Continent(from lat. continens, genitive case continentis) - a large massif of the earth's crust, a significant part of which is located above the level of the world ocean (land), and the rest of the peripheral part is below sea level. The continent also includes islands located on the underwater periphery. In addition to the concept of a continent, the term mainland is also used.

Terminology

Mainland- a vast expanse of land washed by the seas and oceans (or Land, land - as opposed to water or islands). In Russian, the words mainland and continent have the same meaning.

From a tectonic point of view, continents are sections of the lithosphere that have a continental structure of the earth's crust.

There are several continental models in the world (see below). On the territory of the post-Soviet space, the model of six continents with a divided America is adopted as the main one.

There is also a similar concept of part of the world. The division into continents is made on the basis of separation by water space, and parts of the world are rather a historical and cultural concept. Thus, the continent of Eurasia consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. And part of the world America is located on two continents - South America and North America. In other cases, parts of the world coincide with the above continents.

The border between Europe and Asia runs along the Ural Mountains, then the Ural River to the Caspian Sea, the Kuma and Manych rivers to the mouth of the Don River and further along the shores of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The Europe-Asia border described above is not indisputable. This is just one of several options accepted in the world.

In geology, the continent is also often referred to as the underwater margin of the continent, including the islands located on it.

In English and some other languages, the word continent denotes both continents and parts of the world.

Continental models

In the world, different countries estimate the number of continents differently. Number of continents in different traditions

• 4 continents: Afro-Eurasia, America, Antarctica, Australia
• 5 continents: Africa, Eurasia, America, Antarctica, Australia
• 6 continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, America, Antarctica, Australia
• 6 continents: Africa, Eurasia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia
• 7 continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia

The seven continents model is popular in China, India, partly in Western Europe and in English-speaking countries.

The six continent model with America united (we call it "Parts of the World") is popular in Spanish speaking countries and parts of Eastern Europe including Greece with its five continent model (five populated continents).

Comparison of area and population

Continent	Length (km from east to west, and from south to north, along the periphery)	Share of sushi	Population	Share of population
Afro-Eurasia
Oceania

- the largest and only continent on Earth, washed by four oceans: in the south - the Indian, in the north - the Arctic, in the west - the Atlantic, in the east - the Pacific. The continent is located in the Northern Hemisphere between approximately 9° W. and 169° W. while some of the Eurasian islands are located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of continental Eurasia lies in the Eastern Hemisphere, although the extreme western and eastern ends of the mainland are in the Western Hemisphere. Eurasia stretches from west to east for 10.5 thousand km, from north to south - for 5.3 thousand km, with an area of ​​53.6 million km2. This is more than a third of the total land area of ​​the planet. The area of ​​the Eurasian islands is approaching 2.75 million km2.

Contains two parts of the world: Europe and Asia. The border line between Europe and Asia is most often drawn along the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Emba River, the northwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, the Kuma River, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Manych River, the eastern coast of the Black Sea, the southern coast of the Black Sea, the Strait Bosphorus, the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, the Strait of Gibraltar. This division has developed historically. Naturally, there is no sharp boundary between Europe and Asia. The continent is united by the continuity of land, the current tectonic consolidation and the unity of numerous climatic processes.

(English North America, French Amérique du Nord, Spanish América del Norte, Norteamérica, Ast. Ixachitlān Mictlāmpa) is one of the continents of planet Earth, located in the north of the Western Hemisphere of the Earth. North America is washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean with the Bering Sea, Alaska and California bays, from the east by the Atlantic Ocean with the Labrador, Caribbean, St. Lawrence and Mexican seas, from the north by the Arctic Ocean with the Beaufort, Baffin, Greenland and Hudson Bay seas. From the west, the continent is separated from Eurasia by the Bering Strait. In the south, the border between North and South America runs through the Isthmus of Panama.

North America also includes numerous islands: Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, Vancouver Island, the Alexander Archipelago and others. The area of ​​North America, together with the islands, is 24.25 million km2, without the islands, 20.36 million km2.

(Spanish América del Sur, Sudamérica, Suramérica, port América do Sul, English South America, Dutch Zuid-Amerika, French Amérique du Sud, Guar Ñembyamérika, Quechua Urin Awya Yala, Urin Amerika) - the southern continent in America, located mainly in the Western and Southern hemispheres of planet Earth, however, part of the continent is also located in the Northern Hemisphere. It is washed in the west by the Pacific Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic, from the north it is limited by North America, the border between the Americas runs along the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea.

South America also includes various islands, most of which belong to the countries of the continent. Caribbean territories belong to North America. The South American countries that border the Caribbean - including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana - are known as Caribbean South America.

