What continents are there in the world? Continent and mainland - two big differences

Located on two continents - South America and North America.

North America also includes numerous islands: Greenland, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Aleutian Islands, Vancouver Island, Alexandra Archipelago and others. The area of ​​North America including the islands is 42 million km2, without the islands it is 35 million km2.

South America

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 Sea—including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana—are known as Caribbean South America.

The most important river systems V South America are the Amazon, Orinoco and Paraná, whose total basin is 7,000,000 km 2 (the area of ​​South America is 7,500,000 km 2). Most of South America's lakes are 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 lake in area is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela; it is also one of the oldest on the planet.

South America is home to the world's tallest waterfall, Angel Falls. The most powerful waterfall is located on the mainland - Iguazu.

Africa

Africa- the third largest continent after Eurasia and North America, 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 a part of the world consisting of the continent of Africa and adjacent islands.

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

Australia

Antarctica

Vanished continents

Kenorland

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

Nuna

Nuna (Colombia, Hudsonland listen)) is a hypothetical supercontinent that existed between 1.8 and 1.5 Ga (maximum assembly ~1.8 Ga). Its existence was proposed by J. Rogers and M. Santosh in 2002. Nuna's existence dates back to the Paleoproterozoic era, making it presumably the oldest supercontinent. It consisted of the precursor plateaus of ancient platforms that formed part of the earlier continents of Laurentia, Fennosarmatia, Ukrainian Shield, Amazonia, Australia and possibly Siberia, the Sino-Korean Plate and the Kalahari Plate. The existence of the continent of Colombia is based on geological and paleomagnetic data.

Rodinia

Laurasia

Pangea Ultima

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

see also

Notes

1. Continent- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
2. Ozhegov's Dictionary
3. R. W. McColl: "continents" - Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1. - “And since Africa and Asia are connected at the Suez Peninsula, Europe, Africa, and Asia are sometimes combined as Afro-Eurasia or Eurafrasia.”
4. Océano Uno, Diccionario Enciclopédico y Atlas Mundial, "Continente", page 392, 1730. ISBN 84-494-0188-7
5. Los Cinco Continentes (The Five Continents), Planeta-De Agostini Editions, 1997. ISBN 84-395-6054-0
6. official Greek Paedagogical Institute 6th grade Geography textbook, 5+1 continents combined-America model, Pankosmios Enyklopaidikos Atlas, CIL Hellas Publications, ISBN 84-407-0470-4, page 30, 5+1 combined-America continents model, Neos Eikonographemenos Geographikos Atlas, Siola-Alexiou, 6 continents combined-America model, Lexico tes Hellenikes Glossas, Papyros Publications, ISBN 978-960-6715-47-1 , lemma continent( epeiros), 5 continents model, Lexico Triantaphyllide online dictionary, Greek Language Center ( Kentro Hellenikes Glossas), lemma continent( epeiros), 6 continents combined-America model, Lexico tes Neas Hellenikes Glossas, G.Babiniotes, Kentro Lexikologias(Legicology Center) LTD Publications, ISBN 960-86190-1-7, lemma continent( epeiros), 6 continents combined-America model.Note and clarification on the above: the sometimes used in Greece 5 and 5+1 continents models mentioned above are equivalent to the 6 (inhabited) continents combined-America model excluding/including (separately mentioning) the uninhabited and once lesser-known or unknown Antarctica (just like the Olympic Circles-Logo); they don’t refer to some other 5 or other number continent scheme modeling.
7. "Continent". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2001. New York: Columbia University Press - Bartleby.
8. World, National Geographic - Xpeditions Atlas. 2006. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
9. The World - Continents, Atlas of Canada
10. "Continent". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
11. The New Oxford Dictionary of English. 2001. New York: Oxford University Press.
12. "Continent". MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006.. Archived 2009-10-31.
13. "Continent". McArthur, Tom, ed. 1992. The Oxford Companion to the English Language . New York: Oxford University Press; p. 260.
14. .
15. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center Protected Areas and World Heritage - Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Department of the Environment and Heritage (1980). (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved March 31, 2008.
16. N.V. Lubnina: “East European craton from the Neoarchean to Paleozoic according to paleomagnetic data”
17. Rogers, J.J.W. and Santosh, M., 2002, Configuration of Columbia, a Mesoproterozoic supercontinent. Gondwana Research, v. 5, pp. 5-22
18. Zhao, Guochun; Cawood, Peter A.; Wilde, Simon A.; Sun, M. (2002). "Review of global 2.1–1.8 Ga orogens: implications for a pre-Rodinia supercontinent". Earth-Science Reviews 59 : 125–162. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
19. Zhao, Guochun; Sun, M.; Wilde, Simon A.; Li, S. Z. (2004). "A Paleo-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent: assembly, growth and breakup". Earth-Science Reviews 67 : 91–123. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
20. Pesonen, Lauri J.; J. Salminen, F. Donadini and S. Mertanen (November 2004). "Paleomagnetic Configuration of Continents During the Proterozoic" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-03-11.
21. Bispo-Santos, Franklin; Manoel S. D'Agrella-Filho; Igor I.G. Pacca; Liliane Janikian; Ricardo I.F. Trindade; Sten-Ake Elming; Jesué A. Silva; Marcia A.S. Barros; Francisco E.C. Pinho (June 2008). "Columbia revisited: Paleomagnetic results from the 1790 Ma colider volcanics (SW Amazonian Craton, Brazil) Precambrian Research, v. 164, p. 40-49-162." Retrieved 2007-01-07.
22. Li, Z. X.; Bogdanova, S. V.; Collins, A. S.; Davidson, A.; B. De Waele, R. E. Ernst, I. C. W. Fitzsimons, R. A. Fuck, D. P. Gladkochub, J. Jacobs, K. E. Karlstrom, S. Lul, L.M. Natapov, V. Pease, S. A. Pisarevsky, K. Thrane and V. Vernikovsky (2008). “Assembly, configuration, and break-up history of Rodinia: A synthesis.” Precambrian Research 160: 179-210
23. Houseman, Greg Dispersal of Gondwanaland. University of Leeds. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2008.

