Map of the earth with continents and countries. Oceans and continents, their names, location on the map

Contrary to the name, its land occupies only 29.2% of the planet's surface, and water - the rest - 70.8%.

Area and population of continents

Continent Square,
million km 2
% of total
sushi of the earth
Asia43.4 29.14%
Africa30.3 20.34%
North America 24.71 16.59%
South America17.84 11.98%
Antarctica14.1 9.47%
Europe10 6.71%
Australia7.66 5.14%
Total: 148.94 million km 2
Continent Number
population
million people
% from everything
world population
Asia4366 59.54%
Africa1200 16.37%
Europe742 10.12%
North America566 7.72%
South America418 5.71%
Australia and Oceania39 0.54%
Total: 7334 million people

Continents of Earth

A continent is a large piece of land ( earth's crust), a significant part of it is located above ocean level. A continent is synonymous with a continent and, in most cases, a part of the world. There are seven continents on Earth (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica). However, you can often find other opinions about the quantity, and here's why.

Number of continents

In different traditions (schools, countries) it is customary to believe different quantities continents, hence the periodic confusion with numbers. And when some sources talk about the continent, and others about a part of the world, then everyone is also distracted by these concepts, as if they mean different things. For example, sometimes North and South America are considered to be a single continent, America, since they are essentially not separated by water (the artificial Panama Canal does not count). This interpretation is popular in Spanish-speaking countries. In the same way, there is an opinion that Europe, Asia and Africa are one continent - Afro-Eurasia - because they form an undivided landmass. And you have certainly heard that Europe and Asia, which have an extremely unclear distinction, are often called Eurasia. Hence the results of the calculation, when there are from four to seven continents on Earth. Nothing disappears anywhere, they just count differently. In other words, the problem of understanding is not that, for example, Europe was called a continent or mainland, but what and why Europe was assigned to, what it was glued to, and from whom it was separated. All this is pure convention, and there are several different variants of such conventions.

Oceania

There is a vast region on Earth that is in no way a continent, but still needs to be mentioned: Oceania. It includes clusters of small islands in the South Pacific Ocean and is roughly divided into Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. In reference books, Oceania is invariably associated with Australia as the closest (and at the same time the last on the list) continent. And to dispel the misconception that we're talking about only about mainland Australia, the title is specified: Australia and Oceania.

Oceans

Similar to the continents, the water surface also has a conditional division - into oceans. And here, too, there is some confusion with quantity: there are from 3 to 5 oceans, depending on traditions. In greatest detail it is: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Northern Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

The biggest and the smallest

The largest continent is Asia. This applies to both area (29%) and population (60%). The smallest on the list is Australia (5.14% and 0.54%, respectively). Antarctica is not on the list because this ice-bound continent is unsuitable for (comfortable) life and by and large uninhabited. largest ocean- Quiet, it covers almost half water surface Earth.

It is not enough just to know what a globe is. You need to learn how to read it correctly in order to learn a lot of new and interesting things. In this lesson we will learn what the colors on the globe mean. Let's learn the names of the oceans and continents, talk about their features and differences. Let's get acquainted with the amazing wonders of nature, flora and fauna.

Why blue and blue color the most on the globe? Most of earth's surface covered with water. In a photograph taken from space, all areas of water appear blue. This color on the globe indicates oceans and seas, rivers and lakes.

Rice. 2. Earth from space ()

But if you look closely, you will notice that in different places the ocean is indicated by different shades. This is done to show depth: the deeper the ocean, the darker Blue colour, and the shallower the depth, the lighter the paint on the globe. - This huge spaces bitter-salty water that surrounds the continents and islands.

Pacific Ocean- the largest on Earth.

Rice. 4. Physical card Pacific Ocean ()

This name was given to him by the navigator Ferdinand Magellan, because during his journey to sailing ships this ocean was calm. Although in fact the Pacific Ocean is not quiet at all, especially in its western part, where it raises and drives huge waves - tsunami, bringing a lot of trouble to the inhabitants of the Japanese islands.