The most important river systems in South America are the Amazon, Orinoco and Parana, with a total basin of 7,000,000 km2 (the area of ​​South America is 17,800,000 km2). Most of the lakes in South America are located in the Andes, the largest of which and the world's highest navigable lake is Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru. The largest in area is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, it is also one of the oldest on the planet.

Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, is located in South America. On the mainland, there is also the most powerful waterfall - Iguazu.

- the second largest continent on our planet Earth after Eurasia, washed by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the Red Sea from the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south.

Africa is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland Africa and the islands adjacent to it, the largest of which is the island of Madagascar.

The African continent crosses the equator and several climatic zones; its feature is that it is the only continent that stretches from the northern subtropical climatic zone to the southern subtropical one.

Due to the lack of constant rainfall and irrigation on the continent - as well as glaciers or the aquifer of mountain systems - there is practically no natural regulation of the climate anywhere, except for the coasts.

(from Latin australis - "southern") - a continent located in the Eastern and Southern hemispheres of our planet Earth.

The entire territory of the mainland is the main part of the state of the Commonwealth of Australia. The mainland is part of the world Australia and Oceania.

The northern and eastern coasts of Australia are washed by the Pacific Ocean: the Arafura, Coral, Tasman, Timor Seas; western and southern - the Indian Ocean.

Near Australia are the large islands of New Guinea and Tasmania.

Along the northeast coast of Australia, the world's largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, stretches for more than 2,000 km.

(Greek ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of Arctida) - a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean. Antarctica is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.

Antarctica is the highest continent, its average height is 2040 meters. About 85% of the planet's glaciers are also located on the mainland. There is no permanent population on Antarctica, but there are more than forty scientific stations belonging to different states and intended for research and detailed study of the characteristics of the continent.

Antarctica is almost completely covered by an ice sheet, the average thickness of which exceeds 2500 meters. There is also a large number of subglacial lakes (more than 140), the largest of which is Lake Vostok discovered by Russian scientists in the 1990s.

Hypothetical continents

Kenorland

Kenorland is a hypothetical supercontinent that, according to geophysicists, existed in the Neoarchean (about 2.75 billion years ago). The name comes from the Kenoran phase of folding. Paleomagnetic studies indicate that Kenorland was at low latitudes.

Nuna

Nuna (Columbia, Hudsonland) is a hypothetical supercontinent that existed in the period from 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago (maximum assembly ~ 1.8 billion years ago). The assumption of its existence was put forward by J. Rogers and M. Santosh in 2002. Nuna's existence dates back to the Paleoproterozoic era, making it supposedly the oldest supercontinent. It consisted of plateau precursors of ancient platforms that were part of the earlier continents of Laurentia, Fennosarmatia, the Ukrainian Shield, Amazonia, Australia, and possibly Siberia, the Sino-Korean platform and the Kalahari platform. The existence of the Columbia continent is based on geological and paleomagnetic data.

Rodinia

Rodinia (from Rus. Rodina or from Rus. give birth) is a hypothetical supercontinent that presumably existed in the Proterozoic - the Precambrian eon. It originated about 1.1 billion years ago and broke up about 750 million years ago. At that time, the Earth consisted of one giant piece of land and one giant ocean, which received the name Mirovia, also taken from the Russian language. Rodinia is often considered the oldest known supercontinent, but its position and shape is still a matter of controversy. After the collapse of Rodinia, the continents managed to once again unite into the supercontinent Pangea and disintegrate again.

Lavrussia

Laurussia (Euramerica) is a Paleozoic supercontinent formed as a result of the collision of the North American (the ancient continent of Laurentia) and the East European (the ancient continent of Baltica) platforms during the Caledonian orogeny. Also known are the names Caledonia, Old Red Continent, Old Red Sandstone Continent. In the Permian period, it merged with Pangea and became its integral part. After the collapse of Pangea, it became part of Laurasia. Broken up in the Paleogene.

gondwana

Gondwana in paleogeography is an ancient supercontinent that arose approximately 750-530 million years ago, was localized around the South Pole for a long time, and included almost all the land that is now located in the southern hemisphere (Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia), as well as tectonic blocks of Hindustan and Arabia, now moved to the northern hemisphere and become part of the Eurasian continent. In the early Paleozoic, Gondwana gradually shifted northward and in the Carboniferous (360 million years ago) joined with the North American-Scandinavian continent to form the giant protocontinent Pangea. Then, during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago), Pangea split again into Gondwana and the northern continent of Laurasia, which were separated by the Tethys Ocean. 30 million years later, in the same Jurassic period, Gondwana gradually began to break up into new (current) continents. Finally, all modern continents: Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica and the Hindustan Peninsula stood out from Gondwana only at the end of the Cretaceous period, that is, 70-80 million years ago.

