Geography, Climate, and Culture of Continents

Posted on Jan 31, 2025 in Geography

Oceania-Australia

Australia is a large country; its capital is Canberra. With a population of 20 million people, only 8% of the population are native Aborigines.

Climate Zones

• Equatorial: Hot and wet all year because of the equator and sea.
• Desert: Less than 250mm of rain a year due to mountain ranges.
• Mediterranean: Hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters.

Factors that Affect Climate

• Latitude and Altitude: Every 100m increase in height, 1ºC decreases in temperature.
• Distance from the sea: The sea moderates the temperatures of the places next to it.
• Temperature and precipitation: Prevailing winds blow with the same characteristics from where they come.

Wildlife

Some animals in Australia are the Kangaroo, the Koala, Snakes, Spiders, Jellyfish, Sharks, Platypus…

Aboriginal Australia

Descendants of the first known human inhabitants in Oceania arrived between 70,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Dreamtime

Oral tradition based upon a dreamtime. This helps to explain the Aborigines’ deep connection to the land.

Africa

The second-largest and most populated continent and the poorest.

• Largest country – Sudan
• Smallest country – Seychelles

The economy depends on its resources (oil, diamonds, beaches…) and how the resources are managed by the Government. Less than ¼ of African nations are democratic.

Colonization of Africa

In the 1900s, Europeans started searching for new land. Lines were drawn over the continent, dividing the land between the Europeans. They didn’t care about the native tribes living there and sometimes forced them to live near rival tribes. As a result, there have been civil wars, which cause the country to be unstable and unable to develop.

Climate Zones

• Mediterranean: The sea moderates the temperature, wet, hot, normal rainfall.
• Desert: Less than 250mm of rain a year due to mountain ranges.
• Equatorial: Convectional rainfall, sun rays hit perpendicularly.

America

Climate Zones

• Mediterranean: Hot, dry summers, warm, wet winters because of the sea.
• Desert: Mountains stop the rain from reaching land.
• Equatorial: Hot and wet all year, convectional rainfall.