Geography

Below is a map of Australia.  I am intrigued to find Sydney at the bottom right of the map, in my mind I've always pictured it in the top left.  Most of the population lives in the cities around the southeast corner of Australia.  The major cities include: Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne.  If we were to size up Australia and the United States which would be bigger?  Well if you take Australia and add the island Tasmania and you take the United States without Hawaii and Alaska, they would be approximately the same size in area.  The geography of Australia is quite simple.  Mountain ranges run along the east coast with the highest point being Mount Kosciusko.  Along the west coast are rolling hills which are described as quite barren and the rest of Australia between the east and west coasts is pure desert.  One of the most well known facts about Australia's geography is the Great Barrier Reef.  The reef is located off the northeast coast and is about 1,245 miles long.  The most important waterway is the Murray River, also known as the Murray-Darling River.  It is Australia's longest river as well as the most irrigated and used river.  As you can see 4 out of the 5 major cities are located near the Murray River.