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The land Down Under
 Sometimes
called the “Land Down Under,”
Australia is a country and a continent located in
the Southern Hemisphere.
 The
Great Barrier Reef lies off Australia’s
northeastern coast.
 A coral reef is a structure formed by the
skeletons of small sea animals.
 Coral
formations have piled up for
millions of years to create a colorful chain
that stretches 1,250 miles.
 The
people of
Australia use the
name outback to
refer to the inland
regions
of their country.
 Mining camps and
cattle and sheep
ranches, called
stations, dot the
outback region.
 Because
of the country’s location in the
southern Hemisphere, summer starts in
December and winter starts in June.
 Two
famous
Australian animals
are kangaroos and
koalas.
 Both are marsupials,
or mammals that
carry their young in a
pouch.
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It is a treasure chest overflowing with
mineral resources.
These riches include iron ore, zinc,
bauxite, gold, silver, opals, diamonds,
and pearls.
Australia’s main agricultural activity is
raising livestock, especially cattle and
sheep.
It is the world’s top producer of wool.
 Australia’s
Aborigines are the
descendants of the first immigrants who
came from Asia at least 40,000 years ago.
 One of their weapons for hunting was the
boomerang.
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The Dutch were the first Europeans to
travel to Australia in the late 1600s.
The British claimed Australia in 1770, and
at first used it as a colony for prisoners.
After gold was discovered in 1851, many
British settlers came and took land from
the Aborigines.
 In 1901 the independent Commonwealth
of Australia was formed.
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 Australia
has a British-style
parliamentary democracy.
 A prime minister heads the government,
and the British monarch is a ceremonial
leader.
 Sydney
and Melbourne are Australia’s
largest cities.
 About 10 percent of Australians live in
rural areas known as the bush.