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132-507: Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula . It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the south-east coast. Prime Head is the northernmost point of this peninsula. Some 20 kilometers southeast of Prime Head is Hope Bay with the year-round Argentinian Esperanza Base . It

264-479: A Mediterranean climate . The south-east ranges from oceanic (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring alpine and subpolar oceanic climates . The interior is arid to semi-arid . Driven by climate change , average temperatures have risen more than 1°C since 1960 . Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and bushfires . 2019

396-525: A belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Mitchell Grass Downs and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical Cape York Peninsula . The landscapes of the Top End and

528-824: A large wave of immigration from across Europe , with such immigrants referred to as " New Australians ". This required a relaxation of the white Australia policy , which was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish". A member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War , Australia participated in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by

660-509: A British explorer, who named the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula as Graham Land . The first European to land on the continent is also disputed. A 19th-century seal hunter , John Davis , was almost certainly the first. But, sealers were secretive about their movements and their logbooks were deliberately unreliable, to protect any new sealing grounds from competition. Between 1901 and 1904, Otto Nordenskjöld led

792-461: A date which later became Australia's national day . Most early settlers were convicts , transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once emancipated , convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law, which lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion , Australia's only successful coup d'état . During

924-434: A funneling effect, which channels the winds into the relatively narrow Drake Passage . Hope Bay , at 63°23′S 057°00′W  /  63.383°S 57.000°W  / -63.383; -57.000 , is near the northern extremity of the peninsula, Prime Head , at 63°13′S. Near the tip at Hope Bay is Sheppard Point . The part of the peninsula extending northeastwards from a line connecting Cape Kater to Cape Longing

1056-510: A maritime Antarctic climate, is the mildest part of the Antarctic Peninsula. Within this part of the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures exceed 0 °C (32 °F) for 3 or 4 months during the summer, and rarely fall below −10 °C (14 °F) during the winter. Farther south along the west coast and the northeast coast of the peninsula, mean monthly temperatures exceed 0 °C (32 °F) for only one or two months of summer and average around −15 °C (5 °F) in winter. The east coast of

1188-729: A marked increase in the number of research bases as Britain, Chile and Argentina competed to make claims over the same area. Meteorology and geology were the primary research subjects. Since the peninsula has the mildest climate in Antarctica, the highest concentration of research stations on the continent can be found there, or on the many nearby islands, and it is the part of Antarctica most often visited by tour vessels and yachts. Occupied bases include Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme , Bellingshausen Station , Carlini Base , Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station , Palmer Station , Rothera Research Station , and San Martín Base . Today on

1320-472: A point on the mainland south of the Eklund Islands . Beneath the ice sheet that covers it, the Antarctic Peninsula consists of a string of bedrock islands; these are separated by deep channels whose bottoms lie at depths considerably below current sea level. They are joined by a grounded ice sheet. Tierra del Fuego , the southernmost tip of South America , is about 1,000 km (620 miles) away across

1452-510: A reduction in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Initially, during the Eocene, this climate cooling resulted in a decrease in diversity of the angiosperm-dominated vegetation that inhabited the northern Antarctic Peninsula. During the Oligocene, about 34–23  Ma , these woodlands were replaced by a mosaic of southern beech ( Nothofagus ) and conifer-dominated woodlands and tundra as

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1584-581: A settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ), and in 1813, Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement. The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major Edmund Lockyer established a settlement on King George Sound (modern-day Albany ). The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth )

1716-562: A short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Mount Augustus , claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak , at 2,745 m (9,006 ft), on the remote Australian external territory of Heard Island , and, in

1848-411: A wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre. The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density

1980-436: Is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne. In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland. Forest cover is around 17% of Australia's total land area. The Great Barrier Reef , the world's largest coral reef, lies

2112-438: Is 35 cm (14 in) or less with occasional rain. Along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula south of 63° S, precipitation ranges from 10 to 15 cm (3.9 to 5.9 in). In comparison, the subantarctic islands have precipitation of 100–200 cm (39–79 in) per year and the dry interior of Antarctica is a virtual desert with only 10 cm (3.9 in) precipitation per year. The climate in and around

2244-413: Is a constitutional monarchy , a parliamentary democracy and a federation . The country has maintained its mostly unchanged constitution alongside a stable liberal democratic political system since Federation in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Australian system of government combines elements derived from

