Sea turtle #1 sold
Sea turtle #2 sold
Sea turtle #3 sold
Please visit the rest of my blogs or the Petergrantfineart website for other paintings.
People have often been surprised when I say Australia is almost the same size as the US. Here is a map overlay of the two countries. Of course this is only the mainland of the USA and does not include Alaska and Hawaii.
So many people visit this post and I was just wondering who everyone is. Please leave a post and let me know who you are and where are you from?
Additionally, I added an abstract painting I did that (not by intent) resembles the rock, Uluru in Australia. visit my website: Petergrantfineart.com
Enjoy the discussions about the map!
Australia is the part outlined in red.
Petergrantfineart's Blog 
July 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm |
I am a teacher in Indiana USA. I was in AU in June thanks to a grant I received to study Aboriginal Art and visit Sydney. Loved it!
July 30, 2011 at 5:53 pm |
Thanks for commenting. I’m sure you had a wonderful trip. A great opportunity. Yes, it is a very neat country.
I look forward to a return visit.
September 29, 2013 at 3:09 am
size of The USA 3.794 million sq miles (9.827 million km²)
Size of australia 2.97 million sq miles (7.692 million km²)
This should really tell the story. The shape of australia makes it look bigger than what it really is!!!
February 18, 2015 at 12:19 am
Jorge you have to remember that the USA includes Alaska and Hawaii!!! So this compares the size of Australia to mainland USA
February 27, 2015 at 1:29 am
Please enjoy the art on the blog as well. 🙂
October 24, 2011 at 9:09 am |
Thank you for you’re interesting and informative work on Australia. I live in Australia now, once from Cornwall in England. From the very small to the very mighty!
December 19, 2011 at 10:44 pm |
I’m an Australian living in the US I like to show them this image to shock them into realising that they aren’t so big in comparison.
September 29, 2013 at 3:04 am |
size of The USA 3.794 million sq miles (9.827 million km²)
Size of australia 2.97 million sq miles (7.692 million km²)
This should really tell the story. The shape of australia makes it look bigger than what it really is!!!
November 22, 2013 at 6:05 pm |
The overlay does leave out Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
January 10, 2012 at 1:47 am |
I show all my Couchsurfers this postcard and the one showing the map of Australia overlayed on Europe – very handy when you have American tourists with their 7 day vacation time thinking they can drive from Sydney to Melbourne, do the Great Ocean Road, up to Ayers Rock and then pop across the Great Barrier Reef…
Sure, bring your Rocket Car!
January 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm |
Interesting how we americans think sometimes… BTW, hope you enjoy my art work as well Thanks for your comments!
January 21, 2012 at 1:59 pm |
Pensacola, FL, corresponding with an e-mail friend in Perth who directed me here.
January 21, 2012 at 3:28 pm |
Great! I hope you enjoy the art work as well!
February 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm |
Hey… Inquiring, because I’m from the States, living in Greece… People ask which is larger the U.S. or Australia??? 🙂
July 14, 2012 at 7:32 am |
USA is the 4th largest country, Australia is the 6th (Brazil is 5th)
August 20, 2013 at 10:42 pm
Actually you have it backwards. It is 4th in size; it becomes 3rd
when you include territorial waters which is 12 nautical miles from each coastal line. Most comparisons do not include this when looking at size of country.
August 20, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Oops, I posted on the wrong comment. This wasn’t meant
for you. I meant to post it below. Your comment I agreed with!
April 17, 2012 at 6:25 am |
Hoping to do a road trip across the U.S.A west/east but also want to see places on each coast. Still figuring out if it will be possible, how long, & how much. From Perth, Western Australia
April 24, 2012 at 8:31 am |
Just back from holiday in AU visiting in-laws. I’m originally from Oklahoma, but now live near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in NE England. Very useful map; explains why train journey from Sydney to Melbourne took 12 hours!
August 10, 2013 at 12:27 pm |
the exact opposite happened to us in Ireland
we thought 100ks would take about an hour like it does in Western Australia. It 4 hours with the tiny roads,dense traffic and stock on the road. Possible to drive in the outback for 4 hours and not see another vehicle
April 24, 2012 at 8:34 am |
Oh, and BTW I’ve used your map on a post I’ve drafted…with full credit to your website. Let me know if you aren’t happy with this.
July 19, 2012 at 9:43 pm |
I am also an Aussie living in the USA, San Diego to be precise. People often ask me how how big Australia is compared to America and I just wanted to make sure I was giving them the right information – thanks!
August 31, 2012 at 5:23 am |
Goodday Peter,
This morning a friend of mine from US told me that Australia was only half the size of US which I could not believe. Hence started searching for the size comparison of these two countries.
Liked your super-imposed map which now gives me an idea of what is Australia’s size in comparison to US.
