Australia Map Quiz

Australia is the world's sixth-largest country by area and the only nation that occupies an entire continent. It comprises six states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania) and two major mainland territories (Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory), plus external territories. Its geography ranges from tropical rainforests in Queensland to the vast red deserts of the Outback to the temperate coasts of Victoria and South Australia.

Australian Geography Essentials

Australia's capital is Canberra (in the ACT), chosen as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne. The largest city is Sydney, home to the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The Outback refers to the vast, remote interior dominated by the Simpson Desert, Great Victoria Desert, and the famous red sandstone monolith Uluru (Ayers Rock), sacred to the local Anangu Aboriginal people. The Great Barrier Reef, off Queensland's coast, is the world's largest coral reef system. Australia's unique geography - Its long isolation from other landmasses - Produced extraordinary endemic wildlife including kangaroos, koalas, wombats, and the duck-billed platypus.

The Murray-Darling river system in southeastern Australia is the country's most important river system for agriculture and water supply. The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales contain Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 meters). Australia was colonized by Britain beginning with the First Fleet's arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788, following James Cook's expedition of 1770. Commonwealth countries with British colonial histories share many institutional and cultural features.