8469 MILES FROM AUSTIN TO SYDNEY

24 TIME ZONES

AUSTRALIA

MAJOR CITIES

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

GREAT BARRIER REEF

BONDI BEACH

CAN YOU NAME THESE FAMOUS AUSSIES?

WHY DOES AUSTRALIA HAVE STRANGE ANIMALS?

BRIEF FACTS ON AUSTRALIA Smallest & flattest continent -as big as USA, but only 20 million people Only inhabited continent completely in southern hemisphere A desert continent with fertile edges / coastlines

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA Little arable land & few rivers / lakes Great Dividing Range -in east, near the coast -creates a rain shadow making the interior arid -source of Australia’s 2 major rivers

THE OUTBACK The dry interior, covers 70% of Australia -mainly hot desert -few people live here

CAPE YORK PENINSULA Has rainforests! Up to 150 inches of rain per year -Austin, TX gets 34 inches

AYERS ROCK Considered very sacred to the Aborigines -touching it can put you in contact with the spirit world One of the oldest rocks on Earth

GREAT BARRIER REEF World’s largest coral reef -can be seen from space Home to more species of marine life than anywhere else of Earth Produces almost as much oxygen as the rainforest

SURFING CAN BE DANGEROUS

CLIMATE “Outdoorsy” along east coast -nice, like southern California -soccer, tennis, beaches, boating, surfing, rugby

AUSTRALIAN CULTURE Reflects English heritage -drink tea, play cricket, drive on left side of road, speak English, mainly Christian

AUSSIES LOVE THEIR PRO SPORTS

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY FREE MARKET WITH MORE SAFETY NET PROGRAM THAN U.S.A-HIGHER TAXES 13 LARGEST ECONOMY IN WORLD INFLATION 4.0% UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5% MAJOR EXPORT PARTNERS CHINA 25% JAPAN 19% U.S.A 4 % GDP- THE MARKET VALUE OF ALL FINAL GODS/SERVICES

NATURAL RESOURCES Energy Resources -coal, oil, and natural gas Mineral Resources -diamonds, gold, silver, and copper

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY Began as an English penal colony -prisons in England were getting overcrowded Gold Rush of 1851 brought many non-convict settlers from England & Ireland

ABORIGINALS Original Australian inhabitants -for at least 40,000 yrs. -hunter / gathers -closely tied to the land Clashed with first English Settlers -many murdered or died of European diseases

STOLEN GENERATION Aboriginal kids taken from parents & given to white families -to destroy Aboriginal culture

AUSTRALIAN WORDS barbie = barbeque pit bloke = a guy dummyspit = temper tantrum grog = an alcoholic drink, usually beer jumbuck = a sheep lollies = candies Oz = Australia sticky beak = a nosy person yakker = hard work

DRUMMONS, MUCK, GEORGE, AND RUBY