south australia
South Australia is a state of
south-central Australia,
occupying one of the dryest,
most barren parts of the continent.
It is
bounded by Western Australia on the west, Northern Territory on the
north, Queensland on the north and east, and New South Wales and
Victoria on the east.
On the south it fronts the Great Australian Bight
of the Antarctica Ocean.
The capital is Adelaide.
South Australia
occupies about one-eighth of
Australia's total land area, it is fourth in size among the nation's
eight states and territories. Its people make up less than 10 percent
of the Australian population, ranking fifth among the populations of
the states and territories.
Although isolation and its
distinctive British origins as an experiment in planned settlement have
produced a sense of local pride and identity, South Australia's
commercial links are strongest with Melbourne and Sydney.
The settled
parts of the state form the western end of a crescent of closely
settled and productive land in southeastern Australia that is the
economic heartland of the nation.
Area 379,900 square miles (984,000
square km). Pop. (1996) 1,427,936