Mariana Trench- the deepest place in the world. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, its depth is eleven kilometers and thirty-four meters.

Rice. 6. Mariana Trench ()

Previously, Europeans did not even suspect the existence of the Pacific Ocean. They knew only one ocean - Atlantic, which seemed limitless, so it was named after the strong hero Greek myths Atlanta.

Rice. 7. Physical map of the Atlantic Ocean ()

In fact, the Atlantic Ocean is the second largest after the Pacific, greatest depth ocean 5 kilometers. In the Atlantic Ocean there are huge waves as high as a three-story house.

Indian Ocean It is especially restless in its southern part. It is warmer than others; even in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the waters warm up to + 35 degrees.

Rice. 8. Physical map of the Indian Ocean ()

Arctic- the most northern region, covered in winter and summer with a thick layer of ice and snow. U North Pole there is a fourth ocean, almost its entire surface is covered with thick strong ice, and there are multi-meter snowdrifts around. That's why this ocean was named Arctic.

Rice. 9. Physical map of the Arctic Ocean

Relatively recently, oceanographers began to identify a fifth, South ocean.

Rice. 10. Physical map of Antarctica ()

Previously, this ocean was considered to be the southern parts of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. All oceans together: Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Southern - merge together into one world Ocean, which washes the entire globe.

On the globe, large areas of land called continents are depicted in green, yellow, brown and white. On the ground six continents: Eurasia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America.

Eurasia- most big continent, within its borders lie two parts of the world: Europe and Asia.

Rice. 11. Physical map of Eurasia ()

It is the only continent on Earth washed by four oceans: the Arctic in the north, the Indian in the south, the Atlantic in the west and the Pacific in the east. Our homeland is located on this continent Russia.

Rice. 12. Russia on the map of Eurasia ()

The surface of the continent is very diverse. Mountains and plains are the main forms of the earth's surface. Brown color indicates the location of the mountains, and green and yellow indicate the location of the plains. The largest of them West Siberian (flat plain), Eastern European(hilly plain).

Rice. 13. West Siberian Plain ()

Rice. 14. Physical map of the East European Plain ()

Rivers are indicated on the globe by uneven blue lines drawn along the surface of the continents. Rivers flow across the East European Plain Volga, Don, Dnieper, By West Siberian a river flows across the plain Ob. Mountains rise above the surface of the plains. The higher the mountains, the darker their color on the globe. Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.

Rice. 15. Himalaya mountains ()

Jamalungma (Everest)- the most high mountain in the world (8 km 708 m).

Rice. 16. Mount Jamalungma ()

Located in Eurasia Baikal- the deepest lake,

Rice. 17. Lake Baikal ()

The largest lake

Rice. 18. Caspian Sea ()

most large peninsula - Arabian,

Rice. 19. Coast of the Arabian Peninsula ()

the most low point sushi in the world - depression Dead Sea.

Rice. 20. Dead Sea ()

Rice. 21. Pole of Cold Oymyakon ()

Africa is the second largest continent, which is located on both sides of the equator, washed by the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south.

Rice. 22. Physical map of Africa ()

Africa is known for its diversity of nature: impenetrable rainforests with orchids,

Rice. 23. Rainforest ()

grassy plains with baobabs (huge trees up to forty meters in circumference),

vast expanses of desert.

Rice. 25. Desert in Africa ()

Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. Here it is Sahara Desert.

Rice. 26. Sahara Desert ()

This is the most big desert in the world and the hottest place on Earth (maximum recorded temperature is +58 degrees). On this continent flows Nile- the second longest river in the world.

Rice. 27. River Nile ()

Volcano Kilimanjaro- the most high point Africa.

Rice. 28. Mount Kilimanjaro ()

Victoria, Tanganyika, Chad - largest lakes on this continent.

Rice. 29. Lake Victoria ()

Rice. 30. Lake Tanganyika ()

Rice. 31. Lake Chad ()

In the Western Hemisphere are North America And South America, they are washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean, from the east by the Atlantic, and North America is also washed by the Arctic Ocean from the north.

Rice. 32. Physical map of North America

Rice. 33. Physical map of South America

North America also includes the largest island on Earth, it is called Greenland.

Rice. 34. Coast of Greenland ()

These continents are rich in rivers and lakes. In North America there is one of the greatest rivers peace Mississippi,

Rice. 35. Mississippi River ()

and in South America there is a river, the largest in the world in terms of depth and length.

Rice. 36. Amazon ()

There is a bay on the coast of North America Fundy, which, in addition to its incredible beauty, is famous for the largest tides in the world, more than seventeen meters.

Rice. 37. Bay of Fundy ()

Just imagine, millions of tons of water approach the shore in twelve hours and then move away from it. South America is home to the world's tallest waterfall - Angel, its total height is 979 meters.

Rice. 38. Angel Falls ()

It seems as if it is shrouded in fog - a curtain of tiny particles of water that sprays, falling from such a great height. The most powerful waterfall in the world is located on the same continent Iguazu.

Rice. 39. Iguazu Falls ()

Although in fact it is a whole complex of 270 individual waterfalls, which is about 2.7 km wide. South America is home to the driest place in the world - the desert. Atacama.

Rice. 40. Atacama Desert ()

In some places in this desert, rain falls once every few decades.

Australia- the fifth continent, which is smaller than all the others. The Pacific Ocean washes the northern and east coast, Indian Ocean - western and southern.

Rice. 41. Physical map of Australia

Most of the continent is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts, there are very few rivers, which is why Australia is considered the driest continent on Earth. Common here screams(English creek - rivulet) - rivers that exist only during the rainy season and completely dry up for most of the year.

Rice. 42. Dry river mouth ()

IN summer time many lakes also dry up, becoming significantly shallower and becoming covered with a thick layer of salt. But in the depths of Australia there is Large artesian pool - great amount clean fresh water, which is extracted for drinking. More than 9,000 plants survive in Australia alone. Eucalyptus is the most common plant of this continent.

Rice. 43. Eucalyptus ()

It is always light in eucalyptus forests, because eucalyptus turns its leaves edge-on towards the sun to conserve moisture. The bottle tree's trunk expands downward, like a bottle, in order to accumulate moisture there and expend it during drought.

Rice. 51. Physical map of Antarctica ()

The Southern Ocean washes the continent, covered with a thick layer of ice (up to 4 kilometers thick). That's why Antarctica is shown in white on the globe. Antarctica is not only home to South Pole land, but also pole of cold(lowest recorded temperature -89 degrees). Naturally, on most of the continent there are no animals or plants. In coastal areas there are mosses, lichens, and algae. Penguins come here.

Rice. 52. Penguins ()

The largest of them is the imperial one.

Rice. 53. Emperor penguins ()

There are no cities or villages in Antarctica. But expeditions are sent there from different countries. Russian scientists made a great contribution to the study of Antarctica.

  1. Vakhrushev A.A., Danilov D.D. The world 3. M.: Ballas.
  2. Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. The world around us 3. M.: Fedorov Publishing House.
  3. Pleshakov A.A. The world around us 3. M.: Enlightenment.
  1. Single collection of digital educational resources ().
  2. Festival pedagogical ideas ().
  3. Geological and geographical review ().
  1. Compose short test(4 questions with three answer options) on the topic “Oceans”
  2. Prepare a short report on a noteworthy geographical or natural site Eurasia.
  3. * Using the knowledge acquired in class, write a fairy tale, story or draw a comic book on the theme “My trip around the world.”

A geographical map of the world is an overview map of the relief of the earth's surface. The geographical map of the world has a coordinate grid. Not shown on this geographic map of the world individual states and countries to generalize and simplify the display of surface relief above sea level (the darker the color, the higher the surface). A geographic map of the world clearly and concisely shows information about the main continents, seas and oceans and allows you to quickly create an image of the relief of the whole world.

Geographic map of the world in Russian:

Geographic map of the world showing all continents. Smaller view geographical map world:

Geography lessons at school often require contour map world:

Geographic map of the world with continents:

2008 — 2018 © Maps-of-World.ru — detailed maps countries of the world in Russian with cities.