Cheers mate…
August 31, 2012 at 6:18 pm |
Live in NYC and am about to visit Australia. I thought it was larger than the USA. Great map………
September 7, 2012 at 11:14 pm |
I’m an American girl who’s gonna marry an Aussie!
September 8, 2012 at 2:20 pm |
Killing time & watching the SPEED channel; Ausi V8 Supercars and … the question pops up. Our guess, having never been there, was 25% of USA … MAX!
September 11, 2012 at 4:47 am |
I live in Melbourne Australia but was born in Ohio, I’m also a Kiwi(New Zealander), so I call myself a Kwankaroo. I love seeing this perspective of the sizes of the 2 countries but some of my Yank friends are argueing that US has more than a million acres than Australia and it’s just not worth the time. Maybe with Alaska and Hawaii that is true? I don’t know. Anyway…. thanx for this, Peter.
September 17, 2012 at 3:34 am |
I’m from Indiana USA watching Dirty Jobs Down Under. Didn’t realize Austrailia was so big. Amazing island/country/continent!
September 17, 2012 at 8:06 am |
I am from Michigan, USA, getting ready to go meet my girlfriend’s relatives in the Gold Coast are of Australia. I also have friends and family all over Oz, from Perth to Melbourne, to Sydney to Rockhampton.
Wonderful point of reference! Thank you! I will share this with my family here so they know!
September 29, 2012 at 1:25 pm |
Thank you for sharing! I lived in Oz as an exchange student in high school and am planning a trip with my kids one day. 🙂
October 1, 2012 at 5:57 pm |
Aussie here, was looking for a comparison map for friend in Canada. I was in Vegas last year & overheard a guy say to his girlfriend, who was really wanting to come to here
“Australia? yeah a week should be enough to see it all”
I nearly burst out laughing.
October 14, 2012 at 10:59 am |
G’Day Peter,, I am an American who lives in Atlanta GA looking to move down with my company. I have an Aussie girlfriend who will one day be my wife. I find that the “family” and “friendliness” in Oz is a welcome relief to the “me, me, me” of American life.
Cheers!
October 23, 2012 at 5:31 pm |
You forgot Alaska though!
October 20, 2013 at 9:28 am |
When you are done puffing yourself up, you will realise that there isn’t any point showing Alaska, Hawaii or the Virgin Islands (much like there is no point showing the smaller territories of Australia). The purpose of the article is simply to show the size of Australia to something some people would be able to relate too (such as the USA Mainland) as some people clearly can not read a globe or atlas if they are surprised (or have to demand the inclusion of a smaller territory to make themselves feel better).
February 15, 2014 at 10:09 pm |
Oh ok, let’s call it ‘mainland USA’ and add ‘almost’ to deal with the sensibilities of those who don’t like the idea of Oz being ‘almost’ the size of USA. Great map & handy during Qld floods to explain to an American friend who thought Qld was the size of the New Orleans.
March 2, 2014 at 2:56 am
There you go1 I agree…. But, I also like the attraction it gets! Wish everyone would see my paintings too 🙂
October 29, 2012 at 12:27 am |
Your map overlay leaves out Alaska and Hawaii. And the US is the third largest country in land size, not fourth. Coincidentally it’s also the third largest in population behind China and India.
August 20, 2013 at 10:39 pm |
Actually, you have it backwards. The US is the fourth largest country. It becomes the third largest when you include territorial waters which is 12 nautical miles out from each coast.
August 20, 2013 at 11:02 pm |
Size calculations, however, do include inland waters, which makes sense.
It makes me laugh when Americans try to claim they are the third largest country IF you subtract the lakes and rivers inside the country. To the rest of us, it just looks like you’re grasping at straws. Sorry to break it to you, even if you want to look at land mass alone and exclude other criteria, then you’re still fourth as Antarctica bumps you down.
October 20, 2013 at 9:40 am
Refreshing to see someone who does research and knows their stuff! Kindheart …. you’re a babe! Keep up the good work. People like you give me hope.
November 3, 2012 at 1:34 pm |
NYC, I googled how long it would take to drive from Brisbane to Sydney and was surprised it would take 11 hrs (not 2 like I assumed haha)! I googled the comparison and your site came up, really interesting! Def learned something today.
November 7, 2012 at 3:08 am |
Resolving a question in my mind, thank you
November 13, 2012 at 7:20 pm |
Live in LA and wanted to see how close the eclipse is coming to a friend in Brisbane. Not very. Told him to stare into the sun anyway.
November 29, 2012 at 10:42 am |
Your map answers exactly my question. thank you. I live near Geneva, switzerland…. Cheers
December 1, 2012 at 12:24 pm |
This size comparison mainly deals with the continental United States, which is still informative! People tend to forget about Alaska which is about half the size of the US..
