Transcript File - Social Studies

Where Australians Live…
Location, Climate, & Natural
Resources in Australia
Location Of Australia
Both a continent & a country
Lies about 2,000 miles southeast of Asia
In the southern hemisphere
– Literally the “land down under”!
Location- Population
Coastal areas are the most populated
Most people live along east coast
Most populated city is Sydney, in New
South Wales
Another populated city: Brisbane,
Queensland
Location
Nearly 80% of Australians live in urban
areas
– Australia is one of the world’s most urbanized
countries
70% of all Australians live in cities of more
than 100,000 people
– Sydney has 3 and a 1/2 million people
– Melbourne has about 3 million people
Climate of Australia
Varies across the continent
It’s south of the equator, so climate is
opposite North America:
– Summer: December through March
– Winter: June through September
Climate: North Australia
Northern part of Australia is closest to the
equator
Tropical climate and is warm-to-hot all
year round
– Gets more rain than any other part of the
country
Winter: wet and cool
Summer: hot and dry
Climate: Central Australia
Desert is the largest part of Australia
Little rain falls here
– Most of this area gets less than 10 inches of rain
per year!
Climate: Coasts
Only the southeast and southwest corners
have a temperate climate
– Summers aren’t too hot & winters aren’t too
cold (similar to Georgia)
Climate in these regions is the one that
Australians prefer the most
– Most Australians live along southeastern coast
Natural Resources of Australia
Outback refers to the dry interior
– Mainly open countryside, including vast
expanses of grazing land for sheep and cattle
farming
Few widely scattered settlements in the
Outback
– Many of them grew up around mining
operations…
Natural Resources: Mining
Australians mine for coal, iron ore, copper,
tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten,
mineral sands, zinc, oil, and natural gas
– Lead the world in the production of diamonds,
lead, & bauxite (used to make aluminum)!
Natural Resources: Mining
Minerals are often found in areas that are
difficult to reach
– Roads are expensive to build, but they are
needed to get workers & equipment to
remote locations
– Expensive equipment is needed to move
minerals to populated cities to trade
Natural Resources:
Arable Land
Land that is good for farming
Enough areas with good land and rainfall
to make farming an important business in
Australia
– Farmers here produce more than Australians
can consume, so the food is traded and sold
around the world
Questions to Consider:
Where do most Australians live?
What important business is done in the
outback?
Why do most Australians live in
southeastern Australia?
“I Think I’ll Move to Australia.”
In the story, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad
Day by Judith Viorst, Alexander has a bad day and decides that his
life would be better if he moved to Australia. After reading the story,
create a brochure that is designed to convince Alexander’s mother to
indeed let him move to the “Land Down Under”.
Include information from the “Where do Australians Live?”
PowerPoint to help justify your point. You will need to include a
title page, as well as descriptions of Australia’s location, climate,
land, and resources.