2376-564: Is a cormorant which is native to many sub-Antarctic islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America. Also present are the Antarctic petrel , Antarctic shag , king penguin , macaroni penguin , and Arctic tern . Although this very remote part of the world has never been inhabited and is protected by the Antarctic Treaty System , which bans industrial development, waste disposal and nuclear testing, there

2508-909: Is a middle power , and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure . It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20 ; the OECD ; the World Trade Organization ; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ; the Pacific Islands Forum ; the Pacific Community ; the Commonwealth of Nations ; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS , AUKUS , and the Five Eyes . It

2640-753: Is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə / in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ( ' southern land ' ), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia. When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in

2772-635: Is an active volcano at the southern end of this rift zone. Notable fossil locations include the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island , Early Cretaceous sediments in Byers Peninsula on Livingston Island , and the sediments on Seymour Island , which include the Cretaceous extinction . The peninsula is very mountainous, its highest peaks rising to about 2,800 m (9,200 ft). Notable peaks on

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2904-681: Is called the Trinity Peninsula. Brown Bluff is a rare tuya and Sheppard Nunatak is found here also. The Airy , Seller , Fleming and Prospect Glaciers form the Forster Ice Piedmont along the west coast of the peninsula. Charlotte Bay , Hughes Bay and Marguerite Bay are all on the west coast as well. On the east coast is the Athene Glacier ; the Arctowski and Åkerlundh Nunataks are both just off

3036-466: Is currently dotted with numerous research stations, and nations have made multiple claims of sovereignty . The peninsula is part of disputed and overlapping claims by Argentina , Chile , and the United Kingdom . None of these claims have international recognition and, under the Antarctic Treaty System , the respective countries do not attempt to enforce their claims. The British claim, however,

3168-438: Is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world . It has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally . Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. Australia

3300-697: Is evident in the Scotia Metamorphic Complex, which outcrops on Elephant Island , along with Clarence and Smith Islands of the South Shetland Islands . The Drake Passage opened about 30 Ma as Antarctica separated from South America. The South Shetland Island separated from Graham Land about 4 Ma as a volcanic rift formed within the Bransfield Strait . Three dormant submarine volcanoes along this rift include The Axe, Three Sisters, and Orca. Deception Island

3432-629: Is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth. Having been part of all major supercontinents , the Australian continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian , with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in

3564-475: Is recognised by Australia , France , New Zealand , and Norway . Argentina has the most bases and personnel stationed on the peninsula. The most likely first sighting of the Antarctic Peninsula, and therefore also of the whole Antarctic mainland, was on 27 January 1820 by an expedition of the Imperial Russian Navy led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen . But the party did not recognize as

3696-679: Is still a threat to these fragile ecosystems from increasing tourism, primarily on cruises across the Southern Ocean from the port of Ushuaia , Argentina . A rich record of fossil leaves, wood, pollen, and flowers demonstrates that flowering plants thrived in subtropical climates within the volcanic island arcs that occupied the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Cretaceous and very early Paleogene periods. The analysis of fossil leaves and flowers indicates that semitropical woodlands, which were composed of ancestors of plants that live in

3828-617: Is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains , which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. At

3960-411: Is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds , and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic . Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world. Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in

4092-661: The Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name. The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office . Colloquial names for Australia include " Oz ", " Straya " and " Down Under ". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from the 1964 book of

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4224-612: The Antarctic Circle , is the most northerly part of Antarctica, it has the mildest climates within this continent. Its climate is therefore classified as a tundra , rather than an ice cap . Its temperatures are warmest in January, averaging 1 to 2 °C (34 to 36 °F), and coldest in June, averages from −15 to −20 °C (5 to −4 °F). Its west coast from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula south to 68° S , which has

4356-512: The Antarctic hair grass ( Deschampsia antarctica ) and Antarctic pearlwort ( Colobanthus quitensis ) are found on the northern and western parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, including offshore islands, where the climate is relatively mild. Lagotellerie Island in Marguerite Bay is an example of this habitat. Xanthoria elegans and Caloplaca are visible crustose lichens seen on coastal rocks. Antarctic krill are found in

4488-500: The Australia Acts of 1986. Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories . Its population of more than 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne , both with a population of more than 5 million. Australia's culture