December 1, 2012 at 12:26 pm |
I’m correcting myself. Not half, but apparently 1/5 of the US. Still pretty big for just one state!
October 20, 2013 at 9:33 am
Keep puffing yourself up there mate. After all we don’t want you to miss the educational side of this article – which is just simply to give you an idea of the size of Australia. Besides, Canada is bigger than all of the USA combined.
August 20, 2013 at 11:17 pm |
This is precisely why it makes sense. When comparing continental US to Australia, the comparison is pretty accurate. Australia is just ~95% the size of continental US. 7.69 mil km2 /8.08 mil km2.
October 19, 2013 at 7:35 am
You probably mean contiguous US, Alaska is part of the North American continent.
December 16, 2012 at 5:14 am |
My name is Eric. I’m from the whitest town in America. (Parkersburg, WV)
December 28, 2012 at 7:09 am |
I live in Los Angeles and have online friends in Australia. Just saw a comparison of Australia and Europe, and was curious… and surprised! Thought Australia was big, but not that big!!
January 7, 2013 at 2:05 am |
Living in West Palm Beach, Fl, from Boston Ma… Wishing I was in Australia!
January 9, 2013 at 4:47 pm |
From Oregon in the US and heard a radio broadcaster state that Australia was about the same size as the continental US. That surprised me and now looking at your image, I see just how large it is. Thanks for the excellent graphic!
February 2, 2013 at 3:43 am |
Great graphic. Can’t believe they’re the same area.
February 28, 2013 at 6:35 am |
American living in Perth, Western Australia. I realize how big Oz is when we decide to go somewhere. Perth is considered the largest most isolated city in the world. When I get on a plane and the closest large city is a 4-5 hour flight I realize how isolated I am. Australia is beautiful but I do miss the Good ole USA.
March 23, 2013 at 12:39 pm |
Fun image however slightly misleading as it omits Americas largest state, Alaska. In area the US is third while Australia is sixth not exactly close as close in size as your image would imply.
March 23, 2013 at 10:44 pm |
Thanks for your input. Hopefully, you had the opportunity to visit the rest of my blog and see some of my artwork on the website.
I have been engaged with duties as the Huntsville Art League President and now need to devote more of my time to my own art work. I will be painting a series of small horse paintings in the coming months. Please check back to the blog to see my progress. I’m very excited about putting time back into painting.
April 20, 2013 at 6:56 am |
Australia is great. I stayed in Sydney by Chinatown and had really good food. There are so many parts -Potts Point, Kings Crsoss, The Rocks, Darling Harbour-about Sydney that make it a great city.
Don’t forget about Bondi beach. Really nice clear sand and see through ocean water. Very clean as well.
The people were great. I can say they like americans. I would go back in a heartbeat.
April 21, 2013 at 2:35 am |
Mississippi, watching Nova’s “Australia’s first 4billion years” series. Thanks for the map.
April 21, 2013 at 1:47 pm |
Thank you. Your blog gave an instant answer to a “wondering” question!
April 26, 2013 at 1:16 am |
Just a university student from Serbia. Got here via browsing reddit (in particular /r/mapporn). You might like that place.
April 27, 2013 at 4:27 am |
Thanks Peter… we are holidaying in the USA from Australia at the moment… very few know it’s shape, far less it’s size… per population … it is amazing… I’m sure my mates will enjoy seeing this, thanks heaps ….
April 29, 2013 at 12:40 am |
We were watching Bert’s Travels and he was visiting down under. so we looked up size, manufacturering, crops and other facts. I knew it was very close in size. Thank you for the overlay!
April 29, 2013 at 4:12 pm |
From Idaho USA. My husband and I got into a debate over the size of Australia compared to the USA after watching Nova’s ‘Australia’s first 4 billion years’. Great map!
May 6, 2013 at 3:39 am |
Australia is larger than a lot of people think. However, there is still a roughly 2 million square million difference between the USA and Australia. China is much closer to America’s size than Australia.
May 11, 2013 at 3:28 am |
Thank you from Seattle! Great idea.
May 22, 2013 at 11:33 pm |
William Shatner and Craig Ferguson were discussing the distance between Perth and Adelaide (5/17/13 show) and I wanted to verify the relative size. Your image came up first in a Google search. I’ve never been to Australia, but I’ll get there eventually. Thanks!
May 28, 2013 at 12:36 pm |
I am a Canuck who moved to Oz twenty years ago. My Aussie friends are used to people underestimating the size of this fine country so always make the point of how huge it is. I agree that Australia is enormous as it is a full 70% the size of Canada. That surprises THEM.
