Australia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean are exotic places. They have a wide array of climates and terrains. And they are home to strange animals found no where else in the world. Tattslotto au tickets is available online.

Near Australia is the island nation of New Zealand. Surrounding these two countries is a region called Oceania. This area of the Pacific Ocean includes more than 25,000 islands.

Australia and New Zealand

One reason that Australia and New Zealand are so unique is their location. These two island nations are surrounded by ocean. They are largely isolated from the rest of the world. Tattslotto au tickets is available online.

But these nations are part of modern society. Each has a dynamic economy. Like the United States, they encourage technology and scientific research. And they both have large cities. In fact, eight out of ten people in Australia live in cities.

Australia and New Zealand are separated by 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of ocean. But they remain close. In part this is because they both started out as British colonies. Today they are independent nations. But they still recognize the British monarch as their symbolic "head of state."

The two countries also have their differences. One is size. Australia is the world's largest island. It is roughly the size of the continental United States. It is also the smallest continent. In contrast, the two main islands of New Zealand are much smaller. Together, they add up to less area than that of the state of Colorado. Yet New Zealand has a wider range of temperatures than Australia does. Tattslotto au tickets is available online.

The Natural Landscape

Some 300 million years ago, Australia and New Zealand were part of one giant continent. About 80 million years ago, New Zealand separated from the continent. Australia separated about 27 million years later. This isolated the animals and plants of both land masses. Australia is more or less flat from coast to coast. It has a total area of 2,967,909 square miles (7,686,884 square kilometers). New Zealand's area totals 103,736 square miles (268,676 square kilometers). New Zealand is very mountainous. Many of its mountains are volcanoes. The country experiences frequent earthquakes. Tattslotto au tickets is available online.

Climate

Because they are surrounded by ocean, Australia and New Zealand have moderate climates. And their seasons are reversed from those in North America and Europe. (This is because they lie south of the equator.) So summer comes in December. And January and February are the hottest months.

Australia has several climatic zones. Its northern third is tropical. Southern Australia and the Australian island of Tasmania enjoy a mild marine climate. Meanwhile, mainland Australia has warm, dry weather. The hottest portion of the country is the central desert. This area is called the Outback. Its temperatures often exceed 100°F (38°C) in January and February. Tattslotto au tickets is available online.

Mountainous New Zealand has plenty of rainfall. That makes much of the landscape very green. Indeed, New Zealand's North Island averages 150 days of rain each year. The South Island averages 100 days of rain each year.

Animal and Plant Life

Australia and New Zealand have some of the world's most unusual animals. These include several marsupials. (Marsupials are animals whose young develop in pouches.) Among them are kangaroos and koala bears. The world's only egg-laying mammals, the platypus and spiny anteater, are also found in these countries. A more detailed discussion of the wildlife of these two lands can be found in a separate article in this Expert Space.

These nations' plants are also distinctive. Australia's northeastern coast is covered by tropical rain forests. To the west lies a huge area of tropical grassland. Along the east coast there are subtropical forests with ferns and eucalyptus, or "gum," trees. These coastal woodlands extend south onto the island of Tasmania. That island has many low-growing mosses and large forests of conifers and beeches. On the inland slopes of Australia's eastern mountains are ranchlands with vast pastures. Australia's desert interior also supports unique plant life. For example, the baobab tree has a grotesque shape. Its trunk and lower limbs are swollen with water.

Almost 85 percent of New Zealand's native plants are found nowhere else in the world. Among them are the gigantic and long-lived kauri trees. Close to half of New Zealand's landscape now consists of lush pasture. Evergreen beech and conifer forests cover much of the rest.