4620-675: The Cretaceous to present times, and outcrops are found along the Gerlache Strait , the Lemaire Channel , Argentine Islands , and Adelaide Island . These rocks in western Graham Land include andesite lavas and granite from the magma , and indicate Graham Land was a continuation of the Andes . This line of volcanoes are associated with subduction of the Phoenix Plate . Metamorphism associated with this subduction

4752-473: The Drake Passage . The Antarctic Peninsula is 522,000 square kilometres (202,000 sq mi) in area and 80% ice-covered. The marine ecosystem around the western continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has been subjected to rapid climate change . Over the past 50 years, the warm, moist maritime climate of the northern WAP has shifted south. This climatic change increasingly displaces

4884-675: The Gondwanaland supercontinent. Analysis of paleontologic, stratigraphic, and sedimentologic data acquired from the study of drill core and seismic acquired during the Shallow Drilling on the Antarctic Continental Shelf (SHALDRIL) and other projects and from fossil collections from and rock outcrops within Alexander, James Ross, King George, Seymour, and South Shetland Islands has yielded a record of

5016-595: The Gulf Country —with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley , and below that the Pilbara . The Victoria Plains tropical savanna lies south of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts. At

5148-551: The Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , which is correlated with periodic drought , and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ( monsoon ). The south-west corner of the country has

5280-539: The Iraq War from 2003 to 2009. The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , several of Australia's largest cities were locked down for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow

5412-664: The Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia , and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. As a result of a 1967 referendum , the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the census . Pre-colonial land interests (referred to as native title in Australia) was recognised in law for

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5544-474: The Permian and continuing through to the Cretaceous . When the last glacial period ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed Bass Strait , separating Tasmania from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the Aru Islands , and the mainland of Australia. The Australian continent is moving toward Eurasia at

5676-564: The Swedish Antarctic Expedition , one of the first expeditions to explore parts of Antarctica. They landed on the Antarctic Peninsula in February 1902, aboard the ship Antarctic , which sank not far from the peninsula. All crew were rescued by an Argentine ship. The British Graham Land expedition between 1934 and 1937 carried out aerial surveys using a de Havilland Fox Moth aircraft, and concluded that Graham Land

5808-686: The Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975. In 1914, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front . Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as

5940-528: The Torres Strait Islands . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made, a number of shipwrecks left men either stranded or, as in the case of the Batavia in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit

6072-696: The bombing of Darwin and other Japanese attacks on Australian soil , led to a widespread belief in Australia that a Japanese invasion was imminent , and a shift from the United Kingdom to the United States as Australia's principal ally and security partner. Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the ANZUS treaty. In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. Governments encouraged

6204-628: The dinosaur genus Antarctopelta , which was the first dinosaur fossil to be found on Antarctica. Paleogene and Early Eocene marine sediments that outcrop on Seymour Island contain plant-rich horizons. The fossil plants are dominated by permineralized branches of conifers and compressions of angiosperm leaves, and are found within carbonate concretions. These Seymour Island region fossils date to about 51.5–49.5  Ma and are dominated by leaves, cone scales, and leafy branches of Araucarian conifers, very similar in all respects to living Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle) from Chile. They suggest that

6336-426: The emu and the kookaburra . Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE . Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna ; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them

6468-595: The governor-general at the federal level and by the governors at the state level, who by section 63 of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers. Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise reserve powers : powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised

6600-408: The killer whale . The animals of Antarctica live on food they find in the sea—not on land—and include seabirds , seals and penguins . The seals include: leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ), Weddell seal ( Leptonychotes weddellii ), the huge southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina ), and crabeater seal ( Lobodon carcinophagus ). Penguin species found on the peninsula, especially near

6732-409: The last glacial period . By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had the oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales . By the mid-19th century, most of

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6864-440: The paleontology , sedimentology , stratigraphy , structural geology , and volcanology of glacial and nonglacial deposits of the Antarctic Peninsula has allowed the reconstruction of the paleoclimatology and prehistoric ice sheet fluctuation of it for over the last 100 million years. This research shows the dramatic changes in climate, which have occurred within this region after it reached its approximate position within

6996-548: The sixth-largest country in the world and the largest country by area in Oceania . It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country , and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast . The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during

7128-661: The "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity . The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day , a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the Second World War. Australia's armed forces fought in the Pacific , European and Mediterranean and Middle East theatres . The shock of Britain's defeat in Singapore in 1942, followed soon after by

