The environment

As the world’s only island continent and the 6th largest country in the world, combined with the lowest population density in the world (2 people per square kilometre), Australia’s place in the world is unique.

More than 80% of the population live within 100 kilometres of the coast, mostly along the eastern seaboard, which makes Australia the most urbanised, coastal-dwelling people in the world.

Covering an area of 7,682,300 square kilometres, Australia is roughly the same size as the mainland of the United States (minus Alaska and Hawaii) and is 50% larger than Europe. It spans 3 oceans, which makes it the third largest ocean territory. The country is divided into 6 States and 2 Territories. They are: Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Tasmania (TAS---the island state), South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA), the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which is also home to the nation’s capital Canberra.

The Great Dividing Range, which runs down the east coast of Australia, provides in its southern regions a home to busy ski fields in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and in the Victorian Alps during winter. There is also a very small, less well known ski field in Tasmania.

Much of the land to the west of this Range is relatively flat, with the remarkable exception of the the world’s largest monolith, Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in the centre of Australia.

Running along the north-eastern coast of Australia, is the world renowned Great Barrier Reef, The reef stretches for 2300 kilometres covering an area bigger than the United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland combined. It is the largest World Heritage Area and marine protected area in the world---and the only living organism that can be seen from space.