Continents and oceans alternate on the surface of the Earth. They differ in geographical location, size and shape, which affects the characteristics of their nature.

Geographical location and size of continents

Continents are distributed unevenly on the Earth's surface.

In the Northern Hemisphere they occupy 39% of the surface, and in the Southern Hemisphere they occupy only 19%. For this reason North hemisphere The lands are called continental, and the southern one is called oceanic.

Based on their position relative to the equator, continents are divided into a group of southern and a group of northern continents.

Since the continents are located in different latitudes, they receive unequal amounts of light and heat coming from the Sun.

In shaping the nature of the continent important role plays its area: than larger continent, the more territories there are that are remote from the oceans and do not experience their influence.

Oceans of the world: map, names, description, area, depth, plants and animals

Big geographical significance It has mutual arrangement continents.

Continents
Continents and parts of the world
Formation of oceans and continents
Origin of continents and oceans

Geographical location and size of the oceans

The oceans that separate the continents differ from each other in size, water properties, current systems, and features of the organic world.

The Pacific and Atlantic oceans are similar geographical position: They stretch from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica.

The Indian Ocean lies almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. The Arctic Ocean has a special geographical location - it is located around the North Pole within the Arctic Circle, covered sea ​​ice and is isolated from other oceans.

The border between continents and oceans runs along the coastline. It can be straight or rugged, that is, having many protrusions.

In the rugged coastlines many seas and bays. Protruding deep into the land, they have a significant impact on the nature of the continents.

Interaction of continents and oceans

The land and waters of the World Ocean have different properties, while they are constantly in close interaction.

The oceans greatly influence natural processes on continents, but continents also take part in shaping the nature of the oceans.

Continents and oceans on the surface of the Earth Wikipedia
Site search:

Continents of the Earth and parts of the world: names and descriptions

Planet Earth

Scientists believe that the Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years. At the same time, life began to emerge on it approximately 4.2 billion years ago. Formation of the Earth's ozone layer and its magnetic field helped protect and preserve developing life on the planet to this day.

Our planet is located third (after Mercury and Venus) from the Sun, which helps it preserve the necessary conditions for life on the planet.

The distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 150 million kilometers, or this distance is also called 1 astronomical unit. The air temperature on the planet in the coldest place reaches – 85 degrees Celsius in Antarctica and + 70 degrees Celsius in the hottest part of the planet – the Sahara Desert.

Planet Earth revolves around own axis and makes one revolution around its axis in 24 Earth hours, which are called days.

In one day we have time to see the sun rise, its gradual approach to the horizon, the sunset and the absence of the sun in the sky, which is again replaced by the sun rising on the horizon. The Earth also revolves around the Sun, and it makes one revolution around the Sun in 365 days or 1 calendar year, as is commonly believed. Over the course of 1 year on the planet, the seasons on the continents change, and in different points planets undergo changes in different ways.

The only one natural companion Throughout its entire history, the Earth has had and remains the Moon.

The Moon always faces the Earth with one side, and the other always looks into space. Today, more than 8,000 revolve around the Earth. artificial satellites that people sent into space.

In its shape, planet Earth is similar to an oblate ellipsoid.

The planet's diameter is 12,742 km and its circumference is 40,000 km. Given its size, the Earth's surface is covered by 70.8% water and only about 29.2% of the planet's surface is land. The highest point of land on our planet is Mount Everest (8,848 km above sea level). And the deepest point on our planet goes 10.994 km below sea level and is called the Mariana Trench.

Geographic map of the world

Oceans and continents of planet Earth

On planet Earth, at one time there were 6 continents (Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica) and 6 parts of the world (Australia, Asia, America, Antarctica, Africa and Europe), which differ in their borders from each other . All continents and parts of the world are washed by 5 oceans of the planet: the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.

The structure of planet Earth

In the center of the planet there is a core whose size reaches 7000 km in width.

