australia Essay -- essays research papers

*Geography*Australia is the sixth largest earth in the knowledge domain. It lies in the Southern Hemisphere between 11 and 44 south latitude and 113 and 154 east longitude. The entire area of land is intimately the same size as the continental United States, or more or less one and a half times the size of Europe. The mainland of Australia has an area of 2,967,909 lame miles. The country is divided into six states Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and horse opera Australia. The geological activity that created the countrys naps, plains, and rivers ceased millions of years ago. Earthquakes are actually rare and the last volcanic eruption occurred more than 5,000 years ago. The highest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciusko, is only 7,310 feet above sea level. *Climate*Australia experiences a wide variety of climates. In the north, the continents immense inside gives way to hot, wet monsoonal tropical regions. The southeast coast, where most of Australias existence lives, is cooler and drier. The southwest is very hot and dry in the summer, scarce milder and wetter in the winter. The climate is very similar to the Mediterranean countries of Europe, or to California. Summer temperatures in Australia can soar over 104, but the costal regions are cooler due to offshore breezes. Because of the heat and lack of rain, bushfires mania through the tinder-dry landscape, destroying half a million acres of forest and grassland every(prenominal) year.The hot temperatures of the inland coupled with the lack of rain mean that 70% of Australia receives less than 20 inches of rain a year, making it the worlds driest continent. Farming is difficult in these areas, but not impossible, thanks to artesian water and the construction of many irrigation schemes. *People*The first inhabitants were people belong to the Australoid group, who probably originated from Southeast Asia. These people traveled to the Australian continent closely 40,0 00 years ago. A short while later, Aborigines landed in canoes and raft on the north coast of Australia and then moved southward crossways the rest of the continent. Aborigines were nomads living in family clans, each with its own territory where it could camp, hunt, and fish. The Aborigines brought two useful items from their original homela... ...spThe exchange rate of a US sawhorse to an Australian dollar is as follows 1 US dollar = 1.94 Australian dollars.*Economy*Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in nature resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increases exports of manufactured goods, but competition in external markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the earlyish 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy had spread out at a solid 4% annual growth curtilage in the last five years. Growth in 2002 will aim on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets.