Australia

7 continents & 5 Oceans

Our World at Night!

Australia is the smallest continent on Earth.

• Land that is completely surrounded by water is called an island. Australia is an island continent.

Australia

• Tasmania is a small island that is part of Australia.

Oceans that surround Australia: The Indian Ocean is to the west of Australia and the Pacific

Ocean is to the East.

Australia is just one country.

• It is located below the equator. It is often called the land “down under” because it is located under the equator.

OCEANIA

• There are many small areas of land around Australia. Tahiti, Fiji, and New Zealand are three of these areas. These areas do not belong to any continent. The part of the world that includes Australia and these small areas of land is called Oceania (O·ce·an·i·a) [oh-shee-an-ee-uh]

LandformsLandforms:

The most famous rock formation in Australia is Uluru or Ayers Rock Uluru is one of the largest rocks on the earth.

Ulura

• Ulura is a huge, reddish rock. It is one and a half miles long and more than one thousand feet high!

Outback-The outback is dry and flat. Large deserts are found here. It’s located in the center of

Australia.

Outback

Aborigines of Australia

Natives of Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef

• In the oceans around Australia and many of the islands of Oceania are coral reefs. Coral reefs look like walls of rock. They are not made of rock, however. Coral reefs are groups of tiny animals. These animals are called coral polyps.

Beautiful fish swim in and out of it.

The Great Barrier Reef is filled with strange shapes and bright colors.

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Dugong

Rainbow Fish

Sea Turtle

Sea Lion

Sea Lions

PlatypusA platypus has webbed feet and a bill like a duck. Its body is covered In fur.

Major Rivers• The longest river in Australia is the

Murray River. (2,330 mi) long and the Darling River.

Peddle Steamer on the Murray River

The largest saltwater lake in Australia is Lake Eyre.

Lake Eyre, an enormous salt lake in the middle of the desert

Lake Eyre is rarely filled with water. When Lake Eyre is dry, the salt from the water makes a thick crust on the ground.

Highest MountainMount Kosciusko 7,310 feet

Huge Forests: Eucalyptus forests grow in Australia.

Australian Animals-Kangaroos

Female Kangaroos carry their babies in pouches.

EMU Emu

Kookaurras make sounds called calls. A kookaburra’s call sounds

like a person laughing.

wild dogs called dingoes are animals that live in the bush.

Koalas

• Koalas are other animals that live in Australian eucalyptus forests. They spend most of their times in trees. Koalas have strong legs for climbing trees. They use their sharp claws to keep from sliding down the trees. Koalas eat bark and leaves of eucalyptus trees.

SheepIn the outback, ranchers raise sheep for wool. Australia produces more wool than any other country.

Sheep

Sydney - One of Australia's largest Cities. Famous landmark is the Sydney Opera

House!

Melbourne is one of Australia’s biggest cities.