Why is Australia sparsely populated? Is Australia a continent suitable for human habitation?

Australia had human footprints 50,000 years ago. Today, the ancestors of Australian aborigines migrated to Australia from Southeast Asia at that time. Since17th century, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and French from Europe have arrived here one after another. 1770, Britain officially declared its sovereignty over Australia. 1788 65438+1On October 26th, the British navigator arthur phillip led the first group of immigrants to settle in Sydney and raised the British flag in Sydney, so Australia officially became a British colony. For some time afterwards, Australia was once a British exile, and it was not until 185 1 that free immigrants began to surge. By the end of 19, Britain had established six colonies in Australia.

19011110, Australia's colonies were transformed into states, formed the Commonwealth of Australia, and became a federation or dominion within the British Empire, so it was a constitutional monarchy country. The monarch of Australia is the head of state. According to Australian federal law, the Australian monarch is the British monarch. 193 1 year, Australia gained independence in domestic and foreign affairs and became an independent country within the British Commonwealth. 1986 In Australia, King Elizabeth II signed the Australia Relations Act, which stipulated that the Supreme Court of Australia had the power of final adjudication, and British laws were no longer valid for Australia. 1999 Australia held a referendum on whether to replace the British emperor with the * * * peace system, and the final result was no.

Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and consists of the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Australia is surrounded by the sea, bordering New Zealand with tasman sea in the southeast, and facing East Timor, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea with Timor Sea and Torres Strait in the north.

Australia has a total area of 7.692 million square kilometers, accounting for the vast majority of land in Oceania. The coastline is 36,735 kilometers long. Although surrounded by water, desert and semi-desert account for 70% of Australia's area.

Australia can be divided into three regions: the eastern mountainous region, the central plain and the western plateau. The highest mountain in China, Kosciusko, is 2230 meters high, and the longest river, Melbourne River, is 3490 miles long. Lake Eyre in the middle is the lowest point in Australia, with an elevation of12m. On the east coast, there is the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world. The climate in the north is tropical, partly subtropical and mostly temperate. The annual average temperature in the north is 27℃, and that in the south is 65438 04℃. The inland areas are dry and lack of rain, with annual precipitation less than 200mm, and the eastern mountainous areas are 500- 1200mm.

Drinking water in Australia mainly depends on natural precipitation and other ways. The government prohibits the use of groundwater resources, because after investigation, it is difficult to recover groundwater resources once they are exploited. Australia's water supply mainly depends on dam storage. At present, major cities in Australia are generally short of water. Therefore, many cities have promulgated many rules and regulations to limit or save water, so Australia is one of the driest continents in the world.

This is the climate distribution map of Australia.

As can be seen from the picture, tropical desert and savanna climate occupy most of the land. Tropical deserts and savanna have harsh natural environments and are not suitable for human habitation. Crops cannot be planted in the tropical desert climate zone, and grassland animal husbandry can only be developed in the tropical grassland climate zone. Only the eastern and southern coastal areas are more suitable for human habitation.

Population of Australia: 2,465,438+300,000 (20 16)

Due to the developed economy and high agricultural technology, the population can continue to increase.