Chapter 34: Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica Today

GeoJournal As you read this chapter, use your journal to log the key economic activities of Australia, Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe World Oceania, and Antarctica. Note interesting Geography Web site at geography.glencoe.com details that illustrate the ways in which and click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 34 to human activities and the region’s environ- preview information about the region today. ment are interrelated. Guide to Reading Living in Australia, Consider What You Know Oceania, and Environments in Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica range from tropical rain forests to icy wastelands. What Antarctica attractions or activities might draw people to visit or live in a region with such extreme differences in the physical environment? Reading Strategy A Geographic View Organizing Complete a web diagram similar to the one below by filling in Antarctic Diving the developing South Pacific countries that receive much-needed income There’s something special about from tourism. peering beneath the bottom of the world. When Antarctica’s summer diving season begins in September Developing Countries the sun has been largely absent for six months, and the water . has become as clear as any in the Read to Find Out world. Visibility is measured not in feet but in football fields. • How do people in Australia, New . Only here can you orbit an Zealand, and Oceania make their electric-blue iceberg while livings? being serenaded by the eerie View from under Antarctic ice • What role does trade play in trills of Weddell seals. the economies of South Pacific countries? —Norbert Wu, “Under Antarctic Ice,” National Geographic, February 1999 • What means of transportation and communications are used in the region? Terms to Know The wonders hidden under Antarctic ice are • station among the many attractions of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica. • grazier Tourism is a growing part of the region’s economies. In this section • copra you will learn how people in Australia and Oceania earn their livings despite remote geographic locations and challenging environments. Places to Locate • Fiji • Papua New Guinea Agriculture • Nauru Agriculture is by far the most important economic activity in the South Pacific area. Australia and New Zealand—the region’s major developed countries—export large quantities of farm products. Australia is the world’s leading producer of wool, and New Zealand is known for the quality of its dairy products, lamb, beef, and wool. Skyline of Melbourne, Chapter 34 833 Australia, at night Throughout Oceania, the lack of arable soil limits commercial agriculture. As a result, most island farmers practice subsistence farming. They grow starchy roots and tubers—taro, cassava, and sweet potatoes—and raise pigs and chickens. Fishing adds to the diet of many South Pacific peoples. Some South Pacific islands, however, have areas of rich soil—often volcanic—and ample rainfall. These islands produce a variety of crops, such as tropical fruits, sugarcane, coffee, and coconut products, for export. The major South Pacific cash crop, produced widely in the region, is copra (KOH•pruh), or dried coconut meat. Cattle Station Among the island countries that A rancher rounds up cattle on a station in southern Australia. export are Fiji, a producer of sugarcane, copra, and ginger, and Papua Place Why are Australian ranches so large? New Guinea, a supplier of coffee, copra, and cacao. Although only 5 percent of Australians work in agriculture, much of their country’s vast land area Mining and Manufacturing is devoted to raising livestock—primarily sheep Avariety of mineral deposits exist in some parts and cattle. Because of the generally dry climate, of the South Pacific region. Australia is a leading ranchers must roam over large areas to find exporter of diamonds, gold, bauxite, opals, and iron enough vegetation to feed their herds. As a result, ore. Extracting these minerals, however, is ham- some Australian ranches, called stations, are pered by high transportation costs inside and out- gigantic—as large as 6,000 square miles (15,540 sq. side the country. In addition, public debate about km), about the size of Connecticut or Hawaii. Aboriginal land rights limits where mining can In addition, because of Australia’s dry climate, occur. For example, Australia has the world’s largest only about 10 percent of its land is suitable for undeveloped supply of uranium ore, but much of it growing crops. Irrigation, fertilizers, and modern lies within ancestral lands sacred to the Aborigines. technology help Australian farmers make the best With some exceptions, few significant mineral use of their limited croplands. Wheat, for example, resources are found in other areas of the South is grown in the dry Central Lowlands. By contrast, Pacific region. New Zealand has a large aluminum sugarcane thrives in the wetter climate and fertile smelting industry, and Papua New Guinea’s rich soil of Australia’s northeastern coast. deposits of gold and copper