Australia size compared other countries

For a easy comparison of the size of Australia compared
with Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, Lower 48 States USA, see
map overlays & other stats at:
http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts...ns/compare.htm

Climatic extremes link on left side of page is also of possible
interest.

Cheers,
Kangaroo16

In terms of population
Australia: 20 million
Canada : 31 million
NZ : 4 million
USA : 300 million in 2006, but was 130 million in 1942.
UK : more than 55 million, old stats...
Malta, Fiji : 250,000 people


For a easy comparison of the size of Australia compared
with Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, Lower 48 States USA, see
map overlays & other stats at:
http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts...ns/compare.htm

Climatic extremes link on left side of page is also of possible
interest.

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:28:20 -0700, "Max Power"
wrote in
:

In terms of population
Australia: 20 million
Canada : 31 million
NZ : 4 million
USA : 300 million in 2006, but was 130 million in 1942.
UK : more than 55 million, old stats...
Malta, Fiji : 250,000 people


For a easy comparison of the size of Australia compared
with Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, Lower 48 States USA, see
map overlays & other stats at:
http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts...ns/compare.htm

Climatic extremes link on left side of page is also of possible
interest.

Of interest to most intending migrants, and I really should have
mentioned this.

However, mere population densities per square mile, or square
kilometer, can be highly misleading in a country such as
Australia. Percentage wise, Australia is actually more
"urbanized" than the USA.

Most of the population is concentrated in the major cities, and
most are on, or near, the coast.

From memory, most of the population is on the coastal fringe.
Say, about 70 km or roughly 44 miles from the sea.

As a Sydney resident, am often surprised to meet people who
haven't even bothered to go across the "Blue Mountains", the
coastal range, accessible by freeway, roughly 40 miles west of
Sydney.

Once cross the mountains, paved highways of course, the
population density per square mile drops very dramatically
compared to the USA.

Perhaps a couple of people per square mile?

"Towns" are few and far between. Don't be misled by maps. Many
don't have "stores" or even gasoline ["petrol"] stations.

Those that do have petrol stations are not really reliable for
refueling, as they close around 7 PM at the latest.

At night, the only vehicles one sees at night are heavy trucks.
Few Aussie's would risk the roads or highways at night. Too much
chance of hitting a kangaroo or other wandering animals, even
stray cows.

Yet even this is just "rural" Australia, not the "real outback".
As may have mentioned on this particular group, if a traveler
wants to find the real "outback" he puts a sea anchor in the back
of his "Ute" [or "pickup"] to use the common U.S. term. [Another
Australian invention, incidentally.]

When he drives into a town, and the locals gather around, looking
at the anchor, and someone ventures to ask what the object is
and what is used for, then they are in the real "outback" :-)

Any readers who don't believe me? I would suggest that they look
at an old atlas or map of Australia and note just how much of the
desert areas are marked as "uninhabited".

Up until the mineral boom of, say, 30 or 40 years ago, could even
add "unexplored".

In a "scientific" sense, much of Australia is like that. How
many insect species have been scientifically classified? Perhaps
5%.

Any entomologists reading this want to have a new species named
after them? Pretty easy, actually.

Although really not all that surprising. Australia is roughly
the size of the continental U.S., but with only 21 million people
or so, most of have never even ventured inland.

If it helps, think of the US in about 1840 or so. First
settlement of Sydney around 1788. As mentioned earlier,
the Blue Mts now around 40 miles away. Perhaps 60 in those days.

When were they first crossed? 1813.

See Wikipedia article
European exploration of Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...on _1788-1900

Skipping ahead in same reference:

=============
20th century explorers

By the turn of the 20th century, most of the major geographical
features of Australia had been discovered by European explorers.
However, there are some 20th century people who are considered
explorers. They include:

* Ted Colson (first to cross the Simpson Desert in 1936)
* Cecil Madigan (major scientific expedition to the Simpson
Desert in 1939)
* Len Beadell
* Robyn Davidson
=======================

Discoveries in the 20th century? Not that long ago, really:


"1960s
"An early player in the Hamersley story was Langley
George Hancock, who in the early 1960s recommended that Rio Tinto
look at several prospects in the Pilbara. The historic moment in
the discovery of one of the world’s richest iron ore bodies came
in 1962, when two CRA geologists found a large dark outcrop which
extended about 6.5 kilometres. This, the biggest deposit of high
grade ore in the Hamersley Ranges, was later to be known as Mt
Tom Price, in tribute to an American engineer who was
instrumental in the Pilbara’s development. As Kaiser Steel’s
leading raw materials authority, Thomas Moore Price had
personally surveyed the Hamersley Ranges, and promoted the
region’s iron ore prospects with great enthusiasm."

http://www.hamersleyiron.com/about_hist.asp

Diamonds? Around 1970 from memory, but to check:

"Discovery Of The Argyle Diamond Mine
The Argyle diamond story has its origins in the early 1970s, when
one of the world's most significant find of diamonds was made at
Smoke Creek in the remote north of Western Australia, over 2000
kilometres from Perth, the state capital."

http://www.costellos.com.au/diamonds/industry.html

Uranium? Australia has about 30% of the worlds supply of easily
recoverable ore.

"Today Australia's share of the world's uranium resources
in the low cost category is about 30%. Other countries with major
uranium deposits are Canada, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Namibia,
Brazil and the USA." . . .
The Nabarlek mine was the first of the uranium deposits
discovered in the late 1960s to early 1970s to come into
production. The main orebody, which contained about 11,000 tonnes
U3O8, was mined and stockpiled when operations commenced in 1979.
The stockpiled ore was processed from 1980 to 1988.

http://www.uic.com.au/ozuran.htm

How much does the USA have? Roughly 3%. See table at above
link.

Black opals? Don't even need to look this up. Only found in
Australia. Some, carat by carat are more valuable than gem
diamonds.

Any Yanks or others out there who have ambitions to be a
prospector? Or an opal miner? Australia is the place to be,
mate!

Cheers,
Kangaroo16

"kangaroo16" wrote in message
...
For a easy comparison of the size of Australia compared
with Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, Lower 48 States USA, see
map overlays & other stats at:
http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts...ns/compare.htm

Climatic extremes link on left side of page is also of possible
interest.

Cheers,
Kangaroo16

Something that is not talked about enough I think is the sunshine.

Melbourne, Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch (NZ): 2100h/yr
Sydney: 2400h/yr
Brisbane, Perth: 2800h/yr

Miami (USA): 2800h/yr
San Francisco (USA): 3000h/yr
Los Angeles (USA): 3500h/yr
Yuma (USA, sunniest settlement on earth): 4100h/yr

The UK is well under 2000h/yr.

--
Cool reasons for moving to Australia or New Zealand and the flip-side
http://www.opiniondb.com/DoSurveyLis...c-2f0039ee3288

kangaroo16 wrote:

For a easy comparison of the size of Australia compared
with Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, Lower 48 States USA, see
map overlays & other stats at:
http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts...ns/compare.htm

Climatic extremes link on left side of page is also of possible
interest.

Cheers,
Kangaroo16

This is a great comparison, like the postcards we see of
Europe or the USA superimposed over Australia which show the
size of Australia,

Cheerz Wab.