Links

Consists of water and land. The World Ocean accounts for 70.8% of the Earth's surface, which is 361.06 million km2, and the land share is 29.2%, or 149.02 million km2.

The entire landmass of the Earth is conventionally divided into parts of the world and continents.

Continents of the Earth

continents, or continents- these 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 juts out into an ocean or sea and is surrounded on three sides by water is called peninsula. The largest peninsula on Earth is the Arabian (its area is 2,732 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(eg Canadian Arctic Archipelago). Based on their origin, the islands are divided into:

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

Perhaps, greatest number 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 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 east coast Australia has a length of 2000 km).

Parts of the world

In addition to dividing the land into continents, in the course of cultural and historical development there was another division 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. The islands of the Pacific Ocean, significantly removed from the continents, form special group called Oceania. The largest of them is Fr. New Guinea(area - 792.5 thousand km 2).

Geography of continents

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

Currently, there are five oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and since 1996, by decision of the commission on geographical names- Southern. More detailed information about the oceans will be given in the next section.

Table 1. General information about the continents

Many reference books describe continents and islands as land washed by water. At first glance, this description is the same, but it has many significant differences. So what is the difference between a mainland and an island?

Differences

The main differences between continents and islands are:

Origin.

Population.

Scale differences.

The mainland is large massif in the form of land protruding above the surface of the world's oceans. An island is a small piece of land. To understand how the mainland differs from the island, you should consider in detail all the differences between them.

Origin

Scientists are convinced that the continents appeared as a result of the rise of the firmament from the ocean floor to the surface. Islands can be formed by the same land raised from the bottom, or they can be created by lowering it under water. In this case, a small part of it remains on the surface, and the rest goes under the ocean.

There are islands of volcanic origin, formed by the eruption of underwater volcanoes. Such land takes decades to form: magma is layered until it reaches the ocean surface. There are coral islands and reefs formed by compactions of the houses of creatures inhabiting the ocean, as well as polyps.

Population

The explanation of how the mainland differs from the island affects such a concept as population. There are people on every continent. The continents are unevenly populated; there are many areas that are considered unsuitable for life. Although, there was a time when Antarctica was also considered unsuitable, but now people live there.

Not all islands are inhabited. There are areas where there are no people at all. Such places can be found in any ocean. They are considered uninhabited.

Scale differences

Many people ask the question: “How does a mainland differ from an island, since these concepts mean land?” Both continents and islands are the earth's surface, which is washed by waters on all sides. The mainland is much larger than the island. Even the smallest Australia is approximately 3.5 times larger than the largest island of Greenland.

There are six continents in total, but count exact amount islands is impossible. New atolls are constantly appearing on Earth, and old ones are going under water.

Continents and their sizes

To better understand how the mainland differs from the island, it is worth getting to know this part of the land in more detail.