7260-587: The "island continent" and is sometimes considered the world's largest island . Australia has 34,218 km (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south , and longitudes 112° and 154° east . Australia's size gives it

7392-443: The 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland , a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland ) and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. The name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders , who said it

7524-428: The 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species. Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the dingo to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age—perhaps 4000 years ago—and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of thylacines on

7656-416: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index . There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals. Paleontologists discovered a fossil site of a prehistoric rainforest in McGraths Flat , in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid desert and dry shrubland / grassland was once home to an abundance of life. Australia

7788-536: The Antarctic Circle during the Cretaceous Period. The Fossil Bluff Group , which outcrops within Alexander Island , provides a detailed record, which includes paleosols and fossil plants, of Middle Cretaceous ( Albian ) terrestrial climates. The sediments that form the Fossil Bluff Group accumulated within a volcanic island arc , which now forms the bedrock backbone of the Antarctic Peninsula, in prehistoric floodplains and deltas and offshore as submarine fans and other marine sediments. As reflected in

7920-406: The Antarctic Peninsula formed as the bedrock islands underlying it were overridden and joined by an ice sheet in the early Pliocene about 5.3–3.6  Ma . During the Quaternary period, the size of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has fluctuated in response to glacial–interglacial cycles. During glacial epochs, this ice sheet was significantly thicker than it is currently and extended to the edge of

8052-404: The Antarctic Peninsula is changing dramatically in 2024. The most recent temperature recorded was 10°C, which is higher than the peninsula region's average and deviates from the patterns of typical temperatures. The peninsula is getting very much affected by these sudden climate changes. In past years, researchers have seen northwesterly winds over the peninsula, and it is proven that this is one of

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8184-567: The Antarctic Peninsula northward of a line between Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz ; and Palmer Land the part southward of that line, which is roughly 69° S. Palmer Land is named for the United States seal hunter Nathaniel Palmer . The Chilean name for the feature, O'Higgins Land, is in honor of Bernardo O'Higgins , the Chilean patriot and Antarctic visionary. Most other Spanish-speaking countries call it la Península Antártica , though Argentina also officially refers to this as Tierra de San Martín ; as of 2018 Argentina has more bases and personnel in

8316-448: The Antarctic Peninsula south of 63° S is generally much colder, with mean temperatures exceeding 0 °C (32 °F) for at most one month of summer, and winter mean temperatures ranging from −5 to −25 °C (23 to −13 °F). The colder temperatures of the southeast, Weddell Sea side, of the Antarctic Peninsula are reflected in the persistence of ice shelves that cling to the eastern side. Precipitation varies greatly within

8448-420: The Antarctic Peninsula there are many abandoned scientific and military bases. Argentina's Esperanza Base was the birthplace of Emilio Marcos Palma , the first person to be born in Antarctica. The grounding of the Argentine ship the ARA Bahía Paraíso and subsequent 170,000 US gal (640,000 L; 140,000 imp gal) oil spill occurred near the Antarctic Peninsula in 1989. Antarctica

8580-463: The Antarctic Peninsula was overridden by an ice sheet, which has persisted without any interruption to this day, in the early Pliocene, about 5.3–3.6  Ma . Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km (2,968,464 sq mi), making it

8712-423: The Antarctic Peninsula. From the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula to 68° S, precipitation averages 35–50 cm (14–20 in) per year. A good portion of this precipitation falls as rain during the summer, on two-thirds of the days of the year, and with little seasonal variation in amounts. Between about 68° S and 63° S on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and along its northeast coast, precipitation

8844-500: The Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies , at 3,492 m (11,457 ft) and 3,355 m (11,007 ft) respectively. Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in height. The coastal uplands and

8976-438: The Australian mainland. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken , captained by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated

9108-399: The Corporation of Trinity House , Britain's historical maritime pilotage authority, although the precise application by him has not been identified with certainty and is a matter of different interpretation by Antarctic historians. On 16 November 1820, nearly a year after the peninsula's discovery by Bransfield, American explorer Nathaniel Palmer and his crew become the first to land on

