Mathematics
Why is Australia called the land down under. Australia is a country where everything is the other way around

Why is Australia called the land down under. Australia is a country where everything is the other way around

The country is upside down. Australia

Her whole life is moving in reverse: winter is beginning here, and New Year greeted in the heat. Polaris and ladle Ursa Major can't be seen from here. Instead, the constellation southern cross points the way, not to the north, but to the south. The original name of the country was Australasia, that is South Asia, and when it turned out that this was not an overgrown island, but a separate continent, the country began to be called simply South.

Geographical maps here like to be drawn upside down, so that Australia is at the top and the rest of the world is at the bottom. You cannot take a piece of coral from here and you cannot come here with dirty shoes. Here plants are protected as living beings, and breeding rabbits results in a huge fine or prison. Kangaroos here jump on the roads with driving on the left, and trains are made from trucks.

Australia is often compared to America: the same cauldron of peoples and traditions that was brewed by convicts and adventurers, the same war with local culture, so carefully guarded now, is the same illusion of limitless freedom.

But Australia is unique, if only because its inhabitants feel a little chosen - they live on a solid piece of land, almost on their own own planet, and consider us all antipodes.

Melbourne is a city created for life, where people do not run to their work, but leisurely spend time, enjoying life in every possible way.
If you describe Melbourne in one word, the word that immediately comes to mind is “serene”.

Iconic Australian road signs are visible across the continent. Sometimes it seems that there are more signs than the animals themselves

Grand Pacific Drive is a scenic stretch of road towards Sydney.

Bondi Beach is the most popular beach in Sydney.

Sydney is the largest city in Australia, stretching over 12 and a half thousand square kilometers - the capital of the state of New Wales. The history of the city began with a small settlement in Sydney Cove, which grew to four and a half million people. Sydney's population is largely immigrant varying degrees settlement, different nationalities and races.

The city of Gold Coast is a resort metropolis in Australia, very reminiscent of Miami in spirit.

Brisbane is an even more relaxed city than Melbourne.

This place is called Rainbow Beach, a beach that turns into all the colors of the rainbow at sunset.

And this is Whitehaven beach, the most beautiful beach in Australia, one of the 10 best beaches in the world.

There are many unique species animals. Platypuses, echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies, kangaroo rats, opossums, koalas, wombats, Australian bandicoots, and marsupial mice live in large numbers in Australia.
This native home for a dingo dog. Australia is home to a huge number of reptiles. There are 100 species of poisonous snakes and 70 species of sharks here.
In Australia alone you will see giant termites and 700 species of birds.

The kangaroo deservedly bears the title of the main symbol of Australia. Kangaroo on the coat of arms, kangaroo on stamps, half of Australian souvenir products are somehow connected with these animals. According to legend, a sailor, seeing a kangaroo, asked a local aborigine what this strange monster was in front of him. The native replied “ken guru,” which meant “I don’t understand.” Whether this is true or not is not known for certain, but it sounds beautiful...

About kangaroos with humor

Despite the fact that most people consider the kangaroo to be a kind and sweet creature, in fact, the most common type of kangaroo, red kangaroos are huge (1.5-2 meters tall) frostbitten monsters with a criminal muzzle and prison manners. At the zoo, their main occupation is either squatting or lying on their backs, scratching themselves in one place
During the mating season, kangaroos fight among themselves for the possession of the most attractive females, and therefore, having met you in the forest, the male may think that you want to take his kangaroo away from him and attack you with his fists. The guide advises in such cases to fall on your back and shout: “Kangaroo, you are a real man, I am not worthy of your woman!”

Hello, friends!

I don’t know why, but this country arouses my genuine and sincere interest. Perhaps because what most of us know about Australia is limited to the fact that it is very far away and amazing kangaroos live there.

And if we are going on a trip to a distant continent, especially with children, then it will not be superfluous to learn more about the climate, nature and the places that we want to visit.

So, today we will take a short excursion into the past and present of the country.

Australia is the opposite country

No mysticism. Everything is explained simply and quite scientifically.

According to one hypothesis, Australia is a large piece of land that broke away from an ancient supercontinent, drifting northward for millions of years.

The oddities and paradoxes of Australia are due to the fact that the continent is located in the Southern Hemisphere.

This explains a lot:

Why, for example, do our seasons not coincide? By the way, a good option for those who don’t like winter and cold: spend the summer at home, and go to Australia in the winter again in the summer.
Why, the further north you go, the warmer it gets, but when going south you need to stock up on warm clothes.
Why do Australians see the moon upside down?

