Oceania Includes… Australia a continent and a country
New Zealand a country
Melanesia a region
Micronesia a region
Polynesia a region
Getting to know Australia
An island, continent, and country with 6 states and 2 territories. The nation’s capital is a territory called
Canberra.
Atlas p. 97 – Label the states & territories
Geography
• Australia is the 6th largest country by total area.
• Earth’s smallest continent.
• 2.97 million square miles
Land Cover & Climate
• Much of Australia has a continental climate. The temperatures get hot during the day, then drop considerably at night. Australia is also very arid, getting very little rain.
Australian Deserts– Great Victoria– Great Sandy – Tanami – Gibson– Simpson
40% of Australia is covered by sand dunes
Australia’s Deserts: The Outback• Australia is famous for its
"outback," the remote lands of the interior. It is too hot, dry, and barren to support many people.
• Walkabout refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months.
Grasslands & Mountains• Grasslands: Eastern Australia ~used primarily for sheep and cattle ranches
called STATIONS
• Australia also has some mountainous areas and plateaus scattered throughout the country. Snow does fall in these mountains.
• The Blue Mountains, on the south-eastern end of Australia, get their name from the blue haze caused by oil droplets given off from the eucalyptus trees.
• As an island, Australia also has many beautiful coastal beaches.
The Great Dividing Range
Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world.
North Australia: Tropical Area 75 to 91°
Lake Barrine Walk
The Great Barrier Reef• Largest coral reef system in the world off the
northeastern coast of Australia.• It is the world's biggest single structure made by living
organisms.• One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Uluru/Ayers Rock: a sacred area
Aboriginal Art: Painting on leaves, rocks, sand, clothing, tools, weapons
The Boomerang
The boomerang returns to you after you throw it. It was used as a weapon by the Aborigines.
British Settlement
• The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease.
• In1770 James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales.
• Australia first became a prison colony for British prisoners.
• The transportation of convicts to the colony of New South Wales ceased in 1848 after a campaign by the settlers.
Language: Strine
American AustralianSmall Child Ankle Biter
Cookies Biscuits
Parking lot Car park
French fries Chips
Hello G’Day Mate
Animals of Australia
fish
Crocodile: Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species. Echidna:
Monotremes – egg laying mammals
MARSUPIALS
• Australia is home to many animals not found anywhere else in the world like Koalas and Kangaroos.
• Marsupials are animals with pouches.
• ½ of Australia’s mammals are marsupials