AUSTRALIA

Capitale: Canberra
Population: 18,9 millions (1999)
Langue officielle: anglais (de facto)
Groupe majoritaire: anglais (95 %)
Groupes minoritaires: plus de 200 langues dont les langues aborigènes et les langues immigrantes
Système politique: fédération de six États et de deux territoires

Australia has a very dramatic landscape. Australia is famous for its "outback," the remote lands of the interior.

The desert outback covers most of the interior. It is so hot, dry and barren that people can't stand it.

Eastern Australia has large areas of grasslands, used primarily for sheep and cattle ranches.

Australia also has some mountainous areas and plateaus scattered throughout the country (see map). The Blue Mountains, on the south-eastern end of Australia, get their name from the blue haze caused by oil drops falling from the eucalyptus trees.

As an island, Australia also has many beautiful coastal beaches.

Over 70% of Australians now live in cities or towns, mostly in the eastern and southern coasts, and around Perth in the west.

Weather and climate

People often ask what the weather is like in Australia. The answer is that it varies a lot! The same for the rainfall. If you live in Europe, it is like comparing the weather in Paris to the weather in North Africa.

Much of Australia has a continental climate. The temperatures get hot during the day, then drop considerably at night. Australia is very arid, getting very little rain.

Typically the northern parts of Australia are warm and even hot all of the year. It is logical because it is close to the Equator. In the north, the summer is also the rainy season.The coastal areas around Sydney are mild in the winter with minimum temperatures often staying above 50 to 60 degrees F. The summers are warmer and are usually around 80 degree F. But Australia may become very cold during the winter. Especially at the higher elevations in Tasmania and the Victoria, snow may be abundant and temperatures are below freezing. In fact many people do not know that there are ski resorts in the mountains of Australia.

In Australia, the seasons are opposite to those of the northern hemisphere :

• Spring takes place between September and November,

• summer lasts from December to March. In summer, it rains a lot and the average temperature is around 29°C.

• From March to May, they are in autumn,

• winter begins in June and ends in August. Then, the sky is blue and cloudless. The average temperature is 20°C. It is generally dry.

vocabulary

Barren : stérile (terrain)

grasslands : prairies

cattle : bétail

scattered : disperse

haze : brumes légères

mostly : principalement

drop : baisse

rainfall : averses

belowen : dessous

mild : doux

cloudless : sans nuages

dry : sec, sèche