Pangea

Pangea (ancient Greek Πανγαῖα - “all-earth”) is the name given by Alfred Wegener to the protocontinent that arose in the Paleozoic era. The giant ocean, which washed Pangea from the Silurian period of the Paleozoic to the early Mesozoic inclusive, received the name Panthalassa (from other Greek παν- “all-” and θάλασσα “sea”). Pangea was formed in the Permian period, and split at the end of the Triassic (about 200 - 210 million years ago) into two continents: the northern continent - Laurasia and the southern continent - Gondwana. In the process of the formation of Pangea from more ancient continents, mountain systems arose at the places of their collision, some of them have existed to this day, for example, the Urals or the Appalachians. These early mountains are much older than the younger mountain systems (the Alps in Europe, the Cordillera in North America, the Andes in South America or the Himalayas in Asia). Due to the erosion that lasts for many millions of years, the Urals and the Appalachians are run-in low mountains.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstania - the Middle Paleozoic continent, which was located between Laurussia and the Siberian platform. It stretches from the Turgai trough and the Turan lowland to the Gobi and Takla-Makan deserts.

Laurasia

Laurasia is a supercontinent that existed as the northern part of the fault of the Pangea protocontinent (southern - Gondwana) in the late Mesozoic era. It united most of those territories that today make up the existing continents of the Northern Hemisphere - Eurasia and North America, which in turn broke away from each other from 135 to 200 million years ago.

Pangea Ultima

It is assumed that in the future the continents will once again gather into a supercontinent called Pangea Ultima.

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The mainland is a vast expanse of land, washed by the seas and oceans. Continent is a geological concept. The border between the continents on land runs along the isthmuses: Panama - between North and South America, and Suez - between Africa and Asia.

How many continents on Earth are 6 or 7?

There is an opinion that there are not 6 continents on Earth, but 7. The territory located around the South Pole is huge blocks of ice. Currently, many scientists call it another continent on planet Earth.

However, answering the question: “How many continents are there on planet Earth?”, You can accurately answer - 6.

How many continents are on Earth and their names

• Eurasia,
• Africa,
• North America,
• South America,
• Australia,
• Antarctica.

In geology, the mainland is also often referred to as the underwater margin of the mainland, including the islands located on it. From a tectonic point of view, continents are sections of the lithosphere that have a continental structure of the earth's crust.

The continent (inseparable, continuous), unlike the mainland, is a continuous land mass, not separated by the sea. The borders of the continent cannot pass by land. Four continents:

• Old World (Eurasia and Africa),
• New World (North America and South America),
• Australia,
• Antarctica.

There is also a similar historical and cultural concept of "part of the world." On the continent of Eurasia there are two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, and part of the world America includes two continents - South and North America. The world is divided into six parts of the world:

• Asia,
• Africa,
• America,
• Europe,
• Australia and Oceania,
• Antarctica (Antarctica with coastal seas and islands).

Sometimes Oceania and the Arctic are separated into separate parts of the world.

The border between Europe and Asia from north to south runs along the Ural Mountains, then along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea, north of the Caucasus - along the Kuma and Manych rivers to the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, then along the Black, Marmara and Mediterranean Seas. The border described above is not indisputable - it is only one of several options accepted in the world.

Continental models

In the world, there are several traditions of dividing the lands into continents and parts of the world.

Number of continents in different traditions
Colors highlight parts of the land allocated to continents in various cultures
4 continents	Afro-Eurasia			America		Antarctica	Australia
5 continents	Africa	Eurasia		America		Antarctica	Australia
6 continents	Africa	Europe	Asia	America		Antarctica	Australia
6 continents	Africa	Eurasia		North America	South America	Antarctica	Australia
7 continents	Africa	Europe	Asia	North America	South America	Antarctica	Australia

• The seven continents model is popular in China, India, partly in Western Europe and in English-speaking countries.
• The six continent model with America united ("Parts of the World") is popular in Spanish speaking countries [and parts of Eastern Europe, including Greece with its five continent model (five inhabited continents).

Comparison of area and population

Eurasia

Eurasia on the globe

Eurasia- the largest continent on Earth, and the only one washed by four oceans: in the south - the Indian, in the north - the Arctic, in the west - the Atlantic, in the east - the Pacific. The continent is located in the Northern Hemisphere between 9° W. and 169° W. while some of the Eurasian islands are located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of continental Eurasia lies in the Eastern Hemisphere, although the extreme western and eastern ends of the mainland are in the Western Hemisphere. Eurasia stretches from west to east for 10.5 thousand km, from north to south - for 5.3 thousand km, with an area of ​​53.6 million km². This is more than a third of the total land area of ​​the planet. The area of ​​the Eurasian islands is approaching 2.75 million km².