9240-464: The Cretaceous thermal maximum the climate, both regionally and globally, appears to have cooled as seen in the Antarctic fossil wood record. Later, warm high-latitude climates returned to the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Paleocene and early Eocene as reflected in fossil plants. Abundant plant and marine fossils from Paleogene marine sediments that outcrop on Seymour Island indicate the presence of cool and moist, high-latitudes environment during

9372-417: The Late Cretaceous ( Coniacian and Santonian -early Campanian ) strata of the Hidden Lake and Santa Maria formations, which outcrop within James Ross , Seymour , and adjacent islands, indicate that this emergent volcanic island arc enjoyed warm temperate or subtropical climates with adequate moisture for growth and without extended periods of below freezing winter temperatures. After the peak warmth of

9504-511: The adjacent parts of the prehistoric Antarctic Peninsula were covered by forests that grew in a cool and moist, high-latitude environment during the early Eocene. During the Cenozoic climatic cooling, the Antarctic Peninsula was the last region of Antarctica to have been fully glaciated according to current research. As a result, this region was probably the last refugium for plants and animals that had inhabited Antarctica after it separated from

9636-632: The centre and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins , metamorphic and igneous rocks in the east. The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and have no active volcanoes, but due to passing over the East Australia hotspot , recent volcanism has occurred during the Holocene , in the Newer Volcanics Province of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in

9768-437: The changes in terrestrial vegetation that occurred within the Antarctic Peninsula over the course of the past 37 million years. This research found that vegetation within the Antarctic Peninsula changed in response to a progressive climatic cooling that started with the initiation of mountain glaciation in the latest Eocene, about 37–34  Ma . The cooling was contemporaneous with glaciation elsewhere in Antarctica and

9900-407: The climate continued to cool. By middle Miocene, 16–11.6  Ma , a tundra landscape completely replaced any remaining woodlands. At this time, woodlands became completely extirpated from the Antarctic Peninsula and all of Antarctica. A tundra landscape probably persisted until about 12.8  Ma when the transition from a temperate, alpine glaciation to a dynamic ice sheet occurred. Eventually,

10032-409: The climate optimum, a distinct climate cooling, which lasted until historic times, occurred. The Antarctic Peninsula is a part of the world that is experiencing extraordinary warming. Each decade for the last five, average temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have risen by 0.5 °C (0.90 °F). Ice mass loss on the peninsula occurred at a rate of 60 billion tons / year in 2006, with

10164-545: The colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums , resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution . After the 1907 Imperial Conference , Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing dominions within the British Empire. Australia

10296-455: The continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , and culminating in

10428-847: The continent. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named " New South Wales " and claimed for Great Britain. Following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet , under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales . A camp was set up and the Union Flag raised at Sydney Cove , Port Jackson , on 26 January 1788,

10560-620: The continental shelves. During interglacial epochs, the West Antarctica Ice Sheet was thinner than during glacial epochs and its margins lay significantly inland of the continental margins. During the Last Glacial Maximum , about 20,000 to 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet covering the Antarctic Peninsula was significantly thicker than it is now. Except for a few isolated nunataks , the Antarctic Peninsula and its associated islands were completely buried by

10692-594: The convict system culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868. The six colonies individually gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire . The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs. In

10824-459: The early 2010s after the 2000s Australian drought . Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests . Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota

10956-474: The early Eocene. Detailed studies of the paleontology, sedimentology, and stratigraphy of glacial and nonglacial deposits within the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Weddell Sea and its Pacific continental shelf have found that it has become progressively glaciated as the climate of Antarctica dramatically and progressively cooled during the last 37 million years. This progressive cooling

11088-504: The east coast. A number of smaller peninsulas extend from the main Antarctic Peninsula, including Hollick-Kenyon Peninsula and Prehn Peninsula at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Also located here are the Scaife Mountains . The Eternity Range is found in the middle of the peninsula. Other geographical features include Avery Plateau , the twin towers of Una Peaks . Because the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches north of

11220-558: The emergent parts of the volcanic island arc, the eroded roots of which now form the central part of the Antarctic Peninsula, were covered by either warm temperate or subtropical forests. These fossil plants are indicative of tropical and subtropical forest at high paleolatitudes during the Middle and Late Cretaceous, which grew in climates without extended periods of below freezing winter temperatures and with adequate moisture for growth. The Cretaceous strata of James Ross Island also yielded

