Even in medieval times there were stories about a large continent in the Southern Hemisphere. But Europeans had never seen it. They wondered what it was like and whether it was inhabited. They called this land terra australis incognita, or «the unknown southern land» - Australia.
Nowadays when people speak of Australia they can mean 3 things: Australia as 1)a continent 2)an island 3)an independent country. Australia is the world's largest island and its smallest continent. Asia is the continent nearest to Australia in the north. The icy shores of Antarctica lie in the south. New Zeland is to the east. To the westof Australia stretches the vast Indian Ocean. In the east the continent is washed by the Pacific Ocean. Australia is a land of striking difference. In the center of the continent and in the west more than 50% of the land is desert – dry and uninhabited. There are 3 deserts there – the Great Sandy Desert, the Great Victoria Desert and the Gibson Desert, situated between them. Naturaly very few people live there. Most of them live on narrow coasts of the east and south-east. Main cities, where people live among tall office buildings, automobile plants and busy factories, are also situated there.
In the north-east tropical forests cover the coasts. In the mountains of south-east the snow lies for 7 mounth of the year.
Australia is divided into 6 states and 2 territories.
New South Wales is Australia's leading state. Most people live alongthe east coast, and most of them are in Sydney. Sydney is also the largest city in Australia.
In Victoria most people live in the south. Melbourne is the capitalof the state and the largest city. Sheep and wheat are the main products here. Citrous fruits, grapes, peaches, and apricots are grown along the Murray River.
Queensland is Australia’s 2nd largest state. Brisbane, its capital, situated on the east coast. Queensland has long sandy beaches. Its coasts is a popular place for holiday-makers. The climate along the east coast is hot and humid. It is the tropical corner of Australia. Bananas and other tropical fruits are grown here. Most of the land in the south is too dry for farming. Some of Australia’s most unproductive desert lands occupy the bigger part of the state.
The state of Western Australia is dry and inhospitable except the south- western corner of the state. Nearly al of the state’s farms, sheep stations and fruit gardens are situated here. The rest of the state is dry desert land with very few towns or lonely cattle stations.
South Australia is the 3rd largest state. Most of the South Australia’s people, farms and industry are situated in the south-eastern part of the state. Adelaide is the capital and the largest city. Most of the South Australia is too dry for farming. Farming very much depends on irrigation or underground water. Some of Australia’s most unproductive deserts lands occupy the greater part of the state .Wheat and fruit are grown along the lower part of the Murray River.
Tasmania, the island state, is sometimes called the apple isle because it produces most Australia’s apples. Tasmania is one of the few places in Australia that have enough rain all year. Tasmania is Australia’s leading produce of pears and berries of different kinds. Potatoes are also grown in some areas.
Northern Territory is the least populated and least developed part of Australia. Crocodiles still live in some of swamps along the coast. Darwin is its capital and the largest settlement in the north. Alice Springs, generally called Alice or the Alice, is the only town in the south.
The capital of Australia is Canberra. The city doesn’t belong to any state. It is situated in the Australian Capital Territory, which occupies an area of 2,432 square kilometers.
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