20 Interesting facts about Australia

Australia is the smallest, driest and most remote continent on earth. The entire mainland territory occupies most of the state of Australia.

The name "Australia" originated long before the mainland was discovered. Even ancient geographers were convinced that there was a huge land mass in the southern latitudes, which they called the "unknown southern land" (in Latin - terra incognita).

Due to its remote location, Australia opened up to the world later than the rest of the continent. The discovery of Australia came more than 100 years after the discovery of the Americas. Dutch navigator Willem Jansson discovered a new land in 1606 (it was Australia's Cape York Peninsula). Like Christopher Columbus, Willem Jansson did not know that he had discovered a new continent until the end of his life. According to the official version, James Cook discovered him in 1770 while approaching the east coast of Australia.

The island was named by early European explorers who believed it to be much larger than mainland Australia had discovered. Flinders (1774-1814), the first traveler to explore and map the Australian coast, used the term "Australia" in his work.

Now let's take a look at a number of quick facts about Australia that characterize this amazing continent.

20 interesting facts about Australia

1.Australia is the smallest country in her five continents. Its area is 7.6% of her land area (approximately 7.6 million km²).

2. In Australia summer is winter and vice versa. Summer in Australia lasts from December to February, and winter from June to August.

3. Australia is the driest continent on earth and one of its natural features is the vast desert covering about 2500 km east of the Indian Ocean coast.

4. The northern and northeastern parts of the continent are characterized by a moderate temperature range (average annual temperature of 23-24 °C) and high precipitation.

5. Australia's hottest region is the northwest, where temperatures in the Great Sandy Desert are above 35°C for most of the summer.

6. The central and western parts of the mainland are characterized by a tropical desert climate. Summers average temperatures up to 30°C and sometimes higher, while winters average down to 10-15°C. In the heart of the mainland, near the town of Alice Springs, summer temperatures can soar up to 45°C during the day and dip below -6°C at night.

7. The Australian Far East is characterized by a tropical (mild, warm and humid) climate as southeast trade winds bring moisture-saturated air masses from the Pacific to the mainland. For example, Sydney, Australia's most famous city, has temperatures of 22-25°C in the warmest month and 11.5-13°C in the coldest month. 

8. The climate of southwestern Australia is similar to that of the European Mediterranean countries of Spain and southern France. Summers are hot and generally dry, while winters are warm and humid. The climate in this part of the mainland is favorable for growing fruit trees, various vegetables and fodder. Cattle and sheep are raised in this area. 

9. Australia is rich in various minerals. Mineral ore discoveries on the continent over the last 10 to 15 years have made the mainland one of the world's leading locations for deposits and mining of minerals such as iron ore, bauxite and zinc ore.

10. Continental water resources are in short supply. Australia is the continent with the poorest rivers.

11. Most of Australia's lakes are drained like rivers. They don't have a constant level or outflow. In summer the lake dries up and becomes a shallow salt flat. The bottom salt layer can reach 1.5 meters. 

12. Australia's lakes are significant in number and size and are wetlands most of the year.

13. Mainland Australia has been isolated from the rest of the planet since the mid-Cretaceous period, giving it a unique flora. Of the 12,000 species of higher plants, over 9,000 are endemic. In other words, it only grows on the Australian continent.

14. Rainforests grow on the northernmost and northwestern ends of the continent, where the northwest monsoon brings moisture. The dense foliage of trees forms a nearly continuous canopy over the ground. There are bamboo groves along the coast. 

15. The central desert of the very hot and arid regions of the mainland is characterized by a dense, almost impenetrable undergrowth of thorny, slow-growing shrubs, mainly composed of eucalyptus and acacia. In Australia these tickets are called scrubs.

16. The eastern and southeastern parts of the continent with high rainfall are covered by dense tropical and subtropical evergreen forests. As in the rest of Australia, most of these forests are eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus trees are of industrial value. This tree does not have the same height among broadleaf trees. Some species reach heights of 150 m and diameters of 10 m.

17 In the southwest of the mainland, the western slopes of the Darling Ranges facing the sea are forested. These forests consist almost entirely of eucalyptus trees and reach considerable heights. In addition to eucalyptus trees, bottle trees are widespread. It has an original bottle-shaped body with a thick bottom and a sharp, tapered top.

18 Australia's fauna includes approximately 200,000 animal species, many of which are unique.

19. 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects and 93% of amphibians are endemic to Australia. Kangaroos are Australia's most famous indigenous people.

20 The kangaroo is a symbol of Australia and is used on the Australian coat of arms and some national currencies, and is used by prominent Australian organizations such as Qantas (Australia's largest airline) and the Royal Australian Air Force. Kangaroos are important to both Australian culture and national image.