Contains two parts of the world: Europe and Asia. The border line between Europe and Asia is most often drawn along the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Emba River, the northwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, the Kuma River, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Manych River, the eastern coast of the Black Sea, the southern coast of the Black Sea, the Strait Bosphorus, the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, the Strait of Gibraltar. This division has developed historically. Naturally, there is no sharp boundary between Europe and Asia. The continent is united by the continuity of land, the current tectonic consolidation and the unity of numerous climatic processes.

North America

North America on the globe

North America(English) North America, fr. Amerique du Nord, Spanish America del Norte, Norteamérica , ast. Ixachitlān Mictlāmpa) is one of the continents of the planet Earth, located in the north of the Western Hemisphere of the Earth. North America is washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean with the Bering Sea, Alaska and California bays, from the east by the Atlantic Ocean with the Labrador, Caribbean, St. Lawrence and Mexican seas, from the north by the Arctic Ocean with the Beaufort, Baffin, Greenland and Hudson Bay seas. From the west, the continent is separated from Eurasia by the Bering Strait. In the south, the border between North and South America runs through the Isthmus of Panama.

North America also includes numerous islands: Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, Vancouver Island, the Alexander Archipelago and others. The area of ​​North America, together with the islands, is 24.25 million km², without the islands, 20.36 million km².

South America

South America on the globe

South America(Spanish) America del Sur, Sudamérica, Suramérica , port. America do Sul, English South America, netherl. Zuid-Amerika, fr. Amerique du Sud, guar. Ñembyamérika, Quechua Urin Awya Yala, Urin Amerika) is the southern continent in America, located mainly in the Western and Southern hemispheres of planet Earth, however, the continent is partially located in the Northern Hemisphere. It is washed in the west by the Pacific Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic, from the north it is limited by North America, the border between the Americas runs along the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea.

South America also includes various islands, most of which belong to the countries of the continent. Caribbean territories belong to North America. The South American countries that border the Caribbean - including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana - are known as Caribbean South America.

The most important river systems in South America are the Amazon, Orinoco and Parana, with a total basin of 7 million km² (the area of ​​South America is 17.8 million km²). Most of the lakes in South America are located in the Andes, the largest of which and the world's highest navigable lake is Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru. The largest in area is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, it is also one of the oldest on the planet.

Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, is located in South America. On the mainland, there is also the most powerful waterfall - Iguazu.

The area of ​​the continent is 17.8 million km²: 4th place among the continents.

Africa

Africa on the globe

Africa- the second largest continent after Eurasia, washed by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the Red Sea from the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south. Africa is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland Africa and adjacent islands.

The African continent crosses the equator and several climatic zones; it is the only continent that stretches from the northern subtropical climate zone to the southern subtropical one. Due to the lack of permanent rainfall and irrigation - as well as glaciers or aquifers of mountain systems - there is practically no natural regulation of the climate anywhere except the coasts.

Australia

Australia on the globe

Australia(from lat. australis- "southern") - a continent located in the Eastern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth. The entire territory of the mainland is the main part of the state of the Commonwealth of Australia. The mainland is part of the world Australia and Oceania. The northern and eastern coasts of Australia are washed by the Pacific Ocean: the Arafura, Coral, Tasman, Timor Seas; western and southern - the Indian Ocean. Near Australia are the large islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. Along the northeast coast of Australia, the world's largest coral reef stretches for more than 2000 km - Great Barrier Reef.

Antarctica

Antarctica on a globe

Antarctica(gr. ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of Arctida) - a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean. Antarctica is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.

Antarctica is the highest continent, its average height is 2040 meters. About 85% of the planet's glaciers are also located on the mainland. There is no permanent population in Antarctica, but there are more than 50 scientific stations belonging to different states and intended for research and detailed study of the characteristics of the continent.

Antarctica is almost completely covered by an ice sheet, the average thickness of which exceeds 2500 meters. There is also a large number of subglacial lakes (more than 140), the largest of which is Lake Vostok discovered by Russian scientists in the 1990s.

Hypothetical continents

Kenorland

Kenorland- a hypothetical supercontinent that, according to geophysicists, existed in the Neoarchean (about 2.75 billion years ago). The name comes from the Kenoran phase of folding. Paleomagnetic studies indicate that Kenorland was at low latitudes.

