What is something interesting about Australia?

Answer 1

Interesting facts about Australia include:

• Australia is made up of five mainland states and one island state, and two mainland territories. There are also seven offshore (external) territories.
• Christmas in Australia is held in mid-summer, as that is the season when December 25 falls. Christmas can be celebrated on the beach or around the backyard pool, and does not need to involve a full roast dinner.
• Australia is where the world's only egg-laying mammals (echidnas and platypuses) are found. They are known as monotremes.
• It is home to the world's two largest monoliths, Mt Augustus and Uluru/Ayers Rock.
• Outback and desert biomes occupy around 70% of the entire continent.
• The Australian accent has been scientifically proven to be the most difficult to accurately mimic.
• Most marsupials of the world are found in Australia. A well-known marsupial is the kangaroo, and here are over 60 different species of kangaroo in Australia.
• Australia is the only place where dasyurids, or carnivorous marsupials, are found. These animals include the quoll, Tasmanian devil, kowari, ningaui, antechinus, planigale and phascogale (among others).
• Towards the end of 2009, Australia's population reached a milestone of 22 million. This population is one of the smallest, given that Australia's land mass is sixth largest in area.
• Covering a total of 7 692 024 sq km, Australia is the smallest continent.
• Australia was the second last country of the British Empire to be discovered (New Zealand was the last).
• Australia's national capital is Canberra, which comes from an aboriginal word meaning "meeting place".
• Australia was founded by convicts.
• It has very few native placental mammals apart from bats (strictly speaking, dingoes are not native) and marine mammals.
• There is almost no noticeable seismic activity on the mainland continent.
• Vegemite, a salty yeast spread high in vitamin B, is a popular food
• Like New Zealand, there are more sheep than people in Australia.
• Pancakes may be served for dinner as well as for breakfast
• Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef which is amazing to snorkel or scuba dive in, not to mention for its abundance of tropical fish and marine life.
• Australia is the scene of some of the world's most incredible engineering feats, such as the Overland Telegraph Line and the Snowy River Hydroelectric Scheme.
• Australia has no current volcanic activity.
• Australia is the largest producer of wool in the world.
• Australia is the driest continent in the world, apart from Antarctica, where precipitation is actually lower than that of Australia.
• Australia does not have rabies.
• Australia has the largest bauxite reserves in the world.
• 95% of the world's opals are mined in Australia. The world's largest opal, weighing 5.27 kilograms, was found here in 1990.
• Australia is the world's largest supplier of wool, producing 42% of the world's wool.
• Queensland's Great Barrier Reef is home to the world's largest oyster, weighing up to 3 kilograms.
• The world's longest earthworm, stretching up to 4 metres, is found in Gippsland in Victoria.
• The heaviest crab, weighing up to 14 kilograms, is found in Bass Strait near Tasmania.
• Australia's tallest mountain is Mt Kosciuszko, which is 2,228 metres above sea level.