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Australia is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australia's capital is Canberra, located in the southeast between the larger and more important economic and cultural centres of Sydney and Melbourne. Australia may be an island, but it is also the world's largest one, and its size encompasses a range of stunning landscapes, from vast, barren deserts, where kangaroos and emus bound through the arid surroundings, to tropical rainforests and rugged mountains. Isolated from other continents, Australia has an abundance of unique plant and animal life. The most striking characteristics of the vast country are its global isolation, its low relief, and the aridity of much of its surface. Australia's isolation from other continents explains much of the singularity of its plant and animal life. Its unique flora and fauna include hundreds of kinds of eucalyptus trees and the only egg-laying mammals on Earth, the platypus and echidna… Australia, the continent and country, may have been quite isolated at the beginning of the 20th century, but it entered the 21st century a culturally diverse land brimming with confidence, attitude encouraged by the worldwide fascination with the land “Down Under” and demonstrated when Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. |
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