Tasmania

state of Australia
Coat of arms of Tasmania.svg
Flag of Tasmania.svg

Tasmania (Palawa Kani: Lutruwita, Bruny Island Tasmanian: Lutruwita) is a large island off the southern coast of mainland Australia. It is a state of Australia. Its capital and the largest city is Hobart. The island was joined to the mainland until the end of the most recent ice age about 10,000 years ago.

Tasmania in Australia
Topography of Tasmania

Tasmania has wonderful natural history, and is the most forested part of Australia. It is the home of rare animals such as eastern quolls and Tasmanian devils. It was the last home of the thylacine, which became extinct in 1936. It has the country's largest areas of temperate rainforest.

Brief accountEdit

Tasmania is a state of Australia. Unlike the other states, it is an island. The Bass Strait separates it from the Australian mainland.

Australian aboriginals are the native people of Tasmania. Abel Janszoon Tasman landed on the island in 1642. He called it "Van Diemen's Land". It was later called Tasmania. Much later, people came from Europe, mostly from the British Empire, to live on the island.

Cities and townsEdit

Tasmania has four cities: capital city Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie.

PopulationEdit

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia. It also has the smallest population. The total population of Tasmania is just over 500,000 (September 2014).

HistoryEdit

For an history view of Tasmania, see Van Diemen's Land.

Darwin CraterEdit

Darwin Crater
Tasmania
 
False-colour Landsat image of Darwin Crater (arrowed); screen capture from NASA World Wind
 
 
Darwin Crater
Coordinates42°18′15″S 145°39′27″E / 42.30417°S 145.65750°E / -42.30417; 145.65750Coordinates: 42°18′15″S 145°39′27″E / 42.30417°S 145.65750°E / -42.30417; 145.65750

Darwin Crater is a suspected meteorite impact crater in Western Tasmania about 26 km (16 mi) south of Queenstown.

It is just in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The crater is a rimless circular flat-floored depression, 1.2 km (0.75 mi) in diameter, in mountainous and heavily forested terrain. It is East of the West Coast Range and the former North Mount Lyell Railway formation.

Places to visitEdit

Tasmania has some of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. They range from old country towns to up to date cities. Some popular tourist places are:

Famous TasmaniansEdit