Describe Australia on these points 1.Physical and geographical location 2.Coastline 3.History of discovery

Describe Australia on these points 1.Physical and geographical location 2.Coastline 3.History of discovery and settlement of the continent 4.structure of the earth’s crust, relief 5.Minerals of Australia

1) Australia is located in the Eastern and Southern Hemispheres. It is quite remote from the rest of the continents, so the flora and fauna here are mostly unique. Australia is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the east, in the west, in the south and in the east – by the seas of the Indian Ocean. The extreme points of Australia: northern – Cape York, southern – Cape South East Point, western – Cape Steep Point, eastern – Cape Byron.

2) Australia’s coastline is poorly indented. The coral Great Barrier Reef is located off the east coast.

3) Mainland Australia was discovered by Portuguese sailors in the 17th century. Later, the east coast of the continent was visited by the British, who later sent criminals there into exile. The exile ceased only in the 19th century, after which the population of Europe rapidly began to immigrate to Australia.

4) The relief of Australia is mostly flat: the Central Lowlands and the Western Australian Highlands. The Great Dividing Range is located along the eastern part of the mainland, and in the west and south there are two large deserts: the Great Sandy Desert and the Great Victoria Desert.

5) On the mainland there are a large number of deposits of ore metals: gold, iron ore, copper ore, uranium ore, as well as building materials: clay, sand, limestone. Oil and gas fields are in short supply.