Nuna

Nuna (Colombia, Hudsonland) is a hypothetical supercontinent that existed in the period from 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago (maximum assembly ~ 1.8 billion years ago). The assumption of its existence was put forward by J. Rogers and M. Santosh in 2002. Nuna is dated to the Paleoproterozoic era, making it the supposedly oldest supercontinent. It consisted of plateau precursors of ancient platforms that were part of the earlier continents of Laurentia, Fennosarmatia, the Ukrainian Shield, Amazonia, Australia, and possibly Siberia, the Sino-Korean platform and the Kalahari platform. The existence of the Columbia continent is based on geological and paleomagnetic evidence.

Rodinia

Rodinia(from "Motherland" or from "give birth") - a hypothetical supercontinent that presumably existed in the Proterozoic - the Precambrian eon. It originated about 1.1 billion years ago and broke up about 750 million years ago. At that time, the Earth consisted of one giant piece of land and one giant ocean, which received the name Mirovia, also taken from the Russian language. Rodinia is often considered the oldest known supercontinent, but its position and shape is still a matter of controversy. After the collapse of Rodinia, the continents managed to once again unite into the supercontinent Pangea and disintegrate again.

Lavrussia

Lavrussia (euramerica) is a Paleozoic supercontinent formed as a result of the collision of the North American (the ancient continent of Laurentia) and the East European (the ancient continent of Baltica) platforms during the Caledonian orogeny. The names are also known Caledonia, « ancient red continent" (eng. Old Red Continent), « mainland ancient red sandstone» ( Old Red Sandstone Continent). In the Permian period, it merged with Pangea and became its integral part. After the collapse of Pangea, it became part of Laurasia. Broken up in the Paleogene.

gondwana

Disappeared continents

Gondwana in paleogeography, an ancient supercontinent that arose about 750-530 million years ago, was localized around the South Pole for a long time, and included almost all the land that is now located in the southern hemisphere (Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia), as well as tectonic blocks of Hindustan and Arabia, now moved to the northern hemisphere and become part of the Eurasian continent. In the early Paleozoic, Gondwana gradually shifted to the north, and in the Carboniferous period (360 million years ago) it merged with the North American-Scandinavian continent to form the giant protocontinent Pangea. Then, during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago), Pangea again split into Gondwana and the northern continent of Laurasia, which were separated by the Tethys Ocean. 30 million years later, in the same Jurassic period, Gondwana gradually began to break up into new (current) continents. Finally, all modern continents - Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica and the Hindustan Peninsula - stood out from Gondwana only at the end of the Cretaceous, that is, 70-80 million years ago.

Pangea

Pangea surrounded by Panthalassa

Pangea(other Greek. Πανγαῖα - "all-earth") - the name given by Alfred Wegener to the protocontinent that arose in the Paleozoic era. The giant ocean that washed Pangea from the Silurian period of the Paleozoic to the early Mesozoic, inclusive, was called Panthalassa (from other Greek. παν- "all-" and θάλασσα "sea"). Pangea was formed in the Permian period, and split at the end of the Triassic (about 200-210 million years ago) into two continents: northern - Laurasia and southern - Gondwana. In the process of the formation of Pangea from more ancient continents, mountain systems arose at the places of their collision, some of them (for example, the Urals and the Appalachians) have existed to this day. These early mountains are much older than the younger mountain systems (the Alps in Europe, the Cordillera in North America, the Andes in South America, or the Himalayas in Asia). Due to erosion lasting many millions of years, the Urals and Appalachians are flattened low mountains.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan- the Middle Paleozoic continent, which was located between Laurussia and the Siberian platform. It stretches from the Turgai trough and the Turan lowland to the Gobi and Takla-Makan deserts.

Laurasia

Topographic map of Zealand showing the borders with Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu

Laurasia- a supercontinent that existed as the northern part of the fault of the Pangea protocontinent (southern - Gondwana) in the late Mesozoic era. It united most of those territories that today make up the existing continents of the northern hemisphere - Eurasia and North America, which in turn broke away from each other from 135 to 200 million years ago.

Pangea Ultima

It seems likely that in 100-200 Ma the continents will reassemble into a supercontinent. Various possible scenarios for this unification are proposed, known as Pangea Ultima, Novopangea and Amasia.

Zealand

Hypothetical continent, currently almost completely submerged. Broke off from Australia 60-85 million years ago and from Antarctica between 130 and 85 million years ago. It may have been completely flooded about 23 million years ago.

By definition, continents and continents are quite similar. This is a large land area, which is washed on all sides by the waters of the seas and oceans. However, there is a difference between these concepts and it is quite large. Scholars explain her theories of continental drift.

