OzPedia- Australian Capital Territory

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Fact Page

Capital City:
XCanberra

Area:
2357 sq km

Population:
30, 000

Did you know?
More than 12 million trees havebeen planted in Canberra since the National Capital was founded.

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Geography
Australian Capital Territory is a small, fertile area within the state of New South Wales consisting of rolling grasslands called the Canberra Basin. It is ringed by the Australian Alps, Bimberi Range on the west and the Great Dividing Range on the east. Two major rivers flow through the Australian Capital Territory, they are the Murrumbidgee and Mologlo River. These rivers are the main source of water for the land, and the sufficient amounts makes the land perfect to grow crops and farm animals. The Australian Capital Territory has two recognised mountains, Mt. Franklin and Mt. Kelley.

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Climate
No matter how stormy the atmosphere gets inside Parliament House, you will most likely find the sun shining outside. Canberra averages more hours of sunshine than either Sydney or Melbourne.

ACT's lowland, including the city of Canberra, has an average annual rainfall of 630 mm, not evenly distributed throughout the year. The summers are hot and dry. Autumn is a tranquil time, as thousands of European trees display their dazzling colours. Winters are cold and usually dry. Snow is rare but not unheard of. As for spring, you can expect an occasional spring shower.

On the mountain slopes the rainfall is higher. The mountain ridges, where the slopes meet, have an even higher rainfall. The annual average may reach as high as 1500 mm. In winter the ground temperature frequently borders on freezing point. Here snow falls frequently.

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History
The Australian Capital Territory, an enclave within New South Wales, was ceded in 1911 but the history of Canberra can be traced back about 5,000 years to settlements of Aboriginal people. European settlement of the area began in 1824, and sheep herding was the primary activity.

Canberra is not only the Australian Capital Territory's capital but the nation's as well. Canberra is an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting place" and has been used since 1836 and made official in 1913. Canberra is therefore where the nation's federal Parliament is held but was not transferred from Melbourne, to a carefully planned Canberra, until 1927. The first Parliament House was opened in 1927 but a new larger subterranean Parliament House on Capital Hill opened in 1988 for Australia's bicentennial.

Canberra was designed by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin, as a part of a competition in which he won. An artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, part of Griffin's original design, is named after him.

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