May 28, 2013 at 1:29 pm |
Australia is 7,692,024 square kilometers/2,969,907 square miles in size. The contiguous US is 8,080,464 square kilometers/ 3,119,885 square miles in size. That makes Australia 95.2% or so the size of the continental US. So the map does sort of make a good point…
May 28, 2013 at 1:33 pm |
[…] by michaelharrison to todayilearned [url] [63 […]
May 31, 2013 at 4:53 am |
I really like the visual representation. Numbers are great, but the overlapping just helps me so much. I am from northeast Florida in the USA.
June 11, 2013 at 12:32 am |
Superb, what a weblog it is! This webpage provides useful information to us,
keep it up.
July 2, 2013 at 2:54 am |
Just curious. Live in the Midwest and have friends from Australia. I want to learn more about their country.
July 11, 2013 at 7:59 pm |
From Australia working for an american company. In US now and used this to show them there not so tough!
July 13, 2013 at 8:16 pm |
Hello, all is going perfectly here and ofcourse every one is sharing data,
that’s actually excellent, keep up writing.
July 17, 2013 at 4:37 am |
Interesting comparison, will be useful in discussion with Aussies (I’m a yank now living in Oz) when they start to feel like there MUST be some kind of competition between the 2 countries over who is bigger (thus better??) To me it looks like both countries are about the same size in land mass. The US maybe ever so slightly bigger if you add on Alaska and the Hawaiin islands, but contiguously? Much a muchness, really.
Not that this has anything to do with this particular post (reading some of the “so there,” comments above from one side or the other made me think of it) but after 10 years it annoys me that I’m constantly still asked (demanded of?) to state which country I “like better”…like its that simple! I mean, for me its like being asked to decide which is the “better fruit” between a Royal Gala apple and a Pink Lady apple. Both are equal in enjoyment with each being just different enough to the other to make it interesting. But at the end of the day they’re still apples, right? Lol
July 17, 2013 at 10:22 pm |
My wife and I live in Austin, TX. We will be touring Australia in April 2014 for two weeks, going from Melbourne to Ayers Rock, to Alice Springs to Cairns (diving the Great Barrier Reef) to Sydney. This gives me a feel for how much we will be traveling. Thanks.
October 5, 2013 at 6:12 am |
just read your itinerary for your two weeks,….. that’s a lot of driving for a short period of time, which doesn’t leave you much time to sight see… 2300km + from Melbourne to Yulara (Ayres Rock), 450 km from Yulara to Alice Springs and then another 2400km from Alice to Carirns then another 2400+ to Sydney…… I live in Au and have done these sorts of drives often – this is not something I would be doing in 2 weeks! Good luck with this
December 9, 2014 at 4:26 am
Ayers Rock is called Uluru. 2 weeks is nowhere near enough time if you’re driving. Plenty of time if you plan to fly
July 19, 2013 at 2:36 am |
Met an Austr5ailian singer at the Blissfest in Michigan and just wondered
July 26, 2013 at 5:07 pm |
Break your 3 normal main meals into 5 smaller portion sizes – morning, snack,
lunch, snack, dinner. Avocados- Although not my favorite, are high in fats, the good ones.
Hence, broccoli is a must-add ingredient in your vegetarian weight loss diet.
July 26, 2013 at 7:26 pm |
I would love to see Australia… some day! I am in Delaware.
July 28, 2013 at 8:14 pm |
Vince Neil, Paul Stanley’s last jiffy lube live wiki appearance in 2010, was not his best Stanley’s voice broke often, and he struggled with some of the notes.
We have to separate the men from the boys.
July 31, 2013 at 3:11 am |
Live in San Diego. I visited Australia a while back and I thought Australia was quite a bit larger than the USA. I guess I was wrong.
August 3, 2013 at 2:22 am |
Just wondering if the central part of australia populated as much as US ?
August 29, 2013 at 2:14 am |
For DEEPAK, No the centre area of Aus’ is not populated much at all, Apart from Alice Springs central Northern Territory and a few small towns supporting rail links and a few scattered little towns theres not much else built up in the majority of the land mass. Cattle stations, farms etc, dotting the fringes . its a lot of nothing.
Water is the major issue, The coastal strip contains most of the population. Approximately 22 million for the whole counrty, West Aus about 2 million…
November 22, 2013 at 6:12 pm
AU = 22M and the USA 300+M. AU should have a lot of awesome hunting opportunites. Too bad they outlawed guns.
August 5, 2013 at 3:30 pm |
Perth , Im going to visit the states, needed to have an idea of the size for a drive holiday. Seen a similar map, so Now I believe. Cheers
August 16, 2013 at 4:41 am |
There is definately a lot to find out about this topic. I like all of the points you’ve made.
September 12, 2013 at 12:18 am |
Thanks for the great map! I work with the Comparative Wests Project at Stanford University — mostly, comparing fire ecology in AU and the U.S. — and it’s good to keep in mind the size of the Western Desert compared to, say, California.