Australia is also unique in that on a continent with an area of more than 7.5 million square meters. km there is only one state, surrounded on all sides by the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Australia- a state occupying 6th place in the world in terms of area. However, this vast territory is home to just over 22 million (estimated as of June 30, 2010). Despite the fact that the mainland is located in the tropics and subtropics and even in winter in Australia, by Russian standards, it is warm, a significant part of the island is unsuitable for living.

Conditions are especially difficult in central and western Australia, where there is virtually no water. Large territory The mainland is occupied by the famous Australian deserts: Simpson Sandy Desert with characteristic red-brown dunes, Great Sandy Desert, gibson desert, sandy-salt marsh Great Victoria Desert. They are adjacent to areas of the steppe zone, scorched by the rays of the scorching sun.

The population of Australia lives mainly on the coast of the mainland, whose length is more than 34 thousand kilometers. The most attractive for residents of Australia are the fertile lands of the southeast coast with its mild climate and wonderful natural conditions.

75% of Australians live in cities. Each of them is unique and interesting for curious tourists:

The capital of Australia is Canberra
Sydney– the very first city of Australia
Melbourne– center of cultural and business life
Darwin– a port located in the north of the mainland
Perth– “the pearl of Australia” (west coast)
Adelaide- city on the ocean
Brisbane– a large commercial and industrial city (only here boomerangs are produced)
Hobart– one of the ancient cities of the continent

The main population of Australia is white Australians (95%), speaking English language. These are the descendants of Irish rebels, convicts, criminals and other exiles who began active exploration of the mainland at the end of the 18th century, and emigrants from England, Ireland, Europe and Asia who later joined them.

The local population of Australia (Aborigines) is no more than 5%. The indigenous population appeared on the island long before its discovery by European travelers. But today, black Australians live in remote settlements and reserves where it is not so easy to survive.

The history of the emergence of Australia as a state is also amazing and unique. The first documentary evidence of the existence of Australia appeared in the 17th century after its discovery by European sailors. Later, information appeared about the discovery of the eastern coast of the mainland by James Cook. This was in 1770.

But officially Australia Day is considered to be January 26, 1788 - this is the day of the landing of the captain of the English fleet Arthur Phillip in Sydney Bay with the first exiled criminals and the date of the founding of the first british colony Sydney Cove (later Sydney).

And today Australia is a young, rapidly developing state on the old continent. According to 2011 data provided by the World Economic Forum, Australia took a respectable 17th place among the richest countries in the world.

The country develops and lives through mining and well-developed agriculture.

The standard of living of Australians is quite high. The Australian government cares about the quality of life of its fellow citizens and does a lot to make their lives better.

Obviously, a sense of security and confidence in tomorrow explain the friendliness and affability of Australians. They will always come to the rescue, and unselfishly. In addition, they are law-abiding citizens who strictly follow instructions and regulations. This may be why there is virtually no corruption in Australia.

The country is thriving travel business. More and more tourists dream of visiting Australia and admiring its unique nature and animals.

And next time we'll go to most famous city Australia – Sydney.

Australia is an amazing and endlessly surprising place; it has a lot of interesting and almost incompatible things. On one of the most ancient continents in the world there is one of the youngest states. In addition, this state does not have a single land border. The only country that has the same name as the mainland. Australia is almost the same size as Europe, but is considered the most sparsely populated part of the world, with 2.5 people per kilometer. This country is called the land upside down because many things are different in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter months, for example, are June, July, August, and summer months are December, January, February. If you move north, you will become warmer, and vice versa. When you look at the Moon, you will see that it looks upside down. The left banks of the rivers are washed away more than the right ones, and eddies and sea currents are twisting in an unusual direction. Coastal areas in some areas are covered with jungle, while on other shores you can find penguins and seals from the Antarctic.

Although the climate in Australia is very dry, it is possible to compensate for very small harvests due to huge territories, given over to crops, and a well-designed irrigation system. According to geologists, this continent, together with Africa, South America, India and Antarctica, was once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. With the collapse of Gondwana, Australia, having separated, began to drift north. Gradually its climate became increasingly drier. Millions of years passed, during which time the rivers dried up and the mountains, heavily blown by the winds, disappeared. Thanks to this, the continent is now considered the flattest of all. Most of it is occupied by a red desert, practically devoid of water. The few riverbeds that remain are filled with water only during rare rainstorms, and this is almost the only source of water. Locals call this part of the continent outback - “uninhabited”.

