The population
There are about 18 million inhabitants. Most of inhabitants are of British origin, other ethnic groups make 3% and only 1.5 % are Aborigines.
In total Australia has the lowest density in the world. The Australians like playing rugby, cricket and Australian football.



The political system
It is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen as the head of the country. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Australia. This country is divided into 6 states and 2 territories – Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory.
The Australian flag consists of a small Union Jack in the left corner on a blue background. There is a seven-pointed star.

Cities:
The capital is Canberra. The largest and the oldest city is Sydney. Sydney is famous for the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The second largest city is Melbourne. Other cities include Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.


Tasmánie:
Tasmania is an island south of Australia. The island is sometimes called ,,the apple isle“. It is home to a rare animal – Tasmanian devil –that cannot be found anywhere else."

OAVM