Australia
Australia has 6 states and 2 major mainland territories. The states are Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
The capital of Australia is Canberra. Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory.
The capital cities of each state are: Brisbane (Queensland), Sydney (New South Wales), Melbourne (Victoria), Hobart (Tasmania), Adelaide (South Australia), Perth (Western Australia), Darwin (Northern Territory), Canberra (Australian Capital Territory).
English is the national language of Australia and Australian English has its own distinctive accent and vocabulary.
Australia has some of the world's greatest natural attractions. The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef lies a short distance off the north-east coast of Queensland and extends for over 2,000 kilometres. Mount Augustus (Western Australia) is claimed to be the world's largest monolith.
Mount Kosciuszko (the Great Dividing Range) is the highest mountain in Australia. The largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the Austalian outback.
Well-known Australian fauna include: platypus, echidna, kangaroo, koala, wombat, saltwater crocodile, freshwater crocodile, emu, kookaburra.
