RELIEF OF THE CONTINENT

water surface is -1% 

( English: Australia, from Latin: austrālis

'southern' )

The modern name of the continent appeared on maps relatively recently — in the early 20s of the XIX century. Before that, parts of the continent were called by names derived from the discoverers. So, the Northern lands of the Dutch called New Holland, the first English colony in the East was called New South Wales. It was only when captain Matthew Flinders of the Royal Navy sailed around the mainland in 1814 that the name "Australia"appeared. 

subtropical.
From North to South the distance between the extreme points

is 3219 km;
From West to East-3700 km.

The area of the mainland is 7631.5 thousand km2, with adjacent Islands (Tasmania, Kangaroo, Melville, etc.) - 7704.5 thousand km2. (i.e. 5% of the entire land mass of the planet) 
The Great barrier reef stretches along the East coast for 2,300 km.
The coastline is slightly indented. Large bays — Carpentaria in the North and the Great Australian-in the South. The large peninsulas of Cape York and Arnhem land are located to the North . 

the Pacific ocean: the Arafura, coral, Tasman, Timor seas; the

West and South — the Indian ocean. The major Islands of New Guinea and Tasmania are located near Australia. The world's largest coral reef, the Great barrier reef, stretches along the North-Eastern coast of Australia for more than 2000 km. 

в каких климатических поясах расположен материк?

It is not connected by

land to any other continent. Therefore, Australia, also bearing in mind its small size, is sometimes called the mainland-island.  

voyage of the Dutch sailors of the 17th century

The second

stage of the study of Australian — English and French Maritime expeditions 18 — first half 19 centuries. 

The third stage of the study of Australia — land expeditions of the first half of the 19th century.

The fourth stage of the study of Australia-inland expeditions of the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. 

Первая карта Австралии

More than half of the continent and the basins of

the Arafura sea, the Great Australian Gulf, etc. have a Foundation composed of ancient rocks of Archean age, the Foundation comes to the surface in the West, in the Central part and in the North of the continent, where ancient crystal shields stand out. 











There are no active volcanoes or earthquake zones 

by the end of the Jurassic period . The shape

of its land at that time did not exactly coincide with the modern one: to the North-East it extended as far as the southern part of New Guinea, while the North-Western part was filled with the waters of the Indian ocean. From the East and South-East, the ancient Australian platform was flanked by the aligned folded structures of the East Australian (Tasmanian) region, consisting of multi-age formations,. In the South, this area continued to Tasmania, which was then connected to the mainland. 

average height of the continent is 215 m; up to

95 % of the territory is located below 600 m above sea level (the lowest continent), with a series of leveling surfaces
Nullarbor plain, the Central plain, the plain of the Murray — darling, coastal plain of the Gulf of Carpentaria 

m high with isolated blocky mountains: Hamersley — in the

Northwest, Stirling and darling-in the southwest, McDonnell and Musgrave — in the center of the continent, in the middle part-lowlands with drying lakes and salt marshes. To the East, there is a Large Watershed. reaching its greatest width North of 28° s. the highest peaks are in the limestone Blue mountains and the Australian Alps (over 2000 m). The highest point of Kosciuszko (2230 m) is located in the Australian Alps. On the tops of the latter, there are forms of mountain-glacial relief.