11352-772: The first time when the High Court of Australia held in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that Australia was neither terra nullius ( ' land belonging to no one ' ) or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement. Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy in 1973, Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia. The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other Pacific Rim nations. The Australia Acts severed

11484-572: The greatest change occurring in the northern tip of the peninsula. Seven ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have retreated or disintegrated in the last two decades. Research by the United States Geological Survey has revealed that every ice front on the southern half of the peninsula experienced a retreat between 1947 and 2009. According to a study by the British Antarctic Survey , glaciers on

11616-412: The heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia . Prominent features of the centre and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland Simpson , Tirari and Sturt Stony , Gibson , Great Sandy, Tanami , and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast. The Western Australian mulga shrublands lie between

11748-494: The ice sheet from the Pacific outer continental shelf and the continental margin within the Weddell Sea. Within the Weddell Sea, the transition from grounded ice to a floating ice shelf occurred about 10,000 years ago. The deglaciation of some locations within the Antarctic Peninsula continued until 4,000 to 3,000 years ago. Within the Antarctic Peninsula, an interglacial climatic optimum occurred about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. After

11880-474: The ice sheet is melting nonstop. Because of issues concerning global climate change, the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Weddell Sea and its Pacific continental shelf have been the subject of intensive geologic, paleontologic, and paleoclimatic research by interdisciplinary and multinational groups over the last several decades. The combined study of the glaciology of its ice sheet and

12012-438: The ice sheet. In addition, the ice sheet extended past the present shoreline onto the Pacific outer continental shelf and completely filled the Weddell Sea up to the continental margin with grounded ice. The deglaciation of the Antarctic Peninsula largely occurred between 18,000 and 6,000 years ago as an interglacial climate was established in the region. It initially started about 18,000 to 14,000 years ago with retreat of

12144-479: The interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate Southwest Australia . Lying on the Indo-Australian Plate , the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history. The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning more than 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The Pilbara Craton

12276-417: The island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands . Seismic activity in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including

12408-604: The land by pack ice . Separating the peninsula from nearby islands are the Antarctic Sound , Erebus and Terror Gulf , George VI Sound , Gerlache Strait and the Lemaire Channel . The Lemaire Channel is a popular destination for tourist cruise ships that visit Antarctica. Further to the west lies the Bellingshausen Sea and in the north is the Scotia Sea . The Antarctic Peninsula and Cape Horn create

12540-494: The location for the future federal capital of Canberra . While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia became the colonial ruler of the Territory of Papua (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the Territory of New Guinea (formerly German New Guinea ) in 1920. The two were unified as

12672-406: The mainland what they thought was an icefield covered by small hillocks. Three days later, on 30 January 1820, Edward Bransfield and William Smith , with a British expedition, were the first to chart part of the Antarctic Peninsula. This area was later to be called Trinity Peninsula and is the extreme northeast portion of the peninsula. The next confirmed sighting was in 1832 by John Biscoe ,

12804-448: The mainland. Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions; wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna ); a host of marsupials , including the kangaroo , koala , and wombat , and birds such as

12936-474: The mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior. A series of gold rushes beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from China , North America and continental Europe, as well as outbreaks of bushranging and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when Ballarat miners launched the Eureka Rebellion against gold license fees. The 1860s saw

13068-616: The most common on the Antarctic Peninsula are the chinstrap and gentoo, with the only breeding colony of emperor penguins in West Antarctica an isolated population on the Dion Islands , in Marguerite Bay on the west coast of the peninsula. Most emperor penguins breed in East Antarctica. Seabirds of the Southern Ocean and West Antarctica found on the peninsula include: southern fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialoides ),

13200-602: The next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court , saw the penal colony transition to a civil society. The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal groups . As settlement expanded, tens of thousands of Indigenous people and thousands of settlers were killed in frontier conflicts while settlers dispossessed surviving Indigenous peoples of most of their land. In 1803,

13332-552: The once dominant cold, dry continental Antarctic climate. This regional warming has caused multi-level responses in the marine ecosystem such as increased heat transport , decreased sea ice extent and duration, local declines in ice-dependent Adélie penguins , increase in ice-tolerant gentoo and chinstrap penguins, accelerated greening due to the spread of moss, alterations in phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition as well as changes in krill recruitment, abundance and availability to predators. The Antarctic Peninsula

