Australia is the sixth largest country in the world at large, and this is the only country that occupies a whole continent. The Commonwealth of Australia includes the Australian mainland and several Islands, the largest of which is Tasmania. Of the continent of diverse nature blends with modern populous cities. Although most of the continent is occupied by semi-desert and desert, in Australia there are a variety of landscapes, from Alpine meadows to the tropical jungle. Australia is now home to unique species of flora and fauna, some of which do not occur in other parts of the world. Many plants and animals, including the giant marsupials became extinct with the advent of the natives; others (such as the Tasmanian tiger) - with the advent of the Europeans.
The Australian continent is located within three major warm climatic zones of the southern hemisphere: subequatorial (North), tropical (Central part) and subtropical (South). Only a small part of the island of Tasmania lies within the temperate zone. In the winter, which falls in June, July and August, sometimes snow falls, but it is a long time is not stored.
Approximately 85 % of the plants, 84 % of mammals, 45 % of birds, and 89 % of freshwater fish are endemic (found only in Australia)
Major cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane.
Language
Australia has its own dialect of English, informally called "strain". strine). It is much closer to the British pronunciation and spelling, than to the American Religion