South Australia
From Wikinfo
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Area | |||||
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Population (2002) |
1 522 500 | ||||
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UTC+9:30 (except during daylight saving time�UTC+10:30) | |||||
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Highest point |
Mt Woodroffe (1 435 m) | ||||
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ISO 3166-2 code: |
AU-SA | ||||
South Australia is a state of Australia, located in the southern central part of the country. It covers an area of [[1 E11 m�|984,377]] km� (380,070 square miles). The terrain is largely arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges, notably the Mt Lofty-Flinders Ranges system which extends north about 800 kilometers from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens.
The first recorded sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when a Dutch ship examined the coastline. South Australia became a British colony in 1836 and joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The state's current population (at 2002) is approximately 1.52 million. Almost 75% of South Austrlians reside in the capital city, Adelaide, and nearly all others withion the relatively fertile areas near the south-eastern coast, or in the valley of the Murray River. The principal industries are wheat, wine and wool.
South Australia has boundaries with every other contiguous Australian state. Western Australia lies to its west; the Northern Territory — which was originally the Northern Territory of South Australia — lies to its north; its north eastern corner cuts a wedge into Queensland, while New South Wales and Victoria also lie to its east. The south coast fronts the Southern Ocean. South Australia's mean temperature range is 29�C in January and 15�C July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January can be up to 45�C.
The flag of South Australia was adopted on January 13, 1904; it is a British Blue Ensign faced with the state badge. The badge depicts a White-backed Magpie with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts.
Local Government Areas of South Australia
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "South_Australia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australia, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