The average radius of the core is 3500 km, of which inner part the core is solid (1300 km), consists mainly of metal and nickel, and the outer part of the core (2200 km) is liquid state. It is the movement of the outer part of the core that forms the Earth's magnetic field, which protects all living things from cosmic radiation.

The core is followed by the mantle (which goes 2800 km deep into the Earth) - it is partially in a liquid state. Scientists have divided the mantle into the Lower and Upper Mantle.

The lower mantle reaches a depth of up to 600 km from the surface of the planet. And the Lower Mantle ends at a depth of 2800 km from the Earth's surface.

And above the mantle is the earth's crust, which we know as upper layer land.

Its thickness reaches from 10 to 70 km. The earth's crust consists of huge plates that can move and collide with each other, resulting in the formation of mountains and powerful earthquakes.

The atmosphere of planet Earth consists of 77% nitrogen, 22% oxygen and 1% gases. This ratio of substances in the atmosphere turned out to be ideal for all living creatures that live on the planet and plants.

Today the planet is inhabited by millions different forms lives (animals, plants, birds, insects, fish, etc.), including people, whose number in 2011 exceeded the threshold of 7 billion people and continues to grow. Our planet is rich in beautiful and amazing places, which fascinate with their beauty and mystery.

And also has its own records!

Over the years of its existence, humanity has made great progress in terms of technology development, but has caused enormous damage to the planet itself.

I would like to believe that soon people will begin to correct their mistakes and save the planet from their harmful effects. Otherwise, no one will survive on this beautiful planet.

Report-message on the surrounding world for grades 2-3 on the topic “Continents”

The world's oceans occupy a large area of ​​the Earth.

Land occupies only twenty-nine percent of the surface.

A continent is a large land mass that is surrounded by water.

Today there are 6 continents:

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

Eurasia

Eurasia is the largest continent on Earth.

It occupies more than one third of the land area. The population of this continent is more than five billion people, which is equal to seventy percent of the total population of the Earth. The extreme point in the west is Cape Roka, in the east is Cape Dezhnev. Eurasia is the only continent on the planet washed by four oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic.

The surface of Eurasia is very diverse. The mainland has the most great plains And mountain systems peace. This continent is the highest continent on the planet. Average height is approximately eight hundred thirty meters. Eurasia is home to the highest mountains on the planet – the Himalayas.

Africa

The second largest continent by area is Africa.

Its area makes up one fifth of the landmass on the planet. In the south, the extreme point is Cape Agulhas, in the north - Cape El Abyad. They are equidistant from the equator. With the exception of the Isthmus of Suez, which is a small strip of land, this continent is almost entirely surrounded by water. The continent is washed by the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.

Continents and oceans on the surface of the Earth

The continent's population is located primarily in isolated areas. Most people live on west coast, in the Nile Valley and around Lake Victoria.

Australia

The smallest continent on the planet is Australia.

This continent is entirely in the southern hemisphere. Australia is washed in the north, west and south by the Indian Ocean, in the east by the Pacific Ocean.

The continent is significantly removed from other continents. Overland routes are absent with them. Much of the continent is sparsely populated or uninhabited. Australia became a separate continent 65,000,000 years ago. Due to its isolated location, there are many species of flora and fauna not found in other countries.

Antarctica

Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in terms of area and is the coldest continent. This continent is located beyond the Antarctic Circle. Almost the entire area of ​​the continent is covered with ice, the thickness of which is more than three kilometers.

The continent is washed by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. There is practically no flora or fauna here.

America

South America ranks fourth in area. This continent makes up thirteen percent of the Earth's total landmass.

In the west it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by the Caribbean Sea. Here is located long chain mountains on the planet - the Andes. Earthquakes often occur here.

North America lies entirely in the northern hemisphere. This continent ranks third in area. North America is washed by the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Eurasia and North America are separated by the Bering Strait.

Download the report “Continents”

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The meaning of many modern words was formed long ago, sometimes in classical ancient times.
And sometimes it is interesting to find out how the meaning of words has changed or how it was originally formed
their meaning.
IN this section some interesting ones are going to happen modern words and concepts whose origin
originates many centuries ago, or, on the contrary, they were formed quite recently.
The selection does not pretend to be unique or academic.