There are six continents in the world. The largest is Eurasia. It makes up approximately 36% of the entire earth's landmass, namely 55,000,000 square kilometers. This territory includes Europe and Asia. The mainland is home to four of the world's ten largest countries, about 75% of the world's population, and 102 states. It is on this continent that the most high point- Everest.

The second largest continent by area is Africa. Its area is almost 30,222,000 square kilometers. There are 55 states on this continent.

The third largest continent is North America. Its area is only 24 million km 2. There are 23 states on the continent, in which about 0.5 billion people. Mainland Canada and the USA are among the top ten large countries peace.

South America ranks fourth in size - only 17,840,000 km 2. The continent is home to twelve countries, home to approximately 400 million people. This continent is home to Brazil and Argentina, two of the top ten largest countries.

Antarctica has an area of ​​14,107,000 square kilometers, so this continent ranks fifth in size. There are no states here, no permanent population, although people live here: mainly geologists, archaeologists, meteorologists and other scientists.

The smallest continent is Australia. The sixth continent occupies a little more than 7 million square kilometers of land. There is only one state on this continent. The population here is small, about 23 million people.

The differences between the island and the mainland lie not only in size, but also in the stability of dimensions. As mentioned above, islands can go under water, rise, or form. This does not happen with continents: new ones do not rise from the water, old ones do not sink under the water.

Finally

Conducting detailed analysis How the mainland differs from the island, the main points can be traced:

Population. The continents are necessarily inhabited by people, even if there are few of them, but they still live on the continents. Islands may be uninhabited.

Land scale. The continents cover several million square kilometers. These numbers do not change. An island can occupy several square meters, gradually growing or, conversely, going into the water.

Features of occurrence. Each continent arose due to rift and movement earth plates. It was they who created large areas of land called continents. Islands arise from various reasons, including, for example, volcanic eruptions.

The continents have large sizes that are easy to remember. The largest continent is Eurasia, from it counterclockwise the arrows are coming reduction in continental land area.

A long time ago, our ancestors believed that the Earth was flat and stood on three elephants. Today, even the smallest children know that our planet is round and looks like a ball. In this article, we’ll run through the school geography course and talk about the continents.

The main thing in the article

What is a continent?

We all live on a planet called Earth, the surface of which is water and land. The land consists of continents and islands. Let's talk about the first in more detail.

A mainland, also called a continent, is a very large part (mass) of land that protrudes from the waters of the World Ocean and is washed by these waters.

What is the difference between a mainland, a continent and a part of the world?

There are three concepts in geography:

• Mainland;
• Continent;
• Part of the world.

They are often classified under the same definition. Although this is wrong, because each of these terms has its own designation.

Some sources distinguish continents and continents as one and the same. In others, the continent is distinguished as large area land, which is inseparable and “girdled” on all sides by the waters of the World Ocean. In other words, continents do not have conditional boundaries on the land. No matter how the definition sounds, continent and continent are identical concepts.

As for the part of the world, there are significant differences. Firstly, the concept itself is conditional, as it arose historically from the division of parts of the land into certain regions. Secondly, there are no clear restrictions on the boundaries of a part of the world. This may include both continents and continents, as well as islands and peninsulas.

How many continents were there originally on Earth?

Let's turn to history and try to explain what our Earth looked like millions of years ago. Scientific research showed that initially there was only one continent on earth , they call him Nuna. Further, the plates diverged, forming several parts that were reunited again. During the existence of our planet, there are 4 such reunited continents:

• Nuna is where it all started.
• Rodinia.
• Pannotia.
• Pangea.

The last continent became the “progenitor” of today’s massive landmass rising above the water. Pangea split into the following parts:

• Gondavan, which united today's Antarctica, Africa, Australia, and South America.
• Laurasia, which in the future became Eurasia and North America.

How many continents are there on Earth today?

Sources that separate concepts such as continent and continent indicate only four continents:

• Antarctica.
• Australia.
• The New World, which included two Americas.
• The Old World, consisting of Africa and Eurasia.

This is interesting: modern scientists have been able to prove that today the continents are moving towards each other. This fact proves the theory of a single land, which, due to technical reasons falls apart.

How many continents and parts of the world are there on Earth?

All land on Earth occupies only 30% of the planet's surface . It is divided into six large pieces of land called continents. They all have different sizes and unequal earth's crust. Below we give names of continents, starting with a large one and then decreasing.

