A World of Words: Australia and New Zealand - Introductory

G’day, mate! Get to know the land down under with this list of terms related to Australia and New Zealand. Explore geographical features like the Great Barrier Reef and the outback, as well as unique flora and fauna, including the kangaroo, platypus, and dingo. Give it a burl!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aboriginal
    relating to people inhabiting a region from the beginning
  2. Aborigine
    a dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived
  3. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  4. Antarctica
    an extremely cold continent at the south pole almost entirely below the Antarctic Circle; covered by an ice cap up to 13,000 feet deep
  5. artesian well
    a well drilled through impermeable strata into strata that receive water from a higher altitude so there is pressure to force the water to flow upward
  6. Australia
    the smallest continent
  7. bandicoot
    any of various agile ratlike terrestrial marsupials of Australia and adjacent islands; insectivorous and herbivorous
  8. barrier reef
    a long coral reef near and parallel to the shore
  9. basin
    a natural depression in the surface of the land
  10. bight
    a broad bay formed by an indentation in the shoreline
  11. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  12. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
  13. boomerang
    a curved piece of wood
  14. Canberra
    the capital of Australia; located in southeastern Australia
  15. cassowary
    a large black flightless bird with a distinctive head crest
  16. coastal
    of or relating to the shoreline
  17. coastline
    the outline of a coast
  18. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
  19. commonwealth
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  20. continent
    one of the large landmasses of the earth
  21. Cook Strait
    a narrow strait separating the North Island and South Island in New Zealand
  22. Coral Sea
    an arm of the South Pacific to the northeast of Australia
  23. Darling River
    an Australian river; tributary of the Murray River
  24. democratic
    based upon the principles of social equality
  25. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
  26. dingo
    wolflike yellowish-brown wild dog of Australia
  27. echidna
    a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australia
  28. elevation
    distance of something above a reference point
  29. eucalyptus
    a Australasian tree valued for its timber and scented oil
  30. evergreen
    a plant having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year
  31. export
    sell or transfer abroad
  32. fauna
    all the animal life in a particular region or period
  33. fjord
    a long narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs
  34. flora
    all the plant life in a particular region or period
  35. geyser
    a spring that discharges hot water and steam
  36. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  37. grazier
    a rancher who grazes cattle or sheep for market
  38. Great Australian Bight
    a wide bay of the Indian Ocean in southern Australia
  39. Great Barrier Reef
    the largest coral reef in the world
  40. hemisphere
    half of the terrestrial globe
  41. heritage
    practices that are handed down from the past by tradition
  42. highland
    elevated (e.g., mountainous) land
  43. hydroelectricity
    electricity produced by water power
  44. immigrant
    a person who comes to a country in order to settle there
  45. immigration
    movement of people into a country or area
  46. Indian Ocean
    the 3rd largest ocean
  47. invader
    someone who enters by force in order to conquer
  48. iron ore
    an ore from which iron can be extracted
  49. isolation
    a state of separation between persons or groups
  50. James Cook
    English navigator who claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain and discovered several Pacific islands (1728-1779)
  51. kangaroo
    a leaping marsupial with powerful hind legs and a thick tail
  52. kiwi
    a flightless bird native to New Zealand
  53. kookaburra
    Australian kingfisher having a loud cackling cry
  54. literacy
    the ability to read and write
  55. livestock
    any animals kept for use or profit
  56. mainland
    the main land mass of a country or continent
  57. marine
    relating to or characteristic of the sea
  58. marsupial
    a mammal the female of which has a pouch carrying the young
  59. Melbourne
    the capital of Victoria state and 2nd largest Australian city; a financial and commercial center
  60. mining
    the act of extracting ores or coal from the earth
  61. moa
    extinct flightless bird of New Zealand
  62. monolith
    a single great stone, often in the form of a column
  63. mountainous
    containing many mountains
  64. Murray River
    a southeast Australian river
  65. natural gas
    a fossil fuel in the gaseous state
  66. New South Wales
    an Australian state in southeastern Australia
  67. New Zealand
    an independent country within the British Commonwealth
  68. Northern Territory
    a territory in north central Australia
  69. outback
    the bush country of the interior of Australia
  70. parliament
    a legislative assembly in certain countries
  71. penal colony
    a settlement where prisoners are exiled
  72. Perth
    the state capital of Western Australia
  73. plateau
    a relatively flat raised area of land
  74. platypus
    an egg-laying mammal with a broad bill, a tail, and webbed feet
  75. population
    the number of inhabitants in a given place
  76. port
    where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
  77. protectionism
    the policy of taxing imports to shield domestic industries
  78. protectorate
    a state or territory partly controlled by a stronger state
  79. Queensland
    a state in northeastern Australia
  80. rain shadow
    an area that has little precipitation because some barrier causes the winds to lose their moisture before reaching it
  81. ranch
    farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle)
  82. raw material
    material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing
  83. reparation
    compensation exacted from a defeated nation by the victors
  84. scrubland
    an uncultivated region covered with scrub vegetation
  85. Simpson Desert
    a desert region of central Australia
  86. South Australia
    a state in south central Australia
  87. southern hemisphere
    the hemisphere to the south of the equator
  88. subtropical
    of or relating to or characteristic of conditions in the subtropics
  89. suffrage
    a legal right to vote
  90. Sydney
    the largest Australian city located in southeastern Australia on the Tasman Sea; state capital of New South Wales; Australia's chief port
  91. Tasman Sea
    an arm of the southern Pacific Ocean between southeastern Australia and New Zealand
  92. Tasmania
    an island off the southeastern coast of Australia
  93. tectonic
    pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust
  94. temperate
    mild or free from extremes
  95. timber
    land that is covered with trees and shrubs
  96. Timor Sea
    an arm of the eastern Indian Ocean between Timor and northern Australia
  97. tourism
    the business of providing services to travelers for pleasure
  98. trade
    the commercial exchange of goods and services
  99. tradition
    a specific practice of long standing
  100. transportation
    the act of moving something from one location to another
  101. Tropic of Capricorn
    a line of latitude about 23 degrees to the south of the equator
  102. typhoon
    a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific or Indian oceans
  103. urbanization
    the social process whereby cities grow
  104. Victoria
    a state in southeastern Australia
  105. volcano
    a fissure in the earth's crust through which gases erupt
  106. wallaby
    a small or medium-sized marsupial similar to a kangaroo
  107. Wellington
    the capital of New Zealand
  108. Western Australia
    a state containing the western third of Australia
  109. wombat
    a burrowing, plant-eating marsupial of Australia
  110. wool
    a fabric made from the hair of sheep
Created on Tue Jan 10 14:31:49 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 16:25:42 EDT 2017)

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