Mainland

A large landmass, which is washed on all sides by oceans, is called the mainland. An important condition is the presence of most of the land above the surface of the oceans. There are six of them on planet Earth:

• Eurasia- the largest of them.
• Africa– with the highest surface temperature.
• North America- along its coastline has the most bays and islands.
• South America This is where the most rain falls.
• Australia- defeats everyone for the number of plains.
• Antarctica- the coldest of them.

The smallest of them is Australia. All of them are separated by seas and oceans, although some of them are divided into man-made formations. For example, the Suez Canal is located between Africa and Eurasia, and the Isthmus of Panama is between North and South America.

Do not confuse continents with islands. Although both of these formations are land areas that are washed by water from all sides, their main difference lies in size - the continents are much larger. For example, the smallest mainland Australia is several times larger than the largest island on Earth - Greenland. In addition, most of the islands are still uninhabited, at a time when people live on all continents.

Continents

Until now, there is no consensus on the division of the continents. Some scientists distinguish four parts of the world:

• New World (both Americas).
• Old world (Africa and Eurasia).
• Australia.
• Antarctica.

According to others, there are six:

• Europe.
• Asia.
• America (both).
• Africa.
• Antarctica.
• Australia.

When they mean continents, they also talk about the islands that adjoin them. For example, Madagascar is part of the African continent, although it is a rather large land formation.

Translated from Latin, the word continent means "continuous". Scientists do not separate North and South America, since the Panama Canal separated them only in 1920. The same applies to Africa and Eurasia, which are separated by the artificial Suez Canal. Interestingly, the idea of ​​connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the isthmus originated in the 17th century. Some scholars of the time foresaw a huge benefit to trade. However, the Spanish King Philip forbade the project for religious reasons. Only after 3 centuries the ideas returned to the implementation again. Thus, the American continent was divided into two continents: South and North America.

In some cases, Antarctica is thrown out of the list, as this territory is practically uninhabited.

What do they have in common

Both formations are huge pieces of land that protrude above the oceans. They are necessarily washed from all sides by the waters of the seas and oceans. In addition, people live on their territory.

Common features of continents and continents:

1. Big sizes.
2. Tiled origin (as opposed to islands, which may be a tectonic lava formation).
3. The surface is above sea level.
4. Inhabited by people.

In the semantics of the Russian language, these two words are considered synonyms, but they denote two different concepts.

Main differences

The division of the continents and parts of the world occurs on the basis of drift theory, which in 1912 will be offered by a German scientist Alfred Wegener. Its essence is that more than 200 million years ago, back in the Jurassic period, all the land was a single continent. After the impact of tectonic forces, the continents began to move away from each other.

As proof of the veracity of this theory is the structure of the continents, namely their coasts. After looking at the map, one can come to the conclusion that the western coast of Africa coincides almost perfectly with the eastern coast of South America. The fauna and flora of the "divided" continents are also identical.

After analyzing images from space, scientists concluded that many millions of years ago there was only one supercontinent and one huge ocean on our planet. The earth's crust is made up of several plates that slide along the surface of the mantle. Due to the fact that the planet is constantly rotating, as well as due to the influence of the Moon and the Sun, irreversible geological processes began, which marked the beginning of the displacement of these plates. Thus, one mainland was divided into several parts, which began to slowly drift in the ocean. This movement continues in our time - every year they move a couple of centimeters.

The concept of "mainland" is a geographical concept that refers to a large part of the land. “Continent” or “part of the world” is a more geopolitical concept that refers to a specific area inhabited by people. The formation and grouping of continents happened historically. Part of the world may include several continents that are tied or were tied in the recent past to each other by land.

No matter how similar these concepts are to each other, they still need to be distinguished. If the mainland is a geographical unit, then the word "continent" is used to refer to a specific historical-geographical space.

Salute! I'm sure you're in a great mood and ready to dedicate some time to learning. As great thinkers wrote and said, there is never enough knowledge. New useful information makes our life more interesting. So, the first thesis of today's article -

Perfecting one's mind should be the main goal of a person's life.

Having the necessary intellectual base, you can control the world. Especially in our modern, information age.

People are always divided into two halves: those who are interested, study in order to use knowledge at the right time for their own benefit. And those run by smart people. Which half do you want to be? If the first - then do not neglect the study of new material every free minute.

The topic I would like to discuss today is our planet. Thanks to her, we live. And to be more precise, I wanted to try to find the answer to an extremely interesting question - How many continents are there on Earth. I already wrote an article titled:

The problem here, rather, in different points of view. These are people, there are many countries and each of them has its own views on education, and it is unlikely that in the future they will be able to come to a common opinion.

