Australia

Uluru or Ayers Rock is the largest and heaviest rock in the world.

Opals have been associated with bad luck in some cultures due to superstitions and myths. In the past, opals were believed to bring misfortune because of their changing colors, which was seen as unsettling. However, many people today view opals as a symbol of hope, creativity, and inspiration.

Animals that may eat wattle trees include koalas, possums, and various insects. Koalas are known to feed on the leaves of certain wattle tree species, while possums may nibble on new growth. Insects such as beetles and caterpillars can also consume wattle tree leaves.

Uluru, also known by its European name of Ayers Rock is a large sandstone monolith, or inselberg, and the world's second largest but best known monolith. It is 9 km in circumference and rises 348 metres above the desert. Ayers Rock is in the central Australian desert, about 335 km south west of the small inland city of Alice Springs (460 km by road), in the southern region of Australia's Northern Territory. It is estimated that only one seventh of the rock is visible - the remainder lies underground.

Yes. The bird's nest fern (Asplenium australasicum) is native to Australia, and found in the temperate and tropical rainforests of Australia.

A created opal is a type of synthetic opal that is made in a laboratory. It is created using a combination of silica spheres and a polymer resin material to mimic the appearance of natural opal. Created opals can display similar color play and patterns to genuine opals.

In the Southern Hemisphere, it never snows on Christmas day since it is summer time. In the northern hemisphere near the equator, it is too warm. Christmas is also only at the start of winter in the northern hemisphere which is why you get more snowfall throughout January and February. as well it never snows because it only snows every time a leap year has come.

Opal has a unique luster known as opalescence, which is a play of colors that appears to change and move as the gemstone is viewed from different angles. This luster is caused by the diffraction of light through the tiny spherical silica structures within the opal.

The Twelve Apostles were the followers chosen by Jesus to be his closest disciples. They are traditionally identified as Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.

The Big Ben volcano on Heard Island was formed by repeated eruptions and the resulting lava flows. Over time the lava built up until it resulted in this huge volcanic mountain located in the Indian Ocean.

The word 'Uluru' comes from the Pitjantjatjara language, which is one of the indigenous languages spoken by the Anangu people in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia.

Carl von Linne was also known as Carolus Linnaeus. He focused on botany and botanical topics. One of his contributions to the field was a better organizational system for classifying subjects.

The other birthstone for October is the tourmaline, which comes in a variety of colors such as pink, green, and watermelon. It is believed to have calming and balancing properties, bringing a sense of harmony to the wearer.

• The water in the western Pacific is typically warmer than in the eastern Pacific because trade winds blow the warm waters of the eastern Pacific westward and keep it there. Also, upwelling in the eastern Pacific keeps the water cooler.
• The warmer water creates more clouds and rain, keeping Indonesia and other areas of the western Pacific wetter than Peru and other coastal regions of South America.
• During El Niño, the pressure gradient (rate of pressure change between areas of high and low pressure) weakens. In the western tropical Pacific, there is unusually high air pressure, while there is unusually low air pressure in the eastern tropical Pacific. This Southern Oscillation causes the trade winds to weaken, and even blow backwards. This pattern reversal leads to unusually wet weather in parts of South America, and unusually dry weather in the western Pacific.
• El Nino usually occurs every 3 to 7 years, and lasts for about 18 months.
• La Niña is the opposite of El Niño. These two weather patterns oscillate every few years.
• During La Niña, there is unusually low air pressure over the western tropical Pacific, and unusually high air pressure in the eastern tropical Pacific. The easterly blowing trade winds strengthen, blowing more warm water away from the equatorial Pacific. As a result, Australia and Indonesia become wetter than normal, and parts of South America become drier than normal.

There are very few jewellers that know the value of anystone. They are merchants. Go to a good G.I.A. certified appraiser for the value of a gemstone. Opals can range in price from several dollars a carat to fifteen/twenty thousand dollars a carat easy. Opals can be white, black, or crystal. Overall colour and intensity being roughly the same the blacks are most expensive due to their beauty and rarity. There are no strict guidelines for valuing an opal. Even experts will vary somewhat in their appraisal due to personal preference as to colour and pattern. It is difficult to value an opal due to each stone, for the most part, has its own personality, especially when you get into the better gem grades. Opals are generally rated on a one to five scale, five being brilliant. One are junk, twos are considered commercial grade. Most of what you see in a store, unless it is manmade, is the junk. There is not a good market for fine opals in the U.S. as most people have not seen any and consider it a cheap stone, even though it can sell for more per carat than a D flawless diamond. Any jeweller or gem smith. The value is based on the polish, size, clarity, common market, and rarity of the stone.

Kingston Rule ran the fastest time of the Melbourne Cup in 1990 with a time of 3 minutes 16.3 seconds.

Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, is a large sandstone rock formation located in the Australian Outback. It is not a biome type itself, but it is situated within the arid desert biome of central Australia.

The direction in which water drains in a sink or toilet is determined by various factors like the shape of the basin and currents in the water, not the hemisphere. The Coriolis effect, which influences large-scale weather systems in each hemisphere, is too weak to affect water draining in small basins. So, the direction in which water drains in Australia is not consistently anti-clockwise.

Australia, like any other country, does not have the ability to change the weather. However, Australia's geographical location influences its weather patterns, leading to varying climates across the continent. The weather is mainly determined by atmospheric conditions and other natural factors.

You are in the southern hemisphere, close to the Tropic of Capricorn, and somewhere in Africa, near the border between Namibia and Botswana.

Opal does not have a cleavage because it lacks a well-defined crystal structure. Instead, opal is an amorphous mineral composed of hydrated silica spheres arranged in a random pattern, giving it its unique play-of-color.

Traditionally, January and February are the hottest months in Melbourne. Whilst the average maximum for these months is 26 degrees Celsius, in reality each month has many days which can exceed 40 degrees Celsius.