It's simple Interesting Facts and stories...

America. Since 1402 Columbus made four voyages to the shores of America, discovered many islands, and in 1498 entered the mainland.

Oceans and continents, their names, locations

It became clear that new lands unknown to Europeans had been discovered. However, the idea of ​​their existence was first expressed by Amerigo Vespucci, who took part in two expeditions (1499-1504) to open lands. An inquisitive and observant person, he compiled the first description of new lands, his letters about travel gained great popularity in Europe, and open New World was named after him.

Australia is a continent located in the southern hemisphere, from the Latin “southern”.

Antarctica is a continent located in the southern hemisphere, beyond the Antarctic Circle.

The name of the continent comes from Greek word“anti” - against, i.e. region opposite the north polar region globe- Arctic.

Arctic - northern polar region globe, including the Arctic Ocean with its seas and islands, adjacent parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the outskirts of the continents of Eurasia and North America.

The name comes from the Greek “arktos” - “bear”; country under the constellation Ursa Major in the Far North.

Africa is the second largest continent on the planet. The origin of its name is interpreted differently:
1) lat. africus - “frost-free, not knowing the cold”;
2) this is what the Romans called a small tribe that lived south of Tunisia, and its location was “Africa”.

Europe is part of the world.

So ancient word that it is extremely difficult to trace its origins. The name could come from the Semitic “ereb” or “irib”, which means “west” or from the Phoenician “Erep” - sunset; sunset. Another version: in Ancient Greece the word “Erebos” meant darkness, darkness, the underground kingdom of the dead. Europe is part of the world, West Side continent of Eurasia. According to legend, the Greek father of the gods, Zeus, kidnapped the beautiful Europa from Phenicia, took her to Crete and conceived several children with her here.

Aral Sea - from the Turkic Aral, which means “island”.

This is what the area at the mouth of the Amu Darya was first called.

The Sea of ​​Azov - in Arabic Bar el-Azov - “dark blue sea”.

Antilles from the Greek word “anti” - “against”, “ahead”, “against the mainland”.

The Azores are ten large and several small, mostly uninhabited islands. The thick shroud of fog that now and then envelops the Azores has become a kind of symbol of the archipelago; another, less famous name, which sounds like “Ilhas de Bruma” (misty islands).

Alaska is a peninsula in the northwest of North America.

From Aleutian alaskhas, means “big land”.

Bay of Bengal - from the Hindu word bangala, which means “home of banga”; (Bangays are ancient inhabitants of the coast).

Bosphorus Strait (Greek) - “cow ford”. By Greek mythology, the beautiful Io, transformed by Zeus's wife, the goddess Hera, into a cow, pursued by a gadfly, fled from Greece and swam across the Bosporus.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden - the “gate of tears.”

Greenland is an island, “green country” (in Danish), discovered in the 19th century by the Norman Vikings.

Hudson Bay is named after English navigator Hudson, who discovered the bay in 1610

California is a peninsula on the west coast of North America.

It means “hot forge”, because it gets very hot here in the summer heat air.

The Caspian lake-sea is part of a formerly vast sea. The name of the sea is associated with the name of the person who lived on its shores in the first millennium BC. of the Caspian people.

Red Sea - According to one version, the name of the sea depends on the part of the world. In the mythical tales of many peoples of the world, the cardinal directions are associated with certain color shades. For example, red symbolizes the south, white - the east, black (among a number of Asian peoples) - the north.

Hence the name “Black Sea” does not mean “sea with dark, black water”, but “sea located in the north”. After all, the Turks called this sea Kara-Deniz, the ancient tribes who spoke Iranian languages ​​called it Akhshaena (dark), and the Scythians called it Tama, which is also associated with the meaning “dark”.

As for the Red Sea, the word “red” seems to indicate its southern location, and not at all the color of the sea water.

