Australia is located on the other side of the world and is the largest island in the world.

It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area.

• Its Population is about 19 million

• The currency is the Australian dollar

• It is a federation of 6 states

• The capital is Canberra

• English is the official language, but Chinese, Arabic, Italian and Greek are also widely spoken

• The head of government is the Prime minister and the head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. There are two houses of parliament : the Senate and the House of Representatives.

• Australia is a member of the Commonwealth

Australia has tropical, temperate and dry regions, with different weather conditions for each area.

• In the north there are the tropical regions: there is a six-month-long wet season with temperatures between 30 and 50 °C. The temperatures fall to about 20 °C in the dry season.

• The centre of Australia is the desert region. Here it is very hot during the day, and very cold at night. It’s usually 40°C in the summer and between 16 to 24 °C in the winter. At night, the temperature can fall to 0°C. There is also very little rain.

• The temperate region in the south has changeable weather with an average temperature of around 30°C in the summer, and 15°C in the winter.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world. In 1981 it became a UNESCO world heritage site because it has an immense variety of sea life.

The Great Barrier Reef is in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in north-eastern Australia. It’s the world’s largest coral reef and astronauts can see it from space!!

There are 2900 coral reefs and 900 islands in the barrier reef, it’s 2600 km long and its total area is bigger than Italy.

Tiny sea animals form coral which then develops into reefs. Coral grows very slowly and the Great Barrier Reef is about 500.000 years old.

Coral Reefs grow best in warm, shallow water in tropical seas and they are amazingly colourful with pink, red and orange coral, tropical fish and multi-colored plans.

The Great Barrier Reef is incredibly beautiful but it is also home to some of the most dangerous creatures on the earth for example the Stone Fish and the Blue Ringed Octopus.

Over 1500 species of fish and sea animals live there, from microscopic fish to turtles, dolphins and wales.

The star of the film ‘FINDING NEMO’ is a clown fish, and they are very common in the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral reefs are important to people because they protect the coast from big waves and provide food for people and the components of new medicines. Scientists can learn about the conditions of the ocean from Coral Reefs, too.

However, coral reefs are fragile. The 2 million visitors to the Great Barrier Reef every year damage the environment, but the biggest threat is climate change. The temperature of the sea is rising and this destroys coral. Coral reefs have survived for thousands of years, so there’s hope for the future of the Great Barrier Reef!!

Riccardo Z.