South Australia

South Australia

State flag (In detail) Coat of Arms (In detail)
Capital	Adelaide
Area — Land — Marine — Total	983 482 km² 60 032 km² 1 043 514 km²
Population (2002) Density	1 522 500 1.55/km²
Time zone	UTC+9:30 (except during daylight saving time—UTC+10:30)
Highest point	Mt Woodroffe (1 435 m)
ISO 3166-2 code:	AU-SA

South Australia is a state of Australia, in the southern central part of the country, along the Southern Ocean. It covers an area of 984,377 km² (380,070 square miles). The capital of South Australia is Adelaide and is known as the City of Churches. South Australia became a British colony in 1836 and joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The state's population is approximately 1.47 million (2001) and most of those reside in the fertile coastal areas and in the valley of the Murray River. The first recorded sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when a Dutch ship examined the coastline.

The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges in which the most important mountains are the Mt Lofty-Flinders Ranges system which extends north about 800 kilometers from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens and salt lakes. Its principal industries and export are wheat, wine and wool. More than half the nations wines are produced here.

South Australia has boundaries with every other contiguous Australian state except the Australian Capital Territory. Western Australia lies (unsurprisingly) to its west; the Northern Territory - which was originally the Northern Territory of South Australia - lies (equally unsurprisingly) to its north. Its north eastern corner cuts a wedge into Queensland, while New South Wales and Victoria also lie to its east.

Its south coast is flanked by the Southern Ocean. South Australia's mean temperature range is 29°C in January and 15°C July. Daily temperatures in parts of the state in January can be up to 45°C.

The flag of South Australia was adopted on January 13, 1904; it is a British Blue Ensign faced with the state badge. The badge depicts a White-backed Magpie with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of the Adelaide School of Arts.

Local Government Areas of South Australia