Now, as for parts of the world. This concept is more conditional, since the history of the development of peoples and cultural differences led to the allocation of a specific area to a certain part of the world. Today there are seven parts of the world.

• Asia- the largest, occupying about 30% of all land on Earth, which is approximately 43.4 million km². It is located on the Eurasian continent, separated from Europe by the Ural Mountains.
• America consists of two parts, these are the continents of North and South America. Their area is estimated at 42.5 million km².
• Africa- This is the third largest part of the world, but despite its size, most of the continent is uninhabited (desert). Its size is 30.3 million km². This area also includes islands located near the mainland.
• Europe, The part of the world adjacent to Asia has many islands and peninsulas. Taking into account the island part, it occupies approximately 10 million km².
• Antarctica— the “large” part of the world, located on the polar continent, has an area of ​​14,107 thousand km². Moreover, its huge area is made up of glaciers.
• Australia- located on the very small continent, washed on all sides by seas and oceans, and having an area of ​​7659 thousand km².
• Oceania. In many scientific sources Oceania is not distinguished as separate part light, “attaching” it to Australia. It consists of a cluster of islands (more than 10 thousand) and occupies 1.26 million km² of land.

How many continents are there on Earth and what are they called: description, area, population

As we found out, the planet has six continents, which differ in area and other individual characteristics. Let's get to know each of them better.

Eurasia

This area of ​​land is located 5,132 billion people, and this is a lot - 70% of the entire population of the planet. In terms of size, the continent is also the leader and occupies 54.3 million km². In percentage terms, this is 36% of all land protruding above sea level. It is washed by all four oceans. Due to its length, in Eurasia you can find everything climatic zones of our planet. The extreme points of the continent are as follows:
This continent was one of the very first to be inhabited, therefore it has rich history, many attractions both natural and man-made. The main indicators that can characterize the scale of a given continent include the most big cities on the mainland:
What is significant on the territory of Eurasia:

Africa

Africa significantly less Eurasia and is in many ways inferior to it in terms of characteristics. It is considered the cradle of humanity, and on its territory There are 57 states. There is only a small population here 1.2 billion people, but in use on this continent is about 2000 languages. The total area of ​​the mainland with the island part is 30.3 million km² of which about 9 million km² occupied by the Sahara Desert, which continues to grow.

It is believed that this is the only continent on which there are places where no human has set foot.

Africa is rich in mineral resources. The geography of the mainland has the following location.
What is significant in Africa:

North America

In the Western Hemisphere it extends approximately 20 million km² North America. This part The world is still quite young, as it was discovered only in 1507. In terms of population, more than 500 million people. Basically, Negroid, Caucasian, Mongoloid race. All states on the mainland have access to the sea. The extreme points on the mainland look like this.

The extent from south to north is represented by the following indicators.
What is significant in North America:

South America

Everyone has heard about how Columbus discovered America. This discoverer first set foot on the soil of South America. The size of the continent varies between 18 million km². Lives in this area 400 million people. As for the “edge” of geography, it looks like this in South America:

The mainland is located in warm climatic zones, which allows fauna and flora to develop.
What is significant in South America:

Australia

The entire continent of Australia is one huge state with the same name. His total area –7659 thousand km². This summed area also includes those adjacent to Australia. large islands. 1/3 of the continent's area is occupied by desert. This continent is also called green, and the inhabited territory is inhabited by 24.7 million people. Extreme points mainland are:

What is significant in Australia:

Antarctica

Antarctica is a huge continent with an area including glaciers of 14107 thousand km². Due to the constant cold on the mainland, lives from 1000 to 4000 thousand people. Most of- these are imported specialists working for numerous research stations located in Antarctica. The mainland is neutral territory and does not belong to anyone. The world of animals and plants here is very limited, but even cold is unable to stop its development.
What is significant in Antarctica:

What oceans wash the continents on Earth?

Oceans today occupy 2/3 of the entire area of ​​planet Earth. The world ocean, which washes all continents, is divided into four parts:

• Pacific Ocean (178.6 million km²)- is considered the largest, since it has almost 50% of the total water mass on Earth.
• Atlantic Ocean (92 million km²)- 16% of it consists of seas and channels. This ocean extends across all climate zones of the Earth. It is in this ocean that the well-known “Bermuda Triangle” is located.
• Indian Ocean (76.1 million km²)– it is considered to be the warmest, although the hot Gulf Stream is not present in it (the Gulf Stream flows in the Atlantic Ocean).
• Arctic Ocean (14 million km²)- This is the smallest ocean. It has large oil reserves in its depths and is famous big amount icebergs

Map of the Earth's continents

How many continents on Earth begin with “a”: cheat sheet

Here the opinions of experts differ, since some name only 3 continents whose names begin with “a”, others stubbornly defend the number 5. So which of them is right? Let's try to figure it out.