How many parts of the world are on the map

How many continents and continents are there in the world? And what are they called? If you ask people from different countries, you will get different answers:

• The formation of China, India and many English-speaking countries claims that there are seven continents, in addition to the known ones: North and South America, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, and Eurasia is divided into Europe and Asia;
• In Japan and the countries of the former Soviet Union, they believe that there are six continents, Eurasia as a single continent;
• Greece, Latin America, Spain, Portugal also distinguish six continents, separately Europe and Asia, but unite the Americas as one continent;
• If we take into account the opinion of the International Olympic Committee, then they take into account only the inhabited continents, without Antarctica. No wonder there are only five rings on the official sign.

You can still combine Africa and Eurasia into a single continent, you get a very unusual name Afro-Eurasia. And also both Americas, in this case there will be only four. So before you start a great argument, ask what countries in the world gave your opponent the opportunity to get an education. And keep in mind that world maps in different countries may look different.

To question this or that system of education is also short-sighted. After all, there was a reason to choose just such an approach to learning, thus highlighting this particular country. There are always pluses and minuses in everything, but no one ever prevents you from expressing your point of view, and at the same time listening to someone else's.

Listening is extremely useful, in a conversation you can understand a lot about your interlocutor. The most unusual thing is the variety of cards, in each country they are issued according to their own standards, and with their own approved names.

How many continents and continents on Earth

There is such a science as geology, and from its point of view, the definitions of the continent and the mainland differ significantly from the generally accepted ones. So what is the difference between a mainland and a continent?

A continent is a solid surface of the earth or land surrounded by oceans and seas. All continents are separated only by isthmuses, such as Panama or Suez.

How many continents are on Earth?

There are six of them according to the current scientific concept and here are their names:

• Eurasia;
• Africa;
• Australia;
• Antarctica;
• North America;
• South America.

Even the islands adjacent to the mainland are also considered part of the adjacent land area, albeit partially under water.

A continent is a piece of land that is not interrupted by a body of water, like the sea, between itself.

How many continents are there on Earth and what are their names?

There are four of them:

• Old world - Africa and Eurasia entered here;
• New World - North and South America are included here;
• Antarctica;
• Australia.

But the globe is divided not only into continents, continents, there are also parts of the world, but this is more of a cultural or historical concept. This includes six parts:

• Asia;
• America;
• Africa;
• Antarctic;
• Europe;
• Australia and Oceania.

Here you can see photos of various variations of atlases and symbols, and for those who like to study in more depth the history of the emergence of continents, there are thematic videos.

Earth's oceans

But not only the continents are located on our beautiful planet. Another of the greatest wealth is the presence of a huge amount of water, in the form of seas, oceans, lakes or rivers. Do you know how many oceans are on earth?

It is not for nothing that our planet is called Blue, thanks to the continuous World Ocean, which is divided by small archipelagos, but only conditionally. For many years it was customary to single out four oceans, but in recent years it has been decided to separately single out a fifth ocean, the Southern or Antarctic. Thus, there are:

• Pacific Ocean- is considered the largest in area, but also the deepest of all;
• Atlantic Ocean- the second largest, according to legend, the mysterious continent Atlantis was allegedly located there, hence its name;
• Indian Ocean- located in the equatorial belt and is considered the warmest;
• Antarctic- the youngest ocean washing the southern mainland;
• The Arctic Ocean- is still considered the most unexplored because of the inaccessibility, it is covered with eternal ice. Unfortunately, over the past decades, centuries-old ice has begun to melt, for various reasons, but scientists fear that an ecological catastrophe awaits us soon.

There are various hypotheses and myths

You know that I really love especially if they are beautiful. Eh, if at school instead of boring lectures with a lot of numbers and unpronounceable names, the teacher told legends or interesting events that happened to this place, it would become much more interesting to study.

Most of the legends, myths and strange events are connected with the oceans. If a person has already conquered all the land, then the oceanic expanses of the world have not yet been able to study enough. Personally, I am attracted to the Bermuda Triangle, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean.

I read the legend that I want to tell you a long time ago, and it left a mark in my memory and soul. This happened at a time when the sea was just beginning to conquer, flourished, trade and piracy. When the sailors believed that the great underwater ruler rules the sea and he must be respected if you wish a successful voyage.

Fairy tale with a hint

Once a merchant traveled on a merchant ship that was sailing with goods from India to America, and he decided to take his daughter on a trip. Although it was quite dangerous. On the ship, a young girl listened with pleasure to sea tales about sea monsters and mermaids.

And suddenly a pirate ship appeared on the horizon, the team naturally began to prepare for battle, and the merchant hid the girl in the hold and ordered her not to leave under any circumstances. The poor girl was so scared, she hid in the farthest and darkest corner among the chests with goods.

