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<br /> DIDGERIDOO DOWN UNDER
<br /> Study Guide
<br /> by Darren Liebman
<br /> Imagine a mysteriously diverse and beautiful land on the entirely other side of the planet ...
<br /> A land of endless coastline, vast deserts, verdant forests and towering cliffs ...
<br /> A land containing some of the most unique and varied wildlife on earth ...
<br /> A land that's been inhabited for many thousands of years by a mystical, nature-loving people ...
<br /> A land that produces an instrument called the didgeridoo, which sounds and looks as exotic as its
<br /> name ...
<br /> A Land Down Under ...
<br /> A land called Australia!
<br /> AUSTRALIA: The Land
<br /> ... is an island, country and continent located between the South Pacific and Indian Oceans in the
<br /> area of the world known as Oceania. It's the world's largest island, the only island continent, and the only
<br /> country that's a continent. It's the world's sixth largest country, but is the smallest continent, followed
<br /> by Europe, Antarctica, North America, South America, Africa and Asia.
<br /> ... is nicknamed The Land Down Under because it's located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere.
<br /> It is named after the Latin word oustralis, which means "southern." It was once connected to what is
<br /> now known as Antarctica, via the super-continent Gondwana; about 50 million years ago, it separated and
<br /> drifted north. Because Australia and North America are located in opposite hemispheres, their seasons
<br /> are reversed. Australia's east coast is 14-16 hours ahead of Florida, depending on the month.
<br /> ... is about the same size as the United States, minus Alaska and Hawaii, but has for fewer people.
<br /> Australia, the world's sixth largest country, is home to approximately 22.7 million people, according to
<br /> 2011 projections, while the U.S. has a population of about 312 million. Eighty percent of Australia's
<br /> population lives along the coast.
<br /> ... is the earth's flattest and driest continent, but includes a wide array of terrain: desert,
<br /> mountains, swamps, rain forest (about one percent of the continent) and about 22,000 miles of coastline
<br /> (more beaches than any other country). The vast desert area that takes up much of central and western
<br /> Australia (about a third of the continent), including the Simpson, Gibson, Great Sandy and Victoria
<br /> Deserts, is nicknamed the "outback." Uluru, a.k.a. Ayers Rock, the famous free-standing rock that sits
<br /> near the country's center, is the world's second-largest monolith, measuring 1,000 feet high, 2.2 miles
<br /> long and 1.5 miles wide. The tallest mountain is 7,310-foot Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy
<br /> Mountains range, New South Wales. The world's largest coral reef domain, the Great Barrier Reef,
<br /> extends about 1,245 miles along the northeast coast. Australia's major rivers are the Murray and the
<br /> Darling, located mostly in the southeastern part of the country.
<br /> ... comprises six states - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania (an island off
<br /> the eastern-southern coast), Victoria and Western Australia - and two mainland territories, Australian
<br /> Capital Territory and Northern Territory. These territories function similarly to states, but the
<br /> Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their territorial parliaments. Australia also has
<br /> several overseas territories, including two in Antarctica.
<br /> ... has five cities of more than 1 million people each, as of 2011: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane,
<br /> Adelaide and Perth. Its capital, however, is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. Other
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