If we proceed from the theory that almost all the continents on Earth are named with an “a”, more precisely 5 out of 6, then the following comes out. The names remain undisputed:

1. Antarctica.
2. Australia.
3. Africa.

Three that everyone agrees on. Adherents of the 5 continents starting with the letter “a” add to those written above:

• South America.
• North America.

Only the largest continent, Eurasia, is distinctive, but even here there are facts that it was originally divided into two continents (parts of the world), which were called:

• Asia.
• Europe.

Over time, the latter changed into the Europe familiar to us, and the mainland was named in one word - Eurasia.

How to count the continents on planet Earth: video

Learn to distinguish continents, continents and parts of the world. Find out how many oceans there are on Earth and what they are called.

It would seem that the questions from school curriculum, for example, how many continents there are on Earth and what they are called is not so easy to give a definite answer. It's all about somewhat confusing terminology, which we'll try to figure out now.

How many continents are there on Earth and what are they called?

Even those who studied geography with excellent marks at school can, after a while, begin to get confused about the number and names of continents, continents and parts of the world. But the difference between these terms denoting land is fundamentally important.

Continents in geography are sections earth's crust, mostly rising above sea level. Their protruding part is what we call land. The continents are surrounded on all sides by water.

General information about continents.

Area of ​​continents, their sizes in comparison.

Today there are 6 continents, and they are displayed on the world map. This:

1. Eurasia is the largest area of ​​land, washed by 4 oceans, lying in 4 hemispheres at once (mostly in the Northern and Eastern, smaller ones in the Southern and Western). Eurasia accounts for more than a third of the Earth's total landmass.
2. Africa is the second largest landmass, bordered by two oceans. Africa is crossed by the equator. The continent is unique in that it represents climatic zones from the northern subtropics to the southern subtropics.
3. Australia is a relatively small landmass located in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres washed by two oceans. This entire continent is occupied by one single state - Commonwealth of Australia(as you know, the union also includes nearby islands).
4. North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres, washed by three oceans.
5. South America is a landmass mainly located in the Southern and Western Hemispheres (only a small part is in the Northern Hemisphere), washed by two oceans. South and North America are connected by the Isthmus of Panama.
6. Antarctica is a landmass that stands highest (2040 m on average) above sea level and is almost completely covered with ice. The center of this continent coincides with the South Pole of the Earth. Antarctica is not inhabited by people (except for researchers who are there temporarily).

North America.

South America.

Australia.

Antarctica.

IMPORTANT: Just like today, the land did not always look the same. It was solid and was called Pangea. The supercontinent broke apart at the beginning of the Mesozoic, its parts drifted and ended up in the place where they are now.

It is noteworthy that in English speaking countries, India and China believe that there are not 6, but 7 continents. They divide Eurasia into Europe and Asia.

How many continents are there on Earth and what are they called?

If you confuse the concepts of “mainland” and “continent”, you will not make a serious mistake, since they mean the same thing.

IMPORTANT: The term "continent" comes from Latin word continens, which means continuous, encompassing.

Accordingly, there are 6 continents on our planet, and they are called the same as the continents.

VIDEO: Introduction to the continents of the Earth

How many parts of the world are there on Earth and what are they called?

But the concept of “part of the world” differs significantly from the concept of “mainland/continent”. In many ways it is historical. And the classification of parts of the world on our planet, of which, by the way, there are also six, is somewhat different.

1. The two parts of the world coincide with the continents. This is Africa and Antarctica.
2. The two parts of the world are twin. One, America, which includes two continents - North America and South America. The other is Australia and Oceania. It includes the mainland of Australia and the islands nearby.
3. But the continent of Eurasia is divided into two parts of the world - Europe and Asia.

How many oceans are there on planet Earth and what are they called?

Three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water. The oceans, which are part of the hydrosphere, are the largest continents that communicate with each other. water bodies. Together with the seas, bays and straits they are called the World Ocean.

Area of ​​the oceans.

Continents and oceans on the world map: photos and names

We invite you to look at the location of continents and oceans on a world map.

Continents and oceans on the world map.

Continents and oceans on a world map for children.

VIDEO: Oceans and continents