Australia is unparalleled inmany ways . It ’s home to a various array of landscapes and some of the mostunusual animalson Earth . The Land Down Under is also the only shoes on Earth that qualifies as both a country and a continent . The definition of acontinentisn’t as concrete as you might expect , but a few caliber help realise Australia that distinction .
The land mass ’s status as a land is indisputable . A nation isdefinedas “ a nation with its own government , occupying a finicky district , ” andsince 1901 , the Commonwealth of Australia — as it ’s formally known — has jibe that description .
Australia ’s claim to continent - exhaust hood is a bit shaky . There ’s no scientific definition used to categorise these geographical giants . They tend to be large land masses with their own tectonic plates , and isolate enough to nurture unique culture and plant and animal populations . These are n’t tough and fast principle , however . Europe and Asia share a architectonic plate , but their cultural conflict justify separating them into two Continent ( though the boundary separating one from the other is forever changing ) .
Why is Australia a continent but not an island?
Size is the most thin factor in Australia ’s case . It ’s the small-scale continent at 2.9 million substantial miles , and it ’s actuallycloser in size to Greenlandthan it is to South America . So what makes Australia a continent and Greenland an island ?
Australia ’s disparateness carries a lot of weight here . It ’s isolated location let it to support Indigenous radical of people with trenchant cultures as well as wildlife that ca n’t be found elsewhere on the satellite . The aboriginal cultures and animals of Greenland , however , can also be found in other portion of the Arctic .
The fact that Australia is both a country and a continent is wide known . Other slice of trifle — like Alaska being both the westernmost and easternmost State Department — are more obscure . Here aremore bizarre geography factsyou should live .
Have you got a Big doubtfulness you ’d like us to answer ? If so , permit us know by emailing us atbigquestions@mentalfloss.com .
A rendering of this story to begin with ran in 2022 and has been update for 2023 .