September 12, 2013 at 2:19 am |
Hi Peter! Thank you so much for this! I am an American (from California, living in New Jersey) and my husband is English. We’ve frequently bantered back and forth about the size of Australia vs the US. He has insisted it’s bigger than or as big as the US, but I had trouble conceptualizing this – even when looking at a world map. I thought it was about the size of Texas – boy was I wrong! I must add here that I am a well-educated person (a veterinarian) but have an embarrassing ignorance of geography…I’m concerned that I am not the exception here in terms of American knowledge of geography. So sad! I will make sure I keep a world map up for our kids so they are not so ignorant!
September 18, 2013 at 5:47 pm |
I am from Ohio, have been watching the series Mcloeds daughters on Netflix, (Australian series ) wanted to get an idea of how big Australia was. Would love to visit sometime.
September 21, 2013 at 9:46 pm |
A news reporter here in the US just stated Australia is the size of Florida……I think he needs to get his geography school book out!
September 22, 2013 at 5:52 pm |
I was looking at a map of the world, and found Australia to be the most comparability sized landmass to the United States. I googled the observation for confirmation, and here I am!
September 28, 2013 at 6:25 am |
How did you produce that graphic? I’d like to see other maps superimposed, like NZ over the US and Europe…
October 1, 2013 at 4:31 pm |
We were JUST having this discussion at work. I typed in Australia vs USA Map and YOUR site was first in line. Thanks!! Have a great day
October 2, 2013 at 11:11 pm |
I think that you are right about the size. they look identical don’t they. My 18 year old with down syndrome was talking about Indiana Jones and I told him that you would have to probable go to Australia. I told him it was a country almost the same size as the united states and BAM!!!!!!!! it is. Thanks so much for leaving this inquiry.
October 5, 2013 at 6:16 am |
I’m in Darwin Northern Territory…. interesting insights on the site, was using the map overlay to give one of my children an indication of the overall size comparison btwn AU and the USA , and another one to compare AU to Europe…..
October 13, 2013 at 7:19 am |
Just surprised to see how big Australia is! I live in San Diego, previously Austin, TX.
October 13, 2013 at 2:32 pm |
I live in a tiny town in central Florida and have been watching Big Brother Australia. Was interested in the difference in size when the house guests have mentioned the different areas each are from and how far away they actually are from each other in real life.
October 15, 2013 at 8:31 pm |
Great Map,Lost for words i have seen another like it HERE I’m from the uk
October 19, 2013 at 7:32 am |
I’m from Seattle, and idle curiosity led me here via Google.
October 23, 2013 at 9:35 pm |
Recently returned from the last of 5 trips to Sydney in 2 years. Was able to enjoy the Blue Mountains at Katoomba. Concerned about the fires and wondered about the size of the country.
December 5, 2013 at 10:22 am |
My former son-in-law is from the Blue Mountains…. Beautiful there.
If you get a chance visit my website: Petergrantfineart.com. Tell me what you think.
October 28, 2013 at 11:20 am |
Wow I didn’t have any idea Australia was this big till now! Talking to all my aussie friends and subject came up! I’m from Florida, USA
October 29, 2013 at 11:01 pm |
Its not meant to be called Ayers Rock any more 😛
December 5, 2013 at 10:19 am |
That is correct… It is now Uluru. Correct?
October 31, 2013 at 9:17 am |
I arrived here looking for a good overlay of the size comparison after getting a good laugh looking at:
November 3, 2013 at 4:31 pm |
I’m from Pennsylvania, USA. I saw a map of the US on Facebook that an Aussie had supposedly filled the names of the states. One of the comments (because they did NOT know what they were doing) was “Why do you have so many states? Australia is almost the same size and we have like 6 or 7 states…” (Not a direct quote — it’d hurt my brain to repeat their spelling/grammar). I honestly didn’t realize how close we were in size.
November 12, 2013 at 12:36 pm |
Perth – trying to get americans to believe how big .au is 🙂
November 16, 2013 at 4:59 pm |
You left out Alaska
December 5, 2013 at 10:13 am |
Yes, I did and Hawaii too. Just trying to compare it to the lower 48. So hard for people to grasp the size..
Guess I could have said about the same size till the great state of Alaska was added.
November 17, 2013 at 4:44 pm |
Your map overlay is a very good way of showing the width of Australia with the US(lower 48). Also shows area comparison. I see a lot of the comments forgot you said “almost” the same size as the US when saying you forgot Alaska.
December 5, 2013 at 10:18 am |
I didn’t forget Alaska , just figured adding that state would distort the comparison I was trying to demonstrate.
I should have just mention is was leaving Alaska and Hawaii out for the comparison.
November 20, 2013 at 6:56 am |
Looking forward to honeymoon in AUS late 2014. Was curious about size comparison for terrestrial travel planning. I think we will go the flying route. Since I’m an airline employee flying should be ideal. Thanks.