13464-494: The peninsula are not only retreating but also increasing their flow rate as a result of increased buoyancy in the lower parts of the glaciers. Professor David Vaughan has described the disintegration of the Wilkins Ice Shelf as the latest evidence of rapid warming in the area. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been unable to determine the greatest potential effect on sea level rise that glaciers in

13596-402: The peninsula include Deschanel Peak , Mounts Castro , Coman , Gilbert , Jackson , William , Owen , Scott , and Hope , which is the highest point at 3,239 m (10,627 ft), Mount William , Mount Owen and Mount Scott . These mountains are considered to be a continuation of the Andes of South America , with a submarine spine or ridge connecting the two. This is the basis for

13728-552: The peninsula is typical Antarctic tundra . The peninsula has a sharp elevation gradient, with glaciers flowing into the Larsen Ice Shelf , which experienced significant breakup in 2002. Other ice shelves on the peninsula include the George VI , Wilkins , Wordie and Bach Ice Shelves . The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf lies to the east of the peninsula. Islands along the peninsula are mostly ice-covered and connected to

13860-466: The peninsula than any other nation. Other portions of the peninsula are named by and after the various expeditions that discovered them, including the Bowman , Black , Danco , Davis , English , Fallières , Nordenskjöld , Loubet , and Wilkins Coasts . The first Antarctic research stations were established during World War II by a British military operation, Operation Tabarin . The 1950s saw

13992-436: The peninsula. 63°37′S 058°20′W  /  63.617°S 58.333°W  / -63.617; -58.333 This Trinity Peninsula , Antarctica, location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula is part of the larger peninsula of West Antarctica , protruding 1,300 km (810 miles) from a line between Cape Adams ( Weddell Sea ) and

14124-401: The plant fossils, paleosols, and climate models, the climate was warm, humid, and seasonally dry. According to climate models, the summers were dry and winters were wet. The rivers were perennial and subject to intermittent flooding as the result of heavy rainfall. Warm high-latitude climates reached a peak during the mid-Late Cretaceous Cretaceous Thermal Maximum . Plant fossils found within

14256-428: The political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive , constitutional monarchy and strong party discipline ) and the United States ( federalism , a written constitution and strong bicameralism with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid. Federal government power is partially separated between three groups: Charles III reigns as King of Australia and is represented in Australia by

14388-479: The position advanced by Chile and Argentina for their territorial claims. The Scotia Arc is the island arc system that links the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula to those of Tierra del Fuego . There are various volcanoes in the islands around the Antarctic Peninsula. This volcanism is related to extensional tectonics in Bransfield Rift to the west and Larsen Rift to the east. The landscape of

14520-594: The protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention , and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on

14652-480: The rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year. The Australian mainland's continental crust , excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38   km, with a range in thickness from 24 km to 59 km. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean cratonic shields found mostly in the west, Proterozoic fold belts in

14784-461: The reasons for the peninsula constantly melting and snow sublimation in 2024. Researchers are observing similar situations in 2024. Melting events have been observed on the eastern and western sides of the Peninsula in February and March. All three are contributing to the melting of ice in several Antarctic Peninsula areas, such as Larsen C and B. Furthermore, data from NASA's research indicates that

14916-516: The region may cause. The coasts of the peninsula have the mildest climate in Antarctica and moss and lichen -covered rocks are free of snow during the summer months, although the weather is still intensely cold and the growing season very short. The plant life today is mainly mosses, lichens and algae adapted to this harsh environment, with lichens preferring the wetter areas of the rocky landscape. The most common lichens are Usnea and Bryoria species. Antarctica's two flowering plant species,

15048-545: The remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia . In a 1999 constitutional referendum , 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021 and

15180-419: The resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement had been established between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers , visiting from present-day Indonesia. The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on

15312-491: The rise of blackbirding , where South Sea Islanders were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, Australian colonial governments began removing many Aboriginal children from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation policies. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces . On 1 January 1901, federation of

15444-549: The same name ), "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar 's 1908 poem " My Country ". Indigenous Australians comprise two broad groups: Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. It

