Environment

A vast island continent situated south of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Australia lies 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 sparsely populated. The bulk of the population lives on the narrow, fertile eastern coastal plain and on the southeastern 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 lies 50-300km (30-185mi) offshore and extends 2000km (1240mi) from Torres Strait to Gladstone.

Distinctive plants include the ubiquitous gum tree or eucalypt, of which there are some 700 species. Other common plants are wattle, banksia, waratahs, bottlebrushes, paperbarks and tea trees.

Endemic mammals include the kangaroo, koala, platypus, echidna, possum, wombat and dingo. There are also a number of interesting birds, such as emus, parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras, and countless indigenous reptile and insect species. 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 (found in the northern states of Australia).