South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia, in the southern central part of the country, along the Southern Ocean. It covers an area of 984 377 km² (380 070 square miles). South Australia is known as both the Festival State and the Wine State and its capital is Adelaide. South Australia became a British province in 1836 and joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The state's population is approximately 1.53 million (2004). Most of those reside in the fertile coastal areas and in the valley of the Murray River.

Geography

The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges in which the most important mountains are the Mt Lofty-Flinders Ranges system which extends north about 800 kilometres from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. The western portion of the state consists of the sparsely-inhabited Nullarbor Plain. The principal industries and export of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced here.

Related Topics:
Flinders Ranges - Cape Jervis - Lake Torrens - Nullarbor Plain

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South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. The Northern Territory was originally the Northern Territory of South Australia, becoming a separate territory in 1911.

Related Topics:
Australian Capital Territory - Tasmania - Northern Territory

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South Australia's south coast is flanked by the Southern Ocean. Its mean temperature range is 29°C in January and 15°C in July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January can be up to 48°C.

Related Topics:
Southern Ocean - °C

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