Madeira - island in Portugal- “wine island”. In XYv. Famous Portuguese traveler Henry the Navigator planted shoots of Malvasian grapes brought from Crete in Madeira. So the grapes went into exile in Madeira.

Gulf of Mexico - its name is associated with the state of Mexico, which in turn is named after the Aztec god of war - Mehitli.

Newfoundland - from English.

- "again open land.”. In 1003 The Viking ships Torfini Karlefni sailed further south from Labrador. Two days later, a new land opened up before the travelers.

The rugged coastline was covered coniferous forest. Thorfinn named this land Markland - “forest country”.

Florida Peninsula North. America - “blooming” (Spanish).

Aegean Sea (Greek) - “exciting”.

Yucatan Peninsula North.

America - in the language of the local Indians it means “we don’t understand you” (this is how the inhabitants of this peninsula answered the first Europeans who asked “what is the name of this land?”)

They differ in geographical location, size and shape, which affects the characteristics of their nature.

Geographical location and size of continents

Continents are distributed unevenly on the Earth's surface. In the Northern Hemisphere they occupy 39% of the surface, and in the Southern Hemisphere they occupy only 19%. For this reason, the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth is called continental, and the Southern Hemisphere is called oceanic.

Based on their position relative to the equator, continents are divided into a group of southern and a group of northern continents.

Since the continents are located at different latitudes, they receive unequal amounts of light and heat from the Sun. In shaping the nature of a continent, its area plays an important role: the larger the continent, the more areas it contains that are remote from the oceans and not affected by them. The relative position of the continents is of great geographical importance.

Geographical location and size of the oceans

The continents that separate them differ from each other in size, water properties, current systems, and features of the organic world.

And they have a similar geographical location: they stretch from the Arctic Circle to. almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. It has a special geographical location - it is located around the North Pole within the Arctic Circle, covered with sea ice and isolated from other oceans.

The border between continents and oceans runs along the coastline. It can be straight or rugged, that is, having many protrusions. The rugged coastlines have many seas and bays. Protruding deep into the land, they have a significant impact on the nature of the continents.

Interaction of continents and oceans

Land and water have different properties, but they are constantly in close interaction. The oceans greatly influence the natural processes on the continents, but the continents also take part in shaping the characteristics of the nature of the oceans.

Continents, countries, oceans and seas - these terms are used very often geographical science. This article will talk about some of them. Oceans and continents occupy the surface of our planet. Let's find out how they were formed and what they are now.

How did the oceans, continents, and seas arise?

Our planet originated 4.5 billion years ago. Since then it has constantly changed. Having just appeared, it was red-hot and looked like a huge spherical body of seething molten substances. Gradually, the top layer began to cool, forming the earth's crust.
At that time, modern oceans and continents did not exist on the planet. Comets and meteorites colliding with the Earth brought ice to it 4 billion years ago. Having evaporated, it fell onto the surface in the form of precipitation and formed the hydrosphere. Instead of several continents there was only one. It is assumed that the first supercontinent, Vaalbara, arose 3.6 billion years ago.
After it, other supercontinents were formed: Columbia, Rodinia, Pannotia. Each of them disintegrated, and a new formation took its place. The last was the continent of Pangea. It united almost all of the modern landmass of the planet and was washed by the Panthalassa Ocean and the Tethys Sea.
Movement lithospheric plates It split him too. The continent of Pangea broke up into Laurasia and Gondwana. Tethys turned into an ocean in the area of ​​​​the modern Mediterranean, Caspian and Black Seas. Later, North America and Eurasia were formed from Laurasia, and from Gondwana all the other continents that currently exist.

Continents and the World Ocean

Since the emergence of the Earth, the geography of continents and oceans has changed. This process does not stop, because the slow movement of the platforms continues to this day. To understand how the continents are located today, just look at a geographic atlas.
Continents and oceans occupy unequal areas on the planet. Land accounts for 29.2% of the planet's surface. Its area is 149 million square kilometers. Most of its territory belongs to the continents - large areas of land that are washed by the waters of the World Ocean. There are 6 continents in total:
    Eurasia.North America.South America.Africa.Australia.Antarctica.
The terms "continent" and "mainland" are often used interchangeably. In more in a broad sense the term "continent" refers not only to land, but also to the underwater part of the earth's crust, which is adjacent to the continents. The concept also covers nearby islands.

