Geographical Location of the Australian Continent – The Australian continent consists of only one country. Australia is also the smallest continent among the other five continents. The only country on the continent of Australia is Australia.
This continent has a fairly large mainland area and is located in the south of the territory of Indonesia. Australia has several islands, for example Christmas, Macquarie, Coscos and Tasmania.
According to the IPS Module book published by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2018, the mainland of the Australian continent has a unique fauna. This area is home to most of the kangaroo animals that have pouches on their stomachs.
A small proportion of kangaroos live on the island of New Guinea, because the island was once attached to the Australian mainland. The Australian continent is a new landmass that little has been discovered by western explorers. This continent is the smallest continent in the world. Then where is the geographic location? See the explanation further in this one article.
History of the Australian Continent
The Australian continent is a land with the nickname of the new world because a little more has been discovered by western explorers. Mainland Australia, as noted in J. Siboro’s book History of Australia (1989), had attracted the attention of the VOC based in Batavia.
Then, on orders from the VOC, a reliable Dutch sailor named Abel Janszoon Tasman departed from Batavia to search for the location of the landmass in 1642. The search for land was inspired by Pythagoras’s theory of the balance of the earth who believed that there was a continent at the south pole and then call it Terra Australia Incognito.
This theory was supported by Claudius Ptolemaeus, an astronomer and geographer from Alexandria from Egypt who lived in the 2nd century AD. Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) believed that there was a large landmass south of the equator which had a function to balance the weight of the northern part of the earth.
Tasman has actually managed to stop at several beaches on mainland Australia and New Zealand. However, he was not aware that this area was the land he was looking for. For this reason, he did not explore the land he was on.
Then, in 1688, a pirate and a British scientific investigator named William Dampier made it to the mainland of the Australian continent, he then wrote a more detailed report about the area. After that, the puzzle about Terra Australia Incognito was finally answered.
James Cook was an accomplished sailor and an astronomer who made voyages from 1768 to 1971 on orders from the British government, he was a figure who succeeded in ascertaining the details of the map of the location of mainland Australia and New Zealand and carried out explorations by observing the natives there. there.
Australia is a continent country located in the southern part of the Asian Continent. Australia’s largest city is Sydney, but the nation’s capital is Canberra.
Australian residents use English as their official language, because this mainland is one of the British commonwealth countries or is referred to as common wealth.
Historically, the Australian continent was inhabited by indigenous people called the Aborigines, a race from the Polynesian nation. However, after the Europeans explored and expanded to discover a new world, the Australian continent gradually became one of the British colonies and included the Australian continent in the Commonwealth of Nations, along with South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other countries.
After the conquest of the Australian Continent, the British also made this continent the smallest continent and a land of disposal for convicts who were considered to have disturbed British society and dissidents of the British empire. Then, the Australian Continent became a place for the European race besides its original inhabitants, namely the Aborigines.
The government of the Australian state, until now, is still following the British Empire with the queen as the symbol of government and represented by the Governor General as the leader of the country. Australia adheres to a constitutional monarchy system.
Location of the Australian Continent and its Territory Boundaries
After knowing the brief history of the Australian continent, Sinaumed’s also needs to know the geographic location of the Australian continent and its astronomical position. The following is an explanation of the location of the Australian continent.
1. Geographical Location of the Australian Continent
Geographically, there are only three countries in the Australian continent, namely Australia, Papua New Guinea and only parts of Indonesia. Even so, if you count the countries in the Oceania region, then the total of all the countries is 14 countries.
The following is the geographical location of the Australian continent:
- The northern part is bordered by Indonesian territory, namely the Timor Sea and the Arafuru Sea.
- The south is bordered by the Indian Ocean and Antarctica.
- The western part is directly adjacent to the Indian Ocean.
- The east is bordered by the Tasmanian Sea, Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
2. Geological Location of the Australian Continent
The continent of Australia is in the eastern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. It is this geological location that makes Australia also often referred to as the lower continent. For nature in Australia, it is divided into three parts. The following is the geological location of the Australian Continent:
- The area in eastern Australia is filled with mountain ranges extending from Cape York in the north to the island of Tasmania.
- The area in the western part of Australia is filled with high ground which is commonly called the Australian Shield. The majority of the area in the western and central parts is desert, namely the Gibson Desert and the Victoria Desert.
- The central area is between the eastern mountains and the western highlands, which are the Murray Darling valley and the lowland plains of Lake Eyre. Lake Eyre is the largest lake in Australia.
3. Astronomical Location of the Australian Continent
Astronomical location is the location or position of a country or continent that can be seen according to the country’s position in latitude and longitude. The astronomical position can later determine the climate, weather and even the socio-cultural conditions of the people living in the area. Astronomically, the Australian Continent is located in the following positions:
- Because it is in the southern hemisphere, the position of the Australian continent is at latitude at a point between 10°41′ South Latitude (South Latitude) – 43°39′ South Latitude (South Latitude).
- The Australian continent is in the eastern part of the earth, so the position of the Australian continent is in the longitude between 113°9′ east longitude (East longitude) – 153°39′ east longitude (east longitude).
4. Australian Continental Boundaries
The Australian continent is bordered by continents and oceans in the north, west, east and south. These boundaries include the continental boundaries of the Americas and the maritime boundaries of the Americas. The following are the boundaries of the Australian continent:
- The boundaries of the continent of Australia in the north: the continent of Asia.
