Transcript ANTARCTICA, AUSTRALIA, & OCEANIA

ANTARCTICA,
AUSTRALIA, & OCEANIA
ANTARCTICA
• 5th largest continent
• Types of plants found on Antarctica
– Algae, lichens, mosses
• 1st to reach the South Pole?
– Roald Amundsen from Norway in 1911
• Antarctic Treaty
– Signed in 1959 by 12 countries including the
United States
– Prohibits military activities except to
support science
– Prohibits nuclear testing
– Promotes scientific research & cooperation
• Only 1% of Antarctica has been mined
for minerals.
• The continent is rich in minerals
coal, copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, oil,
& natural gas.
• The Protocol on Environmental
Protection (added to Antarctic Treaty)
caused restrictions on mining in 1991.
– Bans all commercial mineral resource
activity (oil & natural gas)
– Conservation of flora and fauna
– No polluting
AUSTRALIA
The Land
• Why is Australia unique?
– Only country that is also a continent
– World’s smallest continent
• Where do most of Australia’s rivers
start?
– Great Dividing Range
• Two rivers supply water for irrigation
– Murray and Darling Rivers
• Most of Australia’s water comes from
artesian wells.
– Water that comes up from underground
pressurized water
• Only 10% of the land is arable (farmable).
– Wheat, barley, fruit, & sugarcane
• The land of the Outback is used by
ranchers to raise cattle, sheep, &
chickens.
– World’s largest producer of wool
• Australia produces ¼ of the world’s
bauxite.
– Raw material for aluminum production
• Australia is also known for its high
quality opals.
Great Barrier Reef
• Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral
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reef.
It is actually over 2500 small reefs.
Over 1800 miles
Coral is slowly dying because of pollution,
warming waters, and human contact.
Actions taken to save the reef
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Pollution control
Fishing restrictions
Part of the reef closed to tourists
Reef Water Quality Protection Plan
Climate
• Most of the mid-continent of Australia has a
desert climate.
– Vegetation = desert scrubs & desert waste
• Southeastern Australia has a tropical
rainforest & tropical grassland climate.
• Some people use wattle for their homes.
– Saplings of the acacia tree interwoven to
make framework for homes
A Brief History
• Original inhabitants were the
Aborigines.
• Aborigines probably originated from
southeast Asia.
• Belief in Dreamtime
– System of beliefs that they are connected
to all things back to the beginning of time
• Use the boomerang for hunting
– Heavy throwing stick
– Work of weapon art
– Skillfully carved and weighted
• Captain James Cook claimed Australia
for Great Britain in 1770.
• What happened to the Aborigines when
the British settled in?
– Europeans removed people from their lands
by force.
– They also brought diseases that killed many
Aborigines.
• What did Great Britain use Australia
for in the late 1700s and early 1800s?
– Colony for convicts.
– British prisons were overcrowded.
• What profitable type of livestock was
introduced to Australia?
SHEEP
Independence
• Australia became independent from Great
Britain in 1901.
• It became a dominion (self-governing
country within the British Empire).
• Official name: Commonwealth of Australia
Australia Today
• The country has actively recruited
immigrants.
– People from east and southeast Asia have
answered the call.
• Major trading partners?
– Japan & U.S.
• Strine is spoken by many Australians.
– A unique vocabulary made up of Aboriginal
words and Australian slang.
OCEANIA
Vanuatu
New
Zealand
Fiji
New Zealand Quick Facts
• Country made up of 2 islands
– North Island and South Island
• Most important resource?
– Fertile volcanic soil
• 2 major exports?
– Sheep & wool products
– 20 times more livestock than people!
– New Zealand ranchers are called graziers.
History
• Original inhabitants: Maori
• Like the Aborigines, the
Maori were forced off
their land by the Europeans
and faced discrimination &
racism.
• New Zealand shocked the world in 1893
by being the 1st country to legally
recognize women’s right to vote.
• New Zealand gained its independence
from Great Britain in 1907.
• In 1985, NZ banned nuclear-powered
ships and those with nuclear weapons
from its waters.
OCEANIA QUICK FACTS
• The islands were created by colliding
tectonic plates and volcanic hot spots.
• 3 island types
– High islands: tops of underwater mountain
ranges (Tahiti & Hawaii’s big islands)
– Low islands: coral atolls (Nauru & Hawaii’s
small islands)
– Continental islands: created by the rising
and folding of ancient rock from ocean
floor (Papua New Guinea)
• 3 classifications of islands
– Melanesia (black islands)
– Micronesia (little islands)
– Polynesia (many islands)
• The country of Nauru is the world’s
smallest republic and one of the richest
countries in the world.
• Many Pacific islands are trust
territories.
– Created after WWII by the United States
– U.S. gave dependent areas to other
countries to control.
• In 1954, the U.S. exploded an atom
bomb at Bikini Atoll and other nearby
islands.
– People were unable to return to the islands.
– In the 1990s, the U.S. paid $90 million to
decontaminate the areas and create trust
funds for the injured.
• Fiji is over 30% Hindu.
– 1000s of East Indians were brought to
work on plantations and brought their
religion with them.
• Most important economic activity in the
South Pacific is agriculture.
– Tropical fruits mainly (banana, coconut,
pineapple, mango, etc.)
• Many Pacific islanders practice
subsistence farming.
– Growing only enough for a family’s needs