December 5, 2013 at 10:16 am |
Congratulations. And enjoy your trip
November 23, 2013 at 5:31 pm |
From Connecticut. Watching a travel show on Australia & was curious on its size. Hope to visit someday!!
December 7, 2013 at 10:17 pm |
Will be a great trip
November 25, 2013 at 9:57 pm |
I’m from Alaska, a state you ignore when you make the claim that Australia is almost the size of the US.
December 5, 2013 at 10:08 am |
Janet, you are so very right… However, I really wasn’t trying to say Australia is the same size of the United States, but was just giving people a better understand of Australia’s size. Just comparing it to the original 48. Obviously, the great state of Alaska changes the whole comparison.
Hope you had a chance to visit my website. It currently being update to reflect some of the new paintings I have been working on.
Thanks for your comments.
December 7, 2013 at 11:50 pm |
Sorry to have mislead you with my response Not my intent nor my point.
I was just comparing Australia to the lower 48. Comparing that ratio so travelers to Australia have a better understand that in one short two week trip they will not see all they want to see. Sorry for the mislead. Check out my artwork on my website. Thanks.
December 1, 2013 at 9:05 pm |
I’m originally from the USSR (born in Kazakhstan then also lived in Russia) – the biggest country ever 🙂 But then I lived in Israel (so tiny) and now I’m living in the U.S. Thinking about moving to Australia or Canada. I can tell that people in big countries and small countries think differently about what is close and what is far, and how to travel 🙂
December 5, 2013 at 10:02 am |
So very true. I have lived in Germany, England, Saudi Arabia, and the USA. All have been so very interesting in their own ways. Loved them all.
December 2, 2013 at 2:52 am |
I am from Minnesota and was just curious on their relative size assuming they were about the same. Thanks for the visual. It really helps!
December 5, 2013 at 10:11 am |
Glade you gained benefit from the post.
Hope. You have had a chance to visit my website: Petergrantfineart.con
December 7, 2013 at 9:58 pm |
When people visit Australia they often think they can get from one city to another in a short time. By placing maps over each other you get a better perspective of the distance.
December 4, 2013 at 12:29 pm |
So – the painting is fabulous and should hang at the Arts Council! And the US is larger than a continent!
December 5, 2013 at 10:00 am |
Fred, Thanks for the suggestion. However, this painting is sold and now resides in a home inCharleston, SC.
I am very proud of this work and feel the richness of the colors and their bold attitude is also a compliment to Australia.
I am available for commissions.
December 28, 2013 at 11:52 pm |
As an American, I love this comparison of Australia versus the USA as a map overly. Looking at it, I can see that Australia takes a little bit of Canada and eliminates almost the whole of Texas…what could be better? No wonder Australia is the best country on earth!
December 31, 2013 at 4:11 pm |
On the far northwest side of Chicago, girl friend received a Happy New Year text from her boss on Australian vacation which led us to search time zones and weather across your country. I typed “Australia superimposed” and chose “…over USA” and you came up #1 following the 4 maps. You are #3 at “…on USA”.
I have enjoyed the journey. Happy Riding, Happy Sailing, Happy New Year and Thank You.
January 6, 2014 at 10:14 am |
To all of the Americans saying “but you’ve left out Alaska and our overseas territories” ok Australia will play that game! You can include Alaska etc… and we will include our massive secret weapon in this little battle of size, the huge Australian Antarctic Territory! USA: 9,826,675km/3,794,101m vs Australia: 13,588,524km/5,246,558m
January 12, 2014 at 7:13 am |
It is really funny all the comments… The purpose of the comparison is on for Americans to understand Australia is about the size of the lower 48 so they can better understand the distance and time it takes to travel from one side of Australia is like traveling from Atlanta to LA or New York to Seattle….
But it is all ok… Please enjoy the paintings…. Thanks and have fun!
January 30, 2014 at 5:07 am |
Love the comparison map, really puts things into perspective. I’m from Brisbane, Australia with an obsession of all things USA! Planning an extensive trip there sometime in the future, taking in New York, Payson in Arizona and hopefully a white Christmas in Portland Oregon. Go Seahawks (I’m actually a 49ers fan) in Super Bowl XLVIII this Sunday. Great paintings by the way!
February 13, 2014 at 1:42 pm |
Thanks for this!
Only to xenophobic males does size matter. LOL
I love the comment about AUS.– ” I can see it in a week.” LOL
There is a wonderful New Yorker cartoon of NYC that makes it as big as the USA because THAT’s how New Yorkers think of it.
I am missing three states and Hawaii to visit and I am 67. So Australia might have to wait another lifetime to really see. But it’s an extraordinary country with divers and extraordinary people. Like with everything, like comparing one another in a shower room is idiotic, but then we are all insane.
