Welcome to South Australia

South Australia is located in the centre south part of Australia and has a total territory of 984 377 sq km – one-eight of the continent. This land was founded in 1836 and was colonized with free settlers and not convicts as the other states. The state is bounded by the Northern Territory on the north, by Queensland on north-east, by New South Wales on the east, be Western Australia on the west and by the Southern Ocean on the south.

South Australia is the dries state on the continent and around 60% of it is desert. There are hills and grasslands on the south and deserts on the north. Most part of the state is flat – no more than 250m high. There are also many national parks and reserves – 6,5% of the state. The coastline is split by two big indentations – Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent. South of Gulf St Vincent is located the Kangaroo Island which is the largest island around the coast of South Australia. There are two mountains in the state – Mt Lofty (with its highest peak Mt Lofty – 727m) and the Flinders Ranges (with highest point – St Mary's Peak – 1166m). Around the northern parts of the Flinders Ranges, there are many lakes some of which are Lake Eyre (15m below sea level, the largest lake in the world), Lakes Gardiner, Frome and Torrens. The only major river in the state is the River Murray. In the north-western part of the state are located Andamooka and Coober Pedy where are mined many opals. There are also many vineyard and wineries and the wines they produce are noted all around the world.

The population of South Australia is 1,5 million people. Most of them (73%) live in the capital Adelaide. The other big cities in the state are Whyalla, Mount Gambier, Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Gawler.