The large deserts of central Australia mean that the vast majority of the population live on the shores of this enormous country. All capital cities, except for Canberra, are located on the coast.

The 'Super Pit' is approximately 3.5km long, 1.5km wide and 600m deep. The structure is big enough to be seen from space. The Super Pit was the biggest open gold mine in Australia until 2016, when it was surpassed by the Boddington gold mine, also in western Australia.

Australia is the world's sixth largest country, after Russia, Canada, China, the USA, and Brazil. While it is the smallest continental land mass, it is the world's largest island.

While Australia is located in the tropics, the country is 70% desert and the Australian Alps receive more snowfall than the Swiss Alps. However, there are no active volcanoes in Australia.

The black swan has been used as the emblem of Western Australia since the 1830s, although there is no record of any early official confirmation. It was officially confirmed as the state bird in 1973!

Stretching for 2,300 km, over an area of approximately 344,000 square kms, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world.