"In the beginning"

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of the blog management, (on the other hand, they are not necessarily not the views of the blog management).

No effort has been made to stay within the bounds of the truth in this blog as it has always been the view of the management that the truth should never be allowed to stand in the way of a good story.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Australia the Island Continent

Let me bid you a very warm welcome to HoltiesHouse Mk 2, I will endeavor on this blog site to uncover lots of interesting facts and trivia about anything and everything Australian, readers from my previous life may come across things they have read before, please excuse these duplications, they will be kept to a minimum.
The first thing we need to do is establish some perspective, Australia is an island, as it is completely surrounded by water but the land mass is so large that it has been declared a continent, I will use a map with Australia superimposed over the United States of America (less Hawaii and Alaska) and another with Europe (excluding Russia) superimposed over Australia to illustrate the comparable land areas.
Click on maps to enbiggen.


Australia and the USA are of a similar size but are vastly different in terms of population (Australia about 20 million, USA about 300 million) and also in usable land, as shown on the map I'm using as my blog header the center of Australia is either Arid or Semi Arid with only the fringe around two thirds of our coastline being good arable farmland with a "usually" reliable rainfall, there are a few green spots within the Semi Arid areas just as there are a few Arid spots in the fringe area. Conversely the center of America is rich and fertile.

This map shows clearly that Australia is nearly twice the size of the European countries shown here. It is more difficult to compare population figures in the European countries shown here but an estimate of 450 million should be reasonably accurate.

For those who have been impressed by the size of Texas (in the tales Texans tell anyway) just have
a look at the size of Western Australia!!!! Texas is approx 678,000 square Km while there is approx
2.5 million square Km in WA, 1.7 in Qld, ranging down to 230,000 square Km in Vic, 68,000 in Tas.
and a mere 2,500 square Km in the Australian Capital Territory which is home to our capital city,
Canberra.


I hope at least some of you find this of interest and will come back for more.

17 comments:

Junebug said...

Hi Peter,
I had no idea Australia was that big.

Junebug said...

"is"

Marcus said...

Welcome Back, I've missed you:)

willowtree said...

I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away. But I'd thought you'd last a bit longer than this!

Hale McKay said...

Not quite a sabbatical of epic proportions ...

I like the new look. Everything Australia? You've been giving us clues about Australia in the past - now to dedicate all your posts to your country is a great idea. I've learned a lot in your previous posts, but I know there is a lot more tidbits you can feed us.

Good luck and ... oh yeah, welcome back. You were missed. :-)

Walker said...

I knew Australia was big but not that big.
I am looking forward to your posts about your country

Merle said...

Hi Peter ~~ So you did a "Nellie Melba" now you have to explain that
she was an Aussie Opera Singer who retired several times. I am pleased to see you back, so I know you are OK
and what you are up to.
The blog looks nice too, well done.
Take care, Love, Merle.

Puss-in-Boots said...

G'day Peter. Good to see you blogging again. It'll be interesting to see if you come up with any facts we don't know of. There's always something to learn, though, isn't there?

Hope all is okay with you and you're not freezing your butt off. We had -3 the other morning...rather cool, I thought.

Jeanette said...

Gday Peter, Nice to see you back blogging...
Australia is a big country with a lot to see. Maybe we will see a lot more of your travels around our vast country,,,
BTW I like your new look..

linda may said...

G'Day Peter,
I dropped by to see what you were up to, and voila you is back. So pleased by that.
I am a patriotic Aussie for what it's worth, so good on you for taking up the role of blogging ambassador for our country.
I know I am not one of your regular visitors so if you are bogged down answering comments it is o.k. if you miss mine. Just know I drop by for a read every now and then.
Love Linda.

Gwen said...

Hi Peter .
Great your'e back and a very interesting post.

wazza said...

What the F..K

wazza said...

Arnie said "I'll Be Back" and as Johnny Carson's mate Ed McMahon used to say "Hereeeee's Peter!!"

wazza said...

I thought Porky Pig said "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
and that's what I thought Peter had said and like the phoenix rising
heeee's back. Ah waal ole' Frank Sinatra retired a few times so I guess me ole' mate can also do the same thing. Welcome back and you've inspired me to do some more posts.... yipes what has Peter started.

Dave said...

Welcome back Peter!!!!!

I'm so glad you decided to blog in one way or another, and I think this is a perfect way to do it! We'll all learn something in the process.

Again, glad to see you back my friend!

Cliff said...

Okay, I'm confused but that's normal.
I love the post and it was indeed very informative.
But on the other hand so is my wife.
You have a better presentation tho.

Pamela said...

I've always enjoyed globe trotting with my finger on a map.
So I knew Australia was huge sparsely populated.

I also am mesmerized by the number of toxic species that slither thru the grass...