Australia (Capital: Canberra)
Australia's ‘once-in-a-century’ flooding leaves 50,000 stranded.
Political Features
- Location: Australia is the smallest continent and 6th largest country on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans.
- Australia is separated from Indonesia by Timor & Arafura seas (northwest), from Papua New Guinea by Coral Sea & Torres Strait (northeast).
- Political System: Federal form of government & constitutional monarchy.
- As a commonwealth of the UK, Australia's head of state is the British monarch.
Geographical Features
- More than 1/3rd of Australia is desert.
- Major Mountain Ranges: Great Dividing Range, Macdonnell Ranges
- Major Rivers: Murray-Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan
- The Great Barrier Reef, off the east coast of Queensland, is the greatest mass of coral in the world.