Continent

Continent is a large, continuous area of land on Earth. There are seven continents, namely Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Definition

A continent is defined as a large, continuous, discrete mass of land, ideally separated by expanses of water. Several of the seven conventionally recognized continents are not discrete landmasses separated by water. The criterion "large" leads to arbitrary classification: Greenland, with a surface area of 2,166,086 square kilometers is considered the world's largest island, while Australia, at 7,617,930 square kilometers is deemed the smallest continent.

Number of Continents

Different cultures and schools of thought may perceive the number of continents differently. The seven-continent model is usually taught in China, India, the Philippines, parts of Western Europe and most English-speaking countries, including Australia and England. A six-continent combined-Eurasia model is preferred by the geographic community, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Japan. A six-continent model (combining America) is taught in Latin America and in some parts of Europe including Greece and Spain.

List of Continents

• Asia - Asia is the largest and most populous continent in the world. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe.
• Africa - Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent in the world. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperine zones.
• North America - North America is the third largest continent by area and the fourth by population. It is located in the northern hemisphere.
• South America - South America is the fourth largest continent by area and the fifth by population. It is located in the western hemisphere.
• Antarctica - Antarctica is the southernmost continent and is site of the South Pole. It is the fifth largest in area and smallest in population.
• Europe - Europe is the second smallest continent by surface area and third most populous. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Asia.
• Australia - Australia is the smallest and second least populous continent. It is the only continent without land in the northern hemisphere.

See Also

• Earth
• Island
• Geography
• Eurasia

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