9781422285800

INTRODUCTION Y ou wouldn’t be wrong if you called Australia a continent, an island, or a country. Located in the Southern Hemisphere between the Pacific and Indian oceans, Australia is the world’s smallest continent, largest island, and sixth largest country. It stretches about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from north to south and 2,485miles (4,000 km) east to west. Officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, the country is divided into six states—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania, an island off the country’s south- eastern coast. Although Europeans first set eyes on Australia in 1770, the country’s earliest inhabitants were there thousands of years before. Because of its remote location, Australia was isolated for most of its his- tory. That’s why a number of plants and animals are only indigenous to the country, including the koala bear and platypus. Australia is also a study in varying and mesmerizing landscapes that include the Great Barrier Reef, with its 1,200 miles (1,931 km) of living coral, and the vast and rugged Outback, with its magnificent rock formations.

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INTRODUCTION