The world's oceans cover much more space - 70.8%. It is a continuous shell that “envelops” islands and continents. The continents conditionally divide its waters into separate oceans. They may differ slightly in salinity, temperature and inhabitants. Bays, straits, bays and seas are also part of the World Ocean.

Northern continents

Oceans and continents are not always located strictly within one of the hemispheres. They are divided into northern and southern based on information about the ancient continents. Thus, the continents formed from Gondwana are defined as southern, and those formed from the split of Laurasia are considered northern.
Eurasia was once part of Laurasia. Now it is the largest continent in the world, which is washed by all the oceans. It is inhabited by more than 70% of all inhabitants of the planet. From west to east, the continent stretches from the Portuguese Cape Roca to Cape Dezhnev in Russia. His Northern part begins in the Arctic regions around the Russian Cape Chelyuskin, and extreme point to the south is Cape Piai in Malaysia.

The continent of North America is located entirely in the Northern and Western Hemispheres of the Earth. It is separated from the Eurasian continent by the Bering Strait, the border with South America passes along the Isthmus of Panama. The only ocean that does not wash this continent is the Indian Ocean. In the northern part the continent is crossed Arctic Circle, in the south it passes through the tropics.

Southern continents

Africa is the second largest continent by territory. It is located both in Northern and Southern Hemispheres and intersects the equator line. It is separated from Eurasia by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the Strait of Gibraltar. It is home to the largest desert (Sahara) and one of the longest rivers in the world (Nile). The continent is considered the hottest of all.
South America on the map is located below North America, visually as if continuing it. The continent is located in the Southern and Western Hemispheres, a small part of it is in the Northern. In addition to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it is washed by the Caribbean Sea.

Australia is located in the South and Eastern Hemisphere Earth. It is quite distant from other continents and is not connected to them by land. On its territory there is only one state, which occupies the entire continent. This is the driest continent. Despite this, it has unique flora and fauna, most of which are endemic.
Antarctica is the southernmost and at the same time the coldest continent. He also has greatest height among other continents. There is no permanent population here. Almost the entire territory of the continent is covered with ice.

Oceans

The world ocean is usually divided into Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Indian. Sometimes Yuzhny is also singled out, but this still remains controversial issue. Each of the oceans has its own straits, bays and seas.
The deepest and largest in area is the Pacific Ocean. It washes the shores of all six continents. It occupies the second part of the World Ocean. Second after it is the Atlantic Ocean. It connects polar points planets. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs through its center, the peaks of which appear in the form of volcanic islands.
The Indian Ocean is located within Eurasia, Antarctica, Africa and Australia. Before era geographical discoveries he was considered big sea. Travel on it began much earlier than on other oceans.
The Arctic Ocean has smallest area– 15 million sq. km. It is located near the North Pole. In winter, ice forms on its surface, and the air temperature above it varies from -20 to -40 degrees.

How do oceans and continents interact?

The interaction of water and land on the planet occurs with the participation of the atmosphere and solar activity. The ocean is a huge heat reservoir. It heats up much more slowly than land, but also retains heat longer. It exchanges the accumulated energy with the atmosphere, and it distributes it over the surface of the Earth.
Air masses formed over the ocean affect the climate of the continents. Sea winds are wetter than continental winds. Thanks to them, mild conditions with abundant precipitation are formed on the coasts. Inland, the climate is harsher and drier.
Currents play an important role in the influence of the ocean on land. Warm currents bring precipitation, saturate the continents with moisture, and increase the temperature. Cold - promote low temperatures, delay precipitation. They are capable of turning certain areas of the Earth into deserts (Atacama, Namib).
Oceans, continents, seas interact with each other and mechanically. Waves can erode shores, creating abrasive landforms. Coastal areas are flooded sea ​​water, forming lagoons, estuaries and fjords.

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