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Australia Review. Land &Climate: Lake Eyre. In central Australia Fills only 3 or 4 times every century Flat & dry. Lake Eyre 2010. 99m above sea level, this large, flat lake is usually dry
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Land &Climate: Lake Eyre • In central Australia • Fills only 3 or 4 times every century • Flat & dry
Lake Eyre 2010 • 99m above sea level, this large, flat lake is usually dry • About every 25 years, the rare event of heavy rainfall will fill rivers and Lake Eyre in the Australian Outback • Queensland's summer floods of 2009 have transformed parts of the outback landscape
When full, it Lake Eyre is the largest pelican breeding area in Australia.
Great Barrier Reef • Off Northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia • Made up of tiny animal skeletons less than an inch long • Has taken hundreds of years to form
Ayers Rock • In central Australia • Can change colors from blue to red • World’s largest monolith (stand-alone rock formation) • Also called Uluru • Sacred site for Aborigines
Outback • 2/3 of central Australia • 15% of Australians live in the Outback • Flat plains, desert, & unusual rock formations
History • Aborigines: native people • Weapons: boomerang, spear • Had many languages • No written language • Migrated from Asia • Have been marginalized
Britain Colonizes Australia • British settled the land and took it over from the Aborigines • Prisoners arrived from Great Britain to establish penal colonies • farmed land, built roads, & constructed buildings • Received free land after they served their sentence • incentive to remain in Australia
Government • Parliamentary Democracy • Prime Minister is head of government • Tony Abbot • Federal system of government • National government • State government • All Australians required to vote! • Australia gained independence from Britain in 1901.
Economy • Mineral & energy resources • World’s top producer of wool • Tourism
Major Cities • Sydney • Melbourne • Canberra – national capital
Australian Animals • Kangaroos & koalas • are marsupials • call their young “joeys” • Emu • 2nd largest bird • it cannot fly • Platypus & Echidna • Monotreme: Mammal that lays eggs • Wombat • Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil • Cantankerous disposition • Will fly into a maniacal rage when threatened by a predator, fighting for a mate, or defending a meal. • Early European settlers dubbed it a "devil" after witnessing such displays, which include teeth-baring, lunging, and spine-chilling guttural growls. • Coat of coarse brown or black fur and a stocky profile gives them the appearance of a baby bear. • Most have a white stripe or patch on their chest They have long front legs and shorter rear legs, giving them a lumbering, pig-like gait. • The Tasmanian devil is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, reaching 30 inches in length and weighing up to 26 pounds • Its oversize head houses sharp teeth and strong, muscular jaws that can deliver, pound for pound, one of the most powerful bites of any mammal.