But, despite the fact that the climate is quite difficult and the soil is, for the most part, poor, in Australia you can find a lot of representatives of the flora and fauna, and many of them live only on the continent. For example, marsupials - oldest mammals, they look the same now as they did a million years ago. People living in major cities, and they are 80% of the total population, are very careful about what surrounds them. The bush area merges with the huge cities, and looks like a single whole, and its inhabitants feel at home. Twenty million people and forty million kangaroos do not interfere with each other at all. And in the very center of the capital Sydney you can find colorful parrots, bats, and huge insects, which is very unusual for us. “Please walk on the grass! Smell the flowers! Hug trees and talk to birds!” this is what you can read when entering the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Australia is the smallest continent by area. By car you can cross it in a week, and by air in just four hours. Nevertheless, the climate and landscape of the mainland are very diverse. Huge deserts: Great Sandy, Simpson, Victoria, Gibson are located in the center and west. For many kilometers you can only find wild camels here, and instead of roads there are paths laid by them. The sun-scorched steppe stretches between the red dunes. And in the very center of the country, in the AyersMount Olga National Park, there is the most unusual landmark of Australia - the red sandstone monolith Uluru, an Aboriginal shrine. Along its perimeter it covers an area of 9 kilometers, and its height is 348 meters. Nearby is also the famous Olga massif, which consists of 36 stone domes with many gorges and valleys. In the east stretches the Great Dividing Range - this is the border between deserted deserts and fertile lands, where the main cities of Australia rise on the coast. Eucalyptus groves interspersed with tropical jungle grow along the ridge. The 2,300 kilometer Great Barrier Reef lies on the east coast and is considered an important natural object of global importance, as it is a biosphere reserve of the planet. The size of the reef allows it to be seen from space. The exposed southern coastline, washed by the Indian Ocean, appears torn into pieces. This is why it is made up of cliffs and rocks of various shapes. However, the most attractive and picturesque place in Australia is considered northern territory mainland. The nature there is pristine and diverse - seven-meter crocodiles, impenetrable swamps, huge waterfalls, all this is very different from desert areas. IN national park Cockatoos can get acquainted with interesting drawings created by the aborigines.

Prosperous Australia is one of the twenty richest countries in the world, thanks to the presence of minerals and natural resources. Rich Australians feel much more confident about seed than Europeans. Having big houses, they don't even always lock them at night. When building cities, Australians try to make maximum use of the achievements of world civilization and at the same time adhere to a certain characteristic style in architecture. And yet, given that this young country is only two hundred years old, and the mainland of Australia is considered the smallest, Australians have yet to develop and populate enough areas suitable for human life.

Today, tours to Australia are becoming more and more exciting, but the country also has its own nuances of staying on its territory, which sometimes seem very strange to us.

Australia itself is an unusual and attractive continent, where you can find many marsupials, unusual exotic plants and much more, which attracts tourists from all over the world. But there are also many interesting factors here.

Today, tours to Australia are becoming more and more exciting, but the country also has its own nuances of staying on its territory, which sometimes seem very strange to us. For example, in the province of Victoria, on Brighton Beach, it is allowed to swim only in a swimsuit that covers the body to the knees, starting from the throat. And there it is forbidden to wear pink pants on Sunday afternoon.

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In the same province, in order to change a light bulb, you need to call an electrician who has a special license. In addition to all this, it is prohibited in the country to leave a car with the keys inside on the street. Or you can be fined just for walking in the oncoming right lane on all types of roads, even if it is a rural footpath. A man in Melbourne can also be fined if he appears on the street wearing a dress without straps, but there are no restrictions on other women's outfits. In addition, in Australia it is strictly forbidden to read and compose horoscopes, as well as to engage in fortune telling - all this is considered criminal witchcraft at the legislative level. In the country, all taxi drivers must carry an armful of hay in the trunk, and bar owners are obliged to take care of the horses of their visitors.

We cannot say how likely it is that these laws are true and are still being observed. But the very fact of their existence is quite funny. Even if the “old-time taxi drivers” were ordered to haul hay about 100-200 years ago, it would not surprise anyone if the authorities simply forgot to cross the law off the list of valid ones.

Australia is often called “the land upside down” and for good reason. When summer begins for us, winter begins for them, for us the month is visible in the sky in the form of a sickle, and for them it lies like a horseshoe, the sun moves from right to left, in reverse side from ours, and it shines from the north for them.

In addition, there is also unusual vegetation. For example, a fire in Wilsons Promontory Park caused the growth of a rare species of native orchids. It is the most original flower on the continent and is called the spider orchid. The flower has a spider-like shape, and for its pollination, in order to attract Australian wasps, it produces a special pheromone, luring them to itself without appearance, but aroma. And in botanical garden There is a blue tree near Mount Annan in New South Wales. The tree itself has already died, but due to the fact that various insects and termites still live there, it has a bright, rich blue color.

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