have only recently been About half of New Zealand’s land is used exploited. Kiribati and Nauru, once dependent on for agriculture. New Zealand ranchers, known as phosphate mining, now face dwindling supplies. graziers, raise sheep, beef, dairy cattle, and red They are now encouraging foreign investment and deer. Surprisingly, the country has 25 times more seeking aid to develop new economic activities. farm animals than people! New Zealand’s soil, more fertile than that of Australia, allows farmers Government to grow wheat, barley, potatoes, and fruits. One of Mining in Antarctica New Zealand’s most distinctive fruits is the Antarctica holds enormous untapped mineral kiwifruit, a small, green-fleshed fruit named for its resources, including petroleum, gold, iron ore, and resemblance to the kiwi, the flightless bird that is coal. Scientists have used core sampling—drilling the country’s national symbol. cylindrical sections through the Antarctic ice cap—to 834 Unit 11 identify the presence of these and other key min- The rest of the South Pacific region is less indus- erals. Although seven countries have made territo- trially developed than Australia and New rial claims to Antarctica, the voluntary 1991 Zealand. Manufacturing in the islands of Oceania Protocol on Environmental Protection, signed by is limited to small-scale enterprises, such as textile 44 nations, prohibits mining on the continent. production, clothing assembly, and mass production of craft items. Manufacturing Australia and New Zealand are the South Pacific region’s major producers of manufactured goods. Service Industries Because agriculture is important in these two Throughout Australia and Oceania, service indus- countries, food processing is their most important tries have emerged as major contributors to national manufacturing activity. Relatively isolated geo- economies. As in other developed countries, most graphically, Australia and New Zealand must people in Australia and New Zealand make their import costly machinery and raw materials in living in service industries. In Oceania few coun- order to set up major manufacturing industries tries are large enough to support extensive service capable of producing exports. As a result, indus- industries other than tourism. Nauru, however, tries in the two countries generally manufacture has begun to attract international banking and products for home consumption. Goods that cannot investment companies as a way of ending its be produced domestically are imported. traditional dependence on phosphate mining. MAP STUDY Antarctica: National Claims and Research Stations 0° 20°W 20°E atlantic ocean 40°W 40°E Orcadas Maitri (Argentina) (India) Syowa (Japan) Sanae 60°E Gen. Bernardo Halley (S. Africa) O'Higgins (Chile) (U.K.) Palmer Weddell Sea Belgrano II Mawson (U.S.) (Argentina) (Australia) 80°W 80°E indian Davis ocean Amundsen-Scott (Australia) S S S S S South (U.S.) ° ° ° ° ° T Pole 80 70 Mirnyy 50 40 30 R Vostok (Russia) O P 100°W (Russia) 100°E I C Casey Antarctic Land Claims O (Australia) F Chile 0 mi. 1,000 C Argentina A Scott (N.Z.) Ross Dumont d'Urville P 0 km 1,000 120°W McMurdo (U.S.) (France) 120°E United Kingdom R Sea I Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection Norway C O A Australia R NT CLE N ARCTIC CIR France pacific 140°W 140°E New Zealand ocean Major research station 160°W 160°E 180° 2. Applying Geography Skills How does the map show international cooperation in Antarctica? 1. Interpreting Maps What countries hold over- lapping claims in Antarctica? Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps Global Trade Links In recent decades, improved transportation and communications links have increased trade between the once remote South Pacific region and other parts of the world. The South Pacific’s agricultural and mining products are its greatest sources of export income. Countries in Oceania export copra, timber and wood products, fish, vegetables, and handi- crafts. The spices of the vast South Pacific region are now found in kitchens around the world. For example, the islands of Micronesia are a major source of black pepper, and Tonga exports ginger and the costly vanilla beans used to flavor ice cream and baked goods. A number of South Pacific countries, however, must import food to supplement the subsistence crops. During most of the 1900s, Australia and New Zealand traded exclusively with the United Kingdom and the United States. In recent years, how- Battle Site Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon ever, these South Pacific countries have increased Islands, was the site of heavy fighting between the trade with their neighboring Asian countries of United States and Japan during World War II. Japan, Taiwan, and China. In 1971 various island Place How do World War II battle sites benefit Pacific countries of Oceania set up the South Pacific Forum, countries today? an organization that promotes trade and economic growth. Because of few natural resources, some South Pacific islands are dependent to some degree Tourism on outside investment or foreign aid.

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