Australia’s Physical Characteristics

The Australian Continent

• Australia is special in that it’s considered 3 ____________ of land at once:– An island: the world’s largest– A ___________________: the world’s flattest– A country: the world’s sixth largest

• Australia is… – Located in the southern __________________– Located between latitudes 10oS and 44oS and between

longitudes 113oE and 154oE– Part of the Asia-Pacific region– Nearest to Papua New Guinea (North) and

___________________(East)

The Australian Continent• “Australia is located between ________________

10oS and 44oS and between _____________________ 113oE and 154oE”

Australia’s Geographical Dimensions• Area: 7682300 square __________________• Nearest Neighbour: Papua New Guinea (150km

North)• Distance West to East: 3983km (Steep Point, WA

to ___________________, NSW)• Distance North to South: 3138km (Cape York,

QLD to Wilson’s Promontory, VIC) or 3680 (Cape York, QLD to South-East Cape, _________)

• Highest Point: ___________________, NSW (2228 metres)

• Lowest Point: ___________________, SA (15 metres below sea level)

Australia Compared to Others• The distance between Cairns and Sydney is the

same as traveling between London and Paris 8 times

• Australia is the world’s sixth largest country after:1. _________________ – 17.1 million square kilometres2. Canada – 9.97 million square kilometres3. China – 9.59 million square kilometres4. USA – 9.36 million square kilometres5. _________________ – 8.51 million square kilometres

• Some comparisons of distances are:– Sydney to Melbourne: 870km– Sydney to Brisbane: 980km– Sydney to Adelaide: 1420km– _____________________: 4160km– Brisbane to Cairns: 1700km– Singapore to Kuala Lumpar (Malaysia): 310km– London (UK) to Paris (France): 320km– Los Angeles to San Francisco (USA): 580km– Los Angeles to New York (USA): 2650km

Australia Compared to Others• Australia is divided up into states and territories

– Western Australia: ____ of Australia (2525500 square kilometres)– Northern Territory: ____ of Australia (1346200 square kilometres)– Queensland: ____ of Australia (1727200 square kilometres)– New South Wales: ____ of Australia (801600 square kilometres)– ACT: ________ of Australia (2400 square kilometres)– Victoria: _____ of Australia (227600 square kilometres)– Tasmania: ____ of Australia (67800 square kilometres)– South Australia: ____% of Australia (984000 square kilometres)