Since 1901 Tasmania has been a state in the Commonwealth of Australia. The state of Tasmania consists of the island of Tasmania and other surrounding islands. The island has an area of 26,383 square miles. Forty percent of the land is protected national parks and reserves. The capital and largest city is Hobart.
Although Tasmania has not been volcanically active in recent times most of the island is composed of dolerite intrusions as a result of volcanic magma. Tasmania is covered by rugged mountain ranges over much of the island. It is believed that Tasmania was a part of the Australian mainland until the most recent ice age. It is now separated from the mainland by the Bass Strait, which is considered one of the roughest bodies of water in the world.
Today Tasmania has a population of approximately 492,000. It was first inhabited by the Tasmanian Aborigines. They were divided into nine ethnic groups. War and disease had decimated their population. No full-blooded Aborigine remains today.
The main industries of Tasmania are mining, agriculture, forestry and tourism.
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