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Approximately 75 percent of Australia's land is desert with dry grassland. Some people think of a desert as miles of wasteland. In this case that statement is inaccurate. Many mineral resources are mined and found in Australia. Some of which are world-leading sources. Australia is a good producing country of gold, coal, diamonds, iron ore, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, uranium and even more. Astonishingly, the desert areas are great for farmland. Useful soil resources are found around the country. Even though most of Australia is desert, new irrigation techniques have helped make Australia a leading agriculture producer.
Like the United States, Australia's manufacturing activity had a great growth after World War II. Lots of goods are produced in Melbourne and New South Wales. Products such as metals, electronic equipment, construction equipment, and aircraft's are manufactured in New South Wales. Some people in Melbourne have jobs manufacturing vehicles and types of machinery. They also might produce goods such as food and clothing. Also a small city outside of Melbourne has many motor and wool factories. In the isolated island of Tasmania, zinc mills and paper mills are some common industries that use hydroelectric power.
Transportation in Australia includes motor vehicles, airplanes, and many others. Air transportation is an important factor in the Australian economy because the settlements of Australia are spread throughout the country. Approximately 408 airports were recorded in 1998. Amazingly two thirds of the roads are either dirt or gravel. There are 913,000 highways and only 353,331 are paved. The communication systems of Australia are similar to ours. They consist of telephones, radios, and others. There are more than 8.7 million telephones in the country of Australia. Telephone services are said to be very fair in Australia. Like USA, Australia has the AM and FM radio stations.
Tourism is a big part of Australia. Not only are the sandy beaches with clear, blue water tempting but there are very many other activities you can participate in. Many of the National parks are a large attraction. They also enjoy zoos and nature reserves. Because of Australia's rare creatures the reserves are extremely important. In the summer tourists can enjoy boating races and tennis. Tennis is a very big sport here. There are over 8,000 tennis clubs established in Australia. Basketball and boxing also attract thousands of viewers who enjoy indoor sports.
Farming in Australia has been important since Australia was discovered. The farmers in Australia are very good at keeping their crops alive. They keep very close watch as to what these crops need. Irrigation is also a very important factor in their well grown crops. 28% of all crops are grown with irrigation along with fertilizers applied to the soil where it is needed. More than 40% of Australia's export profit comes from farming. Over 60% of Australia's land is used for farming. These crops include wheat, barley, sugarcane, and fruits.
Ranching is also important in Australia. There are very many cattle ranches located in Australia as well as sheep ranches. Poultry is also raised widely across Australia. Over half of the sheep and wool production is made in New South Wales and Western Australia. Half of Australia's beef cattle are raised in Queensland and, again, in New South Wales. Ranching also brings in a lot of Australia's main income.
