What is the Australian Continent, and how it is characterized. Australia is a continental country located at 35 ° 15 ′ LS 149 ° 28 ′ east longitude. The capital is Canberra with a major city, Sydney. The official language of the countries is English because they are a Commonwelth or Commonwealth of England country.
History of the Australian Continent
In its history, Australia was discovered by James Cook, a British national in 1769. Australia is the smallest continent, where there is only one country in it. When viewed astronomically, Australia is located at 113o east longitude – 154o longitude and 10o latitude – 44oLS with the area of the continent of Australia is 7,683,300 km2.
Australia as a small continental country is limited by the following limitations:
- To the north is bordered by Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
- To the south is bordered by the Antarctic sea
- To the west is bordered by the Indian Ocean, and
- To the East is bordered by New Zealand.
- Australian Continent Climate Conditions
After we know the borders of the Australian Continent, now we see how the climate of this kangaroo country is.
1. The western and central regions
For the central and western regions, Australia consists of the Mac Donnell Mountains and the Musgrave Mountains. This area also includes deserts such as the Victoria Desert, the Great Desert, and the Gibson Desert.
2. Eastern Region
The climatic conditions of the Australian continent to the east are filled with mountains extending from the Cape of York to Tasmania. This area is called the Eastern Highlands. This is the Australian Alps. In this area there is the highest mountain called Mount Kosciusko with an altitude of 2,228 m.
3. Climate State in the Central Region
In this area there are the Plato mountains, and the eastern mountains between which there are the Murray-Darling Valley and lowlands. Besides that, this area also has funds, including Lake Eyre, the largest lake in the kangaroo country. There are also Lake Carey, Lake Disappoinment, Lake Mackay, and Lake Amadeus.
In addition, in this central region there is also a desert which is called the Simpson desert. This area is located a long way from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the South coast.
The unique thing on the Australian continent is the existence of the largest natural coral in the world which is called the Great Barrier Reef (large barrier reef). This is the largest collection of coral reefs consisting of more than 3000 coral reefs that stretch over 900 islands with a distance of 2600 km.
Australia’s largest reef is located in the Coral Sea off the Queensland coast of northeastern Australia. Most of these corals are protected and managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Australian States
After we know the climate and landscape of Australia, now we are studying the states in the Australian continent.
| No. | State-Name | Capital City Name |
| 1. | Mew South Wales | Sydney |
| 2. | Queensland | Brisbane |
| 3. | South Australia | Adelaide |
| 4. | Tasmania | Hobart |
| 5. | Victoria | Melbourne |
| 6. | Western Australia | Perth |
Territory Name
| No. | Territory Name | Capital City Name |
| 1. | Australian Capital Territory | Canberra |
| 2. | Northern Territory | Darwin |
The Australian national anthem is “Advance Australian Fair”, in the official language of the country “English”, and the currency is Australian Dollars.
Characteristics of the Australian Continent
As we said at the beginning of writing, that this continent was discovered by James Cook (1769 or 1770), he was a sailor from England.
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Initially, this continent was given the name “Terra in Cognita” which means nameless plain. Then in 1884, an Englishman named Abel Tasman discovered an island off Australia which was later named Tasmania.
Location and Area of the Australian Continent
Australia is a continent located in the eastern part of the Earth with its position in the south. So Serign is called this continent as the lower continent. The word Australia itself comes from the Latin word “Terra Australis” which means lower plain.
The location of the continent of Australia is astronomically located in the 10o41 ‘LS – 43o39’ LS and between 113o9 ‘BT – 153o39’ East Longitude. Its boundary in the north is the Cape of York and in the southern part of the island of Tasmania. Meanwhile, the western part is bordered by the western headland and the eastern part is bordered by Brisbane. This includes the smallest continent in the world with an area of only ± 7,683,300 km2.
On the Australian continent, there is only one country, namely Australia, so this country is called a continental country. It consists of six states and two territorial sections.
Australian Continent Landscape
The Australian landscape consists of three parts, namely the mountainous part located in the east, the upland part in the west and the lowland part in the middle or between the mountains and the highlands.
1. The East
the eastern part is filled with mountains that stretch from the northern part of the Cape of York to southern Australia, namely the island of Tasmania.
This mountain range consists of the New England Range and the Australian Alps to the south. The mountains to the east have the highest peak, Mount Kosciusco with an altitude of ± 2,230 m in the southern part of Australia.
2. The West
Meanwhile, the natural state of Australia in the western part consists of plateaus which are called plateau plateaus or known as the “Australian Shield”. The western and central parts, in addition to the highlands and valleys, are also deserts called the Victoria and Gibson deserts.
In the middle to the interior there are the Macdonnel Mountains and to the south there are also mountains called the Musgrave Mountains.
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3. Between the East Barge mountains, and PLATO.
Between the eastern and western parts of this valley and lowlands called the Murray-Darling and Lake Eyre lowlands. The Murray-Darling Valley flows into the Darling River, Murray River, Murrmbidgee River, Lachlan River and Swan River.
The climate of the continent of Asutralia
1. Tropical Climate
The Australian continent has two climates, namely a temperate climate and a tropical climate. The part with a tropical climate is the northern part which is close to the equator. The temperature in the northern regions averages 27oC, with rainfall of 1,000 – 3,000 mm per year.
It usually rains between January and June. Meanwhile, the dry season occurs from July to December. Rain in Australia is influenced by the northwest monsoons and the southeast monsoons. The more it is to the west of the Australian territory, the less rainfall.
2. Moderate Climate
The region of Australia that experiences a temperate climate is in the southern part with the following distribution of areas:
- Summer occurs from December to February
- Autumn occurs from March to Mai
- Winter occurs from June to August
- and Spring occurs between September to November.
- Australian continent socio-cultural life
The indigenous educators of the continent of Australia are Aboriginal people, but the indigenous people are increasingly pushed and isolated by the large number of migrants from Europe. More than 80% of the population live in urban areas.
The religion professed by Australians is Christianity (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, etc.).
The official language used is English, however Australian English is slightly different from British English or American English, especially in terms of accent and pronunciation.
Australian Economic Life
Agricultural Products: Australia produces agriculture as a form of economic development for the local population. among the main agricultural products are wheat, oats, cotton, sorghum, and fruits.
Livestock: among the livestock products are sheep, sheep and large animals such as cows etc.
Australia also found a lot of mining goods which later turned this agricultural country into an industrial country. Among the mining products of the Australian continent are gold, copper, diamonds, iron ore, nickel, petroleum, and bauxite.
Industrial products: Heavy equipment, textiles, electronics, ships and cars are among the industrial products.
This is a picture of the country of Australia, from its climate, population, the Australian landscape, the Australian states to the social and economic conditions of the Australian continent. Hopefully it can add knowledge and information for all.