Mainland Australia is so small that its area is even smaller than some countries in the world. Its territory is only 7.63 million square kilometers. The smallest continent in the southern hemisphere is located and is crossed by the southern tropic. Its shores are washed by the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Due to its small size, Australia is sometimes called the mainland-island.
The continent is not connected by land to any of the other continents, it is located completely apart. The rest of the world's continents are at a considerable distance from Australia. This contributed to the formation of a peculiar flora and fauna, in many respects different from other parts of the world.
Australian Uniqueness
Besides being the smallest continent, it has several features that make it truly unique. The fauna of the continent is extremely unusual. Only marsupials live here - from small marsupial mice and moles to large kangaroos. Australian wolves and bears also have bags in which they carry their cubs. There are also representatives of the fauna,which you will not see on other continents - almost 80% of animals are endemic. The most famous of them are the echidna and the platypus. An amazing mammal, the platypus hatches its cubs from the egg, as birds do. Only here you can see the dingo, emu, koala and kangaroo - the most popular animals in Australia.
The flora is also unique: 90% of the continent's plants are endemic, found only here. The symbol of the Australian flora is the eucalyptus - the tallest tree on the planet, reaching the height of a fifty-story building.
The smallest continent is also the driest on the planet. Most of it is located in the tropical climate zone, as a result of which almost the entire central part of the continent is occupied by huge deserts. Australia is also called the lowest continent. 215 meters is the average absolute height, while the highest point is only 2230 meters high.
Past and present name
"Unknown land" - that's what they called Australia on old maps. Even today it remains for most people a mysterious land and a country full of surprises. The name of the continents is most often associated with their geographical position, the same applies to Australia: in Latin "australis" means "southern". And this name appeared relatively recently, only at the beginning of the 19th century. And before that, its individual parts were called by the names that the discoverers gave them. The modern name was finally fixed after sailing around the continent of the EnglishmanFlinders.
The smallest continent of our planet is also famous for the fact that its territory is completely occupied by one country - the Commonwe alth of Australia. The largest city in the country is Sydney, known throughout the world for its opera house, the real eighth wonder of the world. Another unusual masterpiece is the Harbor Bridge - a bridge across the beautiful Port Jackson Bay, which has an arch half a kilometer long.
