Geographical Australia

   1. Oceania

   Oceania is the smallest of the continents. Its area is 9.008.458 kilometers, from which 7.741.220 km2 are from Australia. The rest is constituted by over 10.000 islands, gathered into Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Australia and New Zealand.

   Most of these small islands are formed by corals, animals which lived in colonies, whose members are joined between them by a calcareous red or rose polypier. In this way, great barriers which surface from the sea are formed. They used to form circles with a lake in the middle. These formations are called atolls.

   Oceania is a continent sparsely populated, because it has 32.000.000 inhabitants. In Australia and New Zealand most of the people is white, descending from English. In Melanesia most are black, and in Polynesia the most common ethnic group is olive-skinned.

   Are the following statements right or wrong?

En Oceanía hay unas 10.000 islas

Its area is over 10 millions de km2

It is the smallest of all the continents

The largest islands are formed by corals

Coral formations are called atolls

Oceania is densely populated

In Australia are olive-skinned people

People from Melanesia are black

People from Polinesia are olive-skinned

    3. Australia topography

   - In the East we can find the Great Dividing Range, with mount Kosciusko, 2.230 metres high.

   - In the center there is a huge hollow filled by Lake Eyre, twelve metres below sea level

   In the West there are a desertic area, with the Great Sandy Desert and the Victoria desert.

   Write if the following geographical features are in the East, center or West:

Victoria desert

Great Dividing Range

Lake Eyre

Mount Kosciusko

Great Sandy Desert



    5. Coasts and rivers

    In the East coast there are a great number of reefs which made sailing a dangerous activity.

   The main features are: in the North, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Cape York Peninsula; in the South, the Great Australian Bight and the island of Tasmania.

   The most important is the Murray.

   6. Write if these features are in the North, East or South:

Abundance of coral reefs

The Great Australian Bight

Cape York Peninsula

The island of Tasmania

The Gulf of Carpentaria

    7. Climate and vegetation

    By their distribution, we can separate Australia in four regions:

   - The East region is bathed by the Pacific Ocean, and it has a wet tropical climate. The vegetation is forest and savannah.

   - The West lands are bathed by the Indian Ocean, and it has a dry tropical climate and steppes.

   - In the South, due to the Great Australian Bight, the climate is warm, mediterranean, and the vegetation is typical from the savannah and the steppe.

   - In the center the climate is desertic, with very few rains. The vegetation is typical from steppe and desert.


 
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