February 15, 2014 at 11:12 pm |
I’m a physics undergrad in Florida USA. I was searching for intelligent information on global warming, and was curious about the freeze wave in the U.S. and heat wave in Australia, Which led me to question what the relative sizes of the regions are. Especially now that I am aware of how different nations would change and skew maps to make their country larger or on top. Although the direction of the map is relative, skewing the map is just mean.
February 22, 2014 at 3:51 am |
I’m from Australia! 🙂
February 22, 2014 at 8:05 pm |
Hi there! I live in New Jersey, USA and am reading a lovely novel set in SW Australia, “the Light Between Oceans” by M. L. Stedman. I just had a sudden curiosity about the relative size of Australia and, lo and behold, found your answer almost immediately. Thanks!
March 1, 2014 at 5:37 pm |
Did you know that there are two Nations in S America exactly the
same size.
March 8, 2014 at 2:39 am |
I was in Texas in 2008 Ft Worth NASCAR race. Told bloke next to me that Texas can fit into Australia four or five times, boy did that cores a problem he just did not believe me.
March 9, 2014 at 1:41 am |
Noticed all the oneupmanship going on and thought I’d strike a small blow for the Aussies. The Western Australian state according to Wikipedia is 2,529,875 Sq Km in size Whereas it requires one to add together the three largest American states to better that total. ie: Alaska: 1723,337 Sq Km
Texas 695,662 Sq Km
California 423,967 Sq Km
TOTAL 2,842,966 Sq Km
Even the state of Qeensland is larger than Alaska at 1,723,926 Sq Km
March 20, 2015 at 4:49 pm |
While your at it, why don’t you mention the size of some of our huge farms, rather stations, as they’re known. Boasting cattle stations that are bigger than some small countries, our biggest is seven times larger than King Ranch, in Texas, Americas biggest farm. With vast amounts of land to cover, mustering is a serious business. A fleet of helicopters makes it possible to get around the millions of acres, that need to be covered. At over 6,000,000 acres, 24,000 sq klm, 9,400 sq mile’s, & known as the worlds largest working cattle station, Anna Creek Station, is situated in South Australia. Check it out on the net, you’ll be truly blown away.
March 24, 2014 at 5:53 am |
From central Louisiana, US and was cirous about the size because I maaaaaaaayyyy end up moving to Oz in a few years. I had no idea Australia was so big. I thought it was more likealf the size it actually is. Now I know better. ^-^ Thanks for the map. Its exactly what I was looking for to help me get an idea ofthe size.
March 31, 2014 at 4:18 pm |
Just checking in from Maine (USA). Nice work.
April 2, 2014 at 9:53 pm |
Neat way to show the comparison visually. Could add square miles.
April 2, 2014 at 9:57 pm |
From salmon Idaho. Other comments include numeric areas so my comment has been resolved
April 14, 2014 at 10:20 pm |
Was is Sydney for work last month. One of the meeting attendees mentioned it takes 7 hours to fly between Sydney and Perth. Doing the math I realized it had to be at least close in width to the US. I had no idea Australia was that large. Very interesting to see this, Thanks for doing it.
March 20, 2015 at 4:06 pm |
It is actually closer to 5 hours flying time from Sydney (east coast) to Perth (west coast). It is approx 4000klm. Makes for an awesome road trip (as a teenager) When you do the drive, from Sydney to Perth, part of the drive will take you along the worlds straightest road. Over 1000klm’s of straight road, not a bend in the road for miles, so exciting!!!Plenty of action to keep you on the ball though, Huge 7 foot red kangaroos bouncing all over the place, camels, emu’s & plenty of huge & I mean huge, road trains overtaking you, & yes, even the local highway patrol are there to spoil any thoughts you may of had about introducing the German Autoban speed limits, to outback Australia. Even if it was only temporary. For those of you who don’t know what a road train is, do yourself a favor & Google it. You’ll see what I mean about these monsters & what absolute respect they deserve on the road….. Don’t mess with these guys, there are no second places!!!
May 10, 2014 at 6:20 pm |
I’m from Arizona. A friend of mine is from Australia, and I asked him which was bigger. He had no idea, so I decided to look it up myself!
June 1, 2014 at 1:50 am |
After living in Western Australia for two years and enjoying a few road trips across the lower protion of the state I wondered how the country compared size-wise to the USA. The overlaid map idea is brilliant, even if it doesn’t include Alaska and Hawaii you get an idea from it. People just don’t realise how vast Australia is and yet there’s only 24m people living here in total. I’m told that our state capital, Perth, is the most remote city in the world and the state, which covers 2.5m sq k’s only has 2.5m people. One square kilometre each!
June 13, 2014 at 11:55 am |
From Cleveland, OH, USA. Yes, I think many in the US don’t realize how big Australia is (or even Canada, our northern neighbor. for that matter!)
