The 2004 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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      Transportation - note:

       Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways;

       significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal

       Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico

       coast of US

      Transnational Issues Atlantic Ocean

      Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

      This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

      ======================================================================

      @Australia

      Introduction Australia

      Background:

       Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia

       about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in

       the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770,

       when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain.

       Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they

       federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new

       country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop

       its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major

       contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent

       decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally

       competitive, advanced market economy. Long-term concerns include

       pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management

       and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier

       Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth

       headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999.

      Geography Australia

      Location:

       Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific

       Ocean

      Geographic coordinates:

       27 00 S, 133 00 E

      Map references:

       Oceania

      Area:

       total: 7,686,850 sq km

       water: 68,920 sq km

       note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

       land: 7,617,930 sq km

      Area - comparative:

       slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

      Land boundaries:

       0 km

      Coastline:

       25,760 km

      Maritime claims:

       territorial sea: 12 nm

       continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

       exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

       contiguous zone: 24 nm

      Climate:

       generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical

       in north

      Terrain:

       mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Lake Eyre −15 m

       highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

      Natural resources:

       bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium,

       nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas,

       petroleum

      Land use:

       arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of

       cultivated grassland)

       permanent crops: 0.04%

       other: 93.41% (2001)

      Irrigated land:

       24,000 sq km (1998 est.)

      Natural hazards:

       cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

      Environment - current issues:

       soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development,

       urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due

       to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for

       agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique

       animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast

       coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by

       increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited

       natural fresh water resources

      Environment - international agreements:

       party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living

       Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate

       Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental

       Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,

       Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,

       Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

       signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

      Geography - note:

       world's smallest continent but sixth-largest СКАЧАТЬ