15576-465: The scavenging southern giant petrel ( Macronectes giganteus ), Cape petrel ( Daption capense ), snow petrel ( Pagodroma nivea ), the small Wilson's storm-petrel ( Oceanites oceanicus ), imperial shag ( Phalacrocorax atriceps ), snowy sheathbill ( Chionis alba ), the large south polar skua ( Catharacta maccormicki ), brown skua ( Catharacta lönnbergi ), kelp gull ( Larus dominicanus ), and Antarctic tern ( Sterna vittata ). The imperial shag

15708-432: The seas surrounding the peninsula and the rest of the continent. The crabeater seal spends most of its life in the same waters feeding on krill. Bald notothen is a cryopelagic fish that lives in sub-zero water temperatures around the peninsula. Vocalizations of the sei whale can be heard emanating from the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. Whales include the Antarctic minke whale , dwarf minke whale , and

15840-741: The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus . Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country by total area , Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed

15972-406: The thylacine. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced animal, chromistan , fungal and plant species. All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for

16104-1029: The time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups . Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million. Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with the land and the environment, with stories of The Dreaming maintained through oral tradition , songs , dance and paintings. Certain groups engaged in fire-stick farming , fish farming , and built semi-permanent shelters . These practices have variously been characterised as " hunter-gatherer ", " agricultural ", "natural cultivation" and "intensification". Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands at least 2,500 years ago. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and

16236-465: The tip and surrounding islands, include the chinstrap penguin , emperor penguin , gentoo penguin and the Adélie penguin . Petermann Island is the world's southernmost colony of gentoo penguins. The exposed rocks on the island is one of many locations on the peninsula that provides a good habitat for rookeries . The penguins return each year and may reach populations of more than ten thousand. Of these

16368-938: The tropics today, thrived within this region during a global thermal maximum with summer temperatures that averaged 20 °C (68 °F). The oldest fossil plants come from the middle Cretaceous (Albian) Fossil Bluff Group, which outcrop along the edge of Alexander Island. These fossils reveal that at this time the forests consisted of large conifers , with mosses and ferns in the undergrowth. The paleosols, in which trees are rooted, have physical characteristics indicative of modern soils that form under seasonally dry climates with periodic high rainfall. Younger Cretaceous strata, which outcrop within James Ross, Seymour, and adjacent islands, contain fossil plants of Late Cretaceous angiosperms with leaf morphotypes that are similar to those of living families such as Sterculiaceae, Lauraceae, Winteraceae, Cunoniaceae, and Myrtaceae. They indicate that

16500-531: Was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst . In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824,

16632-615: Was Australia's warmest recorded year, and the 2019–2020 bushfire season was the country's worst on record . Australia's greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought. Throughout much of the continent, major flooding regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in

16764-442: Was contemporaneous with a reduction in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. During this climatic cooling, the Antarctic Peninsula was probably the last region of Antarctica to have been fully glaciated . Within the Antarctic Peninsula, mountain glaciation was initiated during the latest Eocene, about 37–34  Ma . The transition from temperate, alpine glaciation to a dynamic ice sheet occurred about 12.8  Ma . At this time,

16896-413: Was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia . In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, South Australia in 1836, New Zealand in 1841, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts. Growing opposition to

17028-480: Was first sighted on 30 January 1820 by Edward Bransfield , Master, Royal Navy , immediately after his charting of the newly discovered South Shetland Islands nearby. In the century following the peninsula's discovery, chartmakers used various names (Trinity Land, Palmer Land, and Land of Louis Philippe) for this portion of it, each name having some historical merit. The recommended name derives from "Trinity Land", given by Bransfield during 1820 in likely recognition of

17160-526: Was not an archipelago but a peninsula. Agreement on the name "Antarctic Peninsula" by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names and UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1964 resolved a long-standing difference over the use of the United States' name "Palmer Peninsula" or the British name "Graham Land" for this geographic feature. This dispute was resolved by making Graham Land the part of

17292-814: Was once part of the Gondwana supercontinent . Outcrops from this time include Ordovician and Devonian granites and gneiss found in the Scar Inlet and Joerg Peninsula , while the Carboniferous - Triassic Trinity Peninsula Group are sedimentary rocks that outcrop in Hope Bay and Prince Gustav Channel . Ring of Fire volcanic rocks erupted in the Jurassic , with the breakup of Gondwana, and outcrop in eastern Graham Land as volcanic ash deposits. Volcanism along western Graham Land dates from

17424-579: Was one of the founding members of the League of Nations in 1920, and the United Nations in 1945. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as

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