Australia which continent

They may have traveled from Asia across land bridges that were exposed when sea levels were lower. The hardy Aborigines have learned to live in the harsh conditions of the outback. Dutch explorers first landed in Australia in , and the British began to settle there in Many settlers were criminals sent to live in Australia as punishment.

For a short time, the newcomers lived peacefully with the Aboriginal people. But soon, fighting broke out over who owned the land. In , gold was discovered in Australia. A rush to find riches brought thousands of new immigrants, and by , six separate colonies existed. In , these colonies joined to form a British commonwealth. All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Koalas are marsupials, related to kangaroos.

Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Australia is the smallest of the world's continents. It is also the lowest, the flattest and apart from Antarctica the driest. The lowest point is the dry bed of Lake Eyre, South Australia, which is 15 metres below sea level.

The mainland and Tasmania are surrounded by many thousands of small islands and numerous larger ones. Nearly 40 per cent of the total coastline length comprises island coastlines. As an island nation, coastlines play an important role in defining national, state and territory boundaries.

Nearly 20 per cent of Australia's land mass is classified as desert. As well as having a low average annual rainfall, rainfall across Australia is also variable. The rainfall pattern is concentric around the extensive arid core of the continent, with rainfall intensity high in the tropics and some coastal areas. In fact, there is even disagreement on how many continents there are in the world. For example, many people in Russia , the rest of Eastern Europe, and Japan consider Europe and Asia to be one continent, known as Eurasia.

In some countries, North and South America are considered one continent, while Europe and Asia are divided. There are even some who believe that Europe, Asia, and Africa should be considered one united continent because they are all joined together by land.

The most prevailing view, however, is that there are seven continents in the world, and one of them is Australia. There is also a widely accepted view of what a continent is. This view defines a continent as a large, continuous, distinct landmass, preferably separated by a vast expanse of water. In fact, all the continents are connected by land to at least one other continent, with one exception: Australia.

Australia is surrounded by vast expanses of water on all sides. Thus, one could argue that it meets the prevailing definition of a continent better than most other continents.

In addition to being a continent, Australia is also a country, which is officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia. The country was officially created in , when the British Parliament allowed the six separate British colonies on the continent to unite into one dominion. From then on, Australia governed its own domestic affairs, though its foreign policy was still determined by the British government, as Australia was a dominion of the British Empire. In , however, the British government approved what was known as the Statute of Westminster , which gave Australia and the other dominions of the British Empire control over foreign policy, though this law was not formally adopted by Australia until Thus, Australia became a fully sovereign country.

Australia is structured as a federation, similar to how the United States is structured. The Australian federation consists of six entities known as states, and ten other entities known as territories. In contrast, the territories either have varying degrees of autonomy, or are under the direct control of the federal government.