July 11, 2014 at 11:30 am |
The Contiguous United States is 3,119,885 sq miles (8,080,464 sq km) while the cotinent of Austrailia is 2,967,892 sq miles (7,686,850 sq km) So all bieng said they are pretty damned close to the same size in the whole scheme of things on this big blue marble.
July 23, 2014 at 11:40 am |
Really interesting fact. Also most interesting that Australia has a population if about 27 million people while the USA has about 330 million people.
August 7, 2014 at 12:23 am |
Having flown from Sydney to Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane, driven to Dubbo, Nyngan and Bourke, to Bendigo from Melbourne, and flying from San Fran to New York, driven from San Fran to Denver to Michigan and to West Palm Beach Florida, I can tell you that Australia is every bit as big as the contiguous 48, and a hell of a lot more desert that we have in the US.
As Bruce points out thee are only 7 states that make up Australia, compared to our 50, ans no-one has included Tasmania in any part of the discussion nor is it shown on the map, so adds more land mass to Auz.
March 20, 2015 at 3:35 pm |
FYI, Oz, not Auz. 😉
September 5, 2014 at 2:17 am |
My spouse and I stumbled over here from a different page
and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i
am following you. Look forward to going over your web page yet again.
November 16, 2014 at 1:09 pm |
My wife and I had the same discussion and she also was surprised at Austrailia’s size. Thanks!
November 26, 2014 at 10:36 am |
[…] The size of Australia vs. USA | Petergrantfineart’s Blog – Jun 21, 2010 · Your map overlay leaves out Alaska and Hawaii. … I typed in Australia vs USA Map and YOUR site was … like comparing one another in a shower room is …… […]
December 13, 2014 at 5:08 pm |
Australia’s total land area is 7,692,024 kms kmsq the continental u.s.( without water area added ) is 7,663,940kmsq
December 14, 2014 at 9:34 pm |
You just have to love Google, if I think of an obscure question…I simply Google it. Today’s question, based on a cruise I’m looking at, compare the land mass of Australia to the land mass of the United States…brought up your graphic. Living in San Francisco Bay area, CA.
December 24, 2014 at 5:46 pm |
Australia’s total land area is 7,692,024 km sq, the contiguous u.s. excluding water area, is 7,663,948km sq.
December 26, 2014 at 4:57 am |
Just exploring different map projections today to get an idea of the actual sizes of different countries. The projections used most frequently, and used by Google and Bing Maps, stretch the areas farthest from the equator, making for a very distorted idea of their sizes. The Goode homolosine and Boggs eumorphic projections give an accurate depiction of area. Looking at the Goode homolosine projection, I was surprised to see that Australia is about the same size as the contiguous United States! I used to assume Australia was smaller. Your article here confirms it’s actually nearly exactly the same size. Very interesting to learn this!
February 12, 2015 at 9:08 am |
Good day to you Peter. In answer to your query, i was curious, as many people no doubt are, how big Australia is compared to America so i typed “the size of australia compared to america” in google. Your site happened to be on the first page of google results.
February 27, 2015 at 1:32 am |
thanks…. It is interesting the question is so popular… And although the picture only reflects the southern 48 and does not include Alaska… It is simple an attempt to show a comparison and nothing more.
March 20, 2015 at 2:51 pm |
Hey Pete, when I googled my question what is Australia’s land mass compared to the USA, your site & info, amongst others, came up as a answer source, if you will. So my name too is Peter & I live in Sydney, Australia (the best damned country in this universe bar none) On many occasion I have had financial reward, when I suggest that Oz & the States are albeit the same size, give or take a couple of million square klm’s!!! More often than not, this reward comes in the shape of the trusty old US dollar. With the assistance of my iPhone, Safari & Google, I am able to prove & rest my case of this sometimes, hard to believe, land mass fact. Us ozzies, when told of this information, in true ozzy form, we really don’t give a f#¥k. However, our patriotic yanky brothers, find this ridiculously absurd & don’t believe a word of it. The rest as they say is…..greenbacks in my wallet!!!
March 20, 2015 at 3:29 pm |
Further to my last comment, Australia, as big & beautiful as we are, most of our sunburnt land, just can’t be settled. In fact, it is the East coast that carries the bulk of our population. If you were to head West, for let’s say about 800 klm’s from the East coast, stop & then draw a line from top to bottom, North to South, this strip of land along our East coast, is what essentially makes Australia. Of course we have Perth, in Western Australia, which is in fact, the most isolated city in the world, as well as Tasmania & the Northern Terriotory. All the rest of this country is just to inhospitable. With temperatures that are well into the 40’s & 50’s (Celsius), most of the year, it is only our Aborigines, that can live & survive in these parts of central Australia. Then, if that not bad enough for you, how about we throw in some of the worlds most deadliest snakes & spiders!!