Australia is a country and a continent rolled into one, with tropical north coasts, chilly southern islands and a sunbaked middle that stretches for thousands of miles. This Australian geography quiz explores its states and capitals, rivers and mountains, famous plains and surprising low points. You'll also see how its size compares with the US, which might change how you picture that map Down Under.
Australia is the only nation that covers an entire continent, and it's a big one. Most maps make it look smaller than it feels on the ground, where a drive between neighboring capitals can take a full day. The country is divided into six states plus two major mainland territories, and each has its own capital city. Nearly all of those capitals sit on or near the coast, because the interior is mostly dry and very lightly populated.
A helpful way to picture the landscape is as a ring and a center. The ring is the coastline, where you'll find beaches, rainforests, farmland and nearly every big city. The center is the Outback, a vast stretch of desert, scrubland and red rock where towns can be hundreds of miles apart. Rivers in the interior often run only after heavy rain, and many lakes on the map spend most years as glittering salt pans.
Seasons are flipped for Americans, too. Summer runs from December to February, and the tropical north has a wet season and a dry season instead of a classic winter. Keep the coasts, the dry heart and the reversed calendar in mind, and the rest of the map starts to make sense.