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Geographical information
Australia is a vast island continent situated south of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The world's sixth largest country, Australia measures some 4000km (2500mi) east to west and 3200km (2000mi) north to south. Much of the interior of the country is flat, barren and extremely sparsely populated. The bulk of the population lives on the narrow, fertile eastern coastal plain and on the south eastern coast. The continent long Great Dividing Range runs north-south down the eastern seaboard, separating the coastal plain from the drier inland areas. The Great Barrier Reef is located between 50 till 300 km (30 till 185mi) offshore and extends 2000km (1240mi) from the Torres Strait to Gladstone.
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Nature
| Flora | As the Australian continent has been separated from the other continents for more than 160 million years, there is remarkable flora to be found. Ancient plants still grow in the wild. Large Antarctic tree ferns are common in the damp, shaded gullies of the south sides of ridges. Cycad palms form an understorey to tall, silverly spotted eucalypts along the southeast coast. In desert canyons one can find rare relics from earlier geological eras. | | Fauna | One of the most important natural attractions is wildlife. Endemic animals include the iconic kangaroo, koala and emu, and the platypus, echidna, possum, wombat and dingo. There are also a number of interesting birds, such as parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras. Fauna to be wary of include Australian spiders (especially the redback and funnel web), snakes (notably the venomous brown, tiger, death adder, copperhead and red bellied black varieties) and both salt and freshwater crocodiles. | | National parks | There are more than 2000 nature reserves and parks in Australia. These parks include flora and fauna reserves, conservation parks, environment parks and Aboriginal areas, containing rainforests, deserts, mountain ranges and coastal dunes. 12 of them appear on the list of World Heritages Sites (UN). The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Tasmanian Wilderness are examples. When visiting a nature park, be aware of spider bites or snake bites. |
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Climate
Australia is an all-year-round destination, but during the summer, December to February, it is hot in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. At the Great Barrier Reef, most rain falls in January and February. In northern Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia, roads may flood during the "wet" season, January-March. The ski season occurs from June to October in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania
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