- The boundary of the Australian continent in the east: the Pacific Ocean.
- The boundaries of the Australian continent in the south: the Indian Ocean.
- The boundaries of the continent of Australia in the west: the Indian Ocean.
Australia’s Advantages of Geographical Position
With the geographical conditions of the Australian continent described above, of course this geographical location will provide benefits for the Australian continent. These advantages include the following:
1. Has varied natural conditions
The natural conditions in Australia are quite varied, ranging from highlands, lowlands, deserts and even mountains. So it can be said that the natural conditions that exist on the continent of Australia have characteristics or characteristics and uniqueness that can be used as an attractive tourist destination.
2. It has diverse flora and fauna
The second advantage of the geographical location of the Australian continent is the diversity of flora and fauna. The flora in Australia is dominated by steppes and savannas. Meanwhile, the wealth of fauna is dominated by types of fauna such as koalas, kangaroos and ostriches.
Climate, Natural and Geographical Conditions of the Australian Continent
The astronomical and geographical location of the Australian continent will affect the climatic conditions, natural environment, geography and the diversity of its fauna and flora. The following are the climatic conditions, nature and geographical conditions of the Australian Continent.
1. Climate Conditions of the Australian Continent
The location of the continent of Australia, the majority of its territory is south of the equator. Therefore, the climate of the Australian continent is more diverse than the tropics. There are four climates on the continent of Australia, namely as follows:
- The tropical climate belongs to the northern part of Australia.
- The climate is sub-tropical in southern Australia.
- A temperate marine climate exists in the southern regions of Victoria and Tazmania.
- A desert climate that exists in the desert region of Australia.
2. Natural Conditions of the Australian Continent
The Australian continent has a topography that tends to be flatter when compared to other continents. Part of the continent of Australia is a low plateau. In fact, two-thirds of the area on the Australian continent is desert.
One of the factors for the extent of the desert on the Australian continent is its location in the descending zone of air masses, also known as the subsidence zone. The zone, astronomically, is around 30 LU or 30 LS.
Meanwhile, the western plateau of the Australian continent used to be a fairly large plateau, but the area experienced erosion. The plateaus in the area consist of the Hammersley Plateau, the Kimberly Plateau, the Macdonnell Low Mountains, the Musgrave and Arnhem Land Plateau.
The western plateau is mostly a desert area with large areas and no rivers, while a small part of the area has rivers consisting of the Gascoyne River, Ord River, and Murchison River with a flow towards the west or north.
The Australian continent has an eastern plateau known as the Great Dividing Mountains, these mountains extend from the Cape York Peninsula to Tazmania in the south.
Meanwhile, other mountains are the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney and the Snowy Mountains on the border of New South Wales and Victoria.
The Australian continent has a west coast plain formed by rock faults along the western continent. Then there is also a plateau on the east coast which makes the lowland coast narrower. To the east of the Australian continent off the coast of Queensland, has an area with extensive, large and longest coral reefs in the world, the area is referred to as the Great Barrier Reef or the Great Barrier Reef.
3. Geographical Conditions of the Australian Continent
The continent of Australia is the smallest continent in the world and the smallest continent by area. The total area of the entire Australian continent is only 8.6 million square km.
The territory of the Australian Continent consists of the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania and the island of New Guinea which consists of Papua New Guinea and parts of eastern Indonesia.
With the smallest area, Australia is also the continent with the second least population after Antarctica. In Papua, there are still many people who live in forest areas and tribes that are still unknown and unknown.
This is different from the mainland of the Australian continent which has advanced. In the western part, there are many plateaus and some areas with deserts, while in the east you can find mountains that stretch. There are even many valley areas that are fed by rivers, both in the western and eastern parts of Australia.
Characteristics of the Australian Continent
Australia’s official name is the Commonwealth of Australia with its capital city in Canberra. The form of this country is a constitutional monarchy with the head of state being the Queen or King of England and the head of government being the Prime Minister.
The official language used in Australia is English with the majority population adhering to Christianity. The currency in Australia is the Australian Dollar. The country has a national anthem entitled God Save the Queen .
In addition to the characteristics of the Australian continent mentioned above, there are also several characteristics or characteristics of the Australian continent, as follows:
- The Australian continent is the smallest continent when compared to the area of other continents.
- The Australian continent only has one country, namely Australia, in contrast to other continents which are inhabited by more than one or several countries.
- The Australian continent is the second continent in the south after the Antarctic continent.
- Australia has unique endemic animals, namely kangaroos, platypus (a type of otter) and kiwi birds.
- The Australian continent is a continent that has indigenous tribes, namely the Aborigines.
- The majority of the population on the Australian continent are white races.
Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere and also cooperates with several neighboring countries, including Indonesia. The cooperation between Australia and Indonesia covers trade with export and import activities, where so far Indonesia has always imported beef and wool from Australia.
Apart from working together in the field of trade, Australia and Indonesia are also working together with Indonesia in the field of education. Australia and Indonesia are collaborating by providing a number of scholarships through the Australian government to Indonesian students who wish to continue their higher education in Australia.
This is an explanation regarding the geographical location of the Australian continent. If Sinaumed’s wants to learn more about the Australian Continent or other continents, Sinaumed’s can get information by reading books.