Rainforests and vast plains are in the north, snowfields in the southeast, deserts in the middle, and fertile farmland in the east, south and southwest. About one third of this country is located in the tropics. Australia has a coastline of 36,735 kilometers, and it will take about 24 days to complete it if it can travel continuously along the whole coastline at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
Queensland includes the northeastern part of Australia, from tropical to more temperate regions. The top of Cape York in Queensland is the northernmost part of the continent (latitude 10 4 1), and the northernmost town is Thursday Island. Australia is the smallest continent and the sixth largest country in the world, with an area twice that of the United States (excluding Alaska) or Europe (excluding Russia).
This continent is one of the oldest landmasses-the continental bedrock exposed by erosion has a history of more than 3 billion years-and the flattest continent, because it is located near the center of the tectonic plate. The average altitude is less than 3 00 meters, while the world average altitude is about 700 meters. The Alps in southeastern Australia have the highest ground in Australia, and the highest point is mount kosciusko (2,228 meters).
More than one-fifth of the land area is desert, and more than two-thirds are classified as arid or semi-arid, which is not suitable for settlement. The coldest areas are in the highlands and plateaus of Tasmania and the southeast corner of the mainland. The highest temperature recorded in clon curry 1889 in Queensland is 53 C (127 F).
Australia is the only continent without volcanic activity at present. The last volcanic eruption occurred in Mount Gambier 1400 years ago.
Australia is an independent western democratic country with a population of more than 20 million. It is one of the most urbanized countries in the world, and about 70% of the population lives in 10 largest cities. Most of the population is concentrated on the east coast and the southeast corner of the continent.
Australia's lifestyle mainly reflects its western origin, but Australia is also a multicultural society, and nearly 5 million settlers from nearly 200 countries have enriched Australia's life. 10 Four Australians are immigrants or their first-generation children, and half of them come from non-English backgrounds. They came to Australia for various reasons-partly because of the climate, partly because of our beautiful lifestyle, partly because the police are chasing them, but mainly because they are ashamed of being born in a country with many people and few sheep.
For 55 million years, Australia has been isolated from the world, creating a refuge for animals and plants. We have about 280 species of mammals, almost half of which are marsupials. The rest are either placental mammals or monotremes, most of which are endemic to Australia.