She perfectly heard everything that happened on the deck, screams and shots. When everything calmed down, she was even more frightened, because if the pirates won, it means that they will soon begin to take out all the goods. The girl decided to change into men's clothes, hoping that in this way she could pretend to be a hare that accidentally got on the ship.

Hearing that someone is starting up, she barely finished dressing and hid. Of course, they found her and brought her to the captain. Seeing an awkwardly dressed male teenager in front of him, the captain decided to show mercy and left him as an apprentice.

For a while, this helped the girl survive, but, unfortunately, the natural beauty began to attract the attention of the team, even the daily dirty work and shapeless clothes could not hide it. And at one point, the captain of the pirates decided to talk with the boy about dropping him off at the nearest port, until the showdown among the crew began.

Unexpectedly entering the cabin, which was reserved for the girl, the captain found her changing shirt. For some time he stood without the ability to utter even a word. Then, realizing what such exposure threatens and, having gained the gift of speech, he was the first to decide to get it.

Frightened by such behavior, the girl, escaping, ran to the deck, but then it got even worse. She did not wear a wig, her beautiful golden hair was blowing in the wind and, realizing what would happen next, she decided to do the only possible thing - to jump overboard.

Standing on the edge of the ship, she turned to the crowd, looked at the captain and cursed him. She said he was a real monster and jumped off. Of course, she drowned, but her words were so sincere that the great god of the seas turned the captain and all of him into sea monsters, who forever had to roam the expanses of the world.

I hope you enjoyed this article about continents and continents on a map of the Earth. Share it with your friends. Subscribe to and see you soon!

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Consists of body of water and land. The share of the World Ocean accounts for 70.8% of the Earth's surface, which is 361.06 million km 2, and the share of land - 29.2%, or 149.02 million km 2.

It is customary to conditionally divide all the land of the Earth into parts of the world and continents.

Continents of the Earth

continents, or continents are very large areas of land surrounded by water (Table 1). There are six of them on Earth: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australia. All continents are quite well isolated from each other.

The total area of ​​all continents is 139 million km2.

A piece of land that extends into an ocean or sea and is surrounded on three sides by water is called peninsula. The largest peninsula on Earth is the Arabian Peninsula (its area is 2732 thousand km 2).

A small piece of land compared to the mainland, surrounded on all sides by water, is island. There are single islands (the largest is Greenland, its area is 2176 thousand km 2) and clusters of islands - archipelagos(for example, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago). By origin, the islands are divided into:

• continental - large islands that have separated from the continents and are located on the underwater margin of the continents (for example, the island of Great Britain);
• oceanic, among which there are volcanic and coral.

Perhaps the largest number of volcanic islands can be observed in the Pacific Ocean. Coral (organogenic) islands are characteristic of the hot zone. Coral structures - atolls have the shape of a ring or a horseshoe with a diameter of up to several tens of kilometers. Sometimes atolls form truly gigantic clusters along the coast - barrier reefs(for example, the Great Barrier Reef along the east coast of Australia has a length of 2000 km).

Parts of the world

In addition to the division of land into continents, in the course of cultural and historical development, there was another allocation parts of the world of which there are also six: Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Antarctica and Australia. Part of the world includes not only the mainland, but also the islands adjacent to it. Far from the mainland, the islands of the Pacific Ocean form a special group called Oceania. The largest of them - about. New Guinea (area - 792.5 thousand km 2).

Geography of the continents

The location of the continents, as well as differences in the properties of waters, the system of currents and tides, allows us to divide, called oceans.

Currently, five oceans are distinguished: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and since 1996, by decision of the Commission on Geographical Names, the South. More information about the oceans will be given in the next section.

Table 1. General information about the continents

Characteristics			North America	South America	Australia	Antarctica
Area, mln km2 without islands with islands
Coastline, thousand km
Length, km: from North to South from west to east
extreme points
northern	Cape Chelyuskin 77°43" N	m Ben Secca 37°20" N	Cape Murchison 71°50" N	Cape Gapinas 12°25" N	m York 10°41"S	Sifre 63° S
	m. Piai 1° 16" media.	Cape Igolny 34°52" Yu.Sh.	m. Maryato 7° 12" N	Cape Froward 53°54" Jul.	m. Yugo-Vostochny 39°11" S
western	Cape Roca 9°34"W	Cape Almadi 17°32"W	m Prince of Wales 168°00"W	Cape Parinhas 81°20"W	m. Steep Point 113°05"E
eastern	Dezhnev metro station 169°40"W	Cape Ras Hafun 51°23"E	m. St. Charles 55°40" PLN	Cape Cabo Branco 34°46"W	Cape Byron 153°39" E