How many continents were there originally on earth? Continents and oceans on the world map: photos and names

The area of planet Earth is 510 million square meters. km. About 2/3 of its surface is covered. The rest is land, which is divided into continents and parts of the world. What are the continents and continents of the Earth, how many continents are there on Earth, what are their main features and geographical records?

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Continents and continents

In geography, two equivalent terms are used: continents and continents. They are synonyms and designate large parts of land that are washed by the waters of the seas and. However, not all researchers agree on how many continents there are on Earth. Exist different sushi sharing concepts to continents. Russian scientists use a model consisting of six continents.

Sizes of continents

Important! In some English speaking countries, as well as in China and India, they define a continental model consisting of 7 continents. Eurasia, the largest continent, is divided into Europe and Asia in this model. Some countries use a model with 4 continents: Afro-Eurasia, America, Antarctica and Australia.

First continent

The first continent on the planet, from which it all began, is called Nuna. In development the supercontinent changed its shape several times and acquired other names: Rodonia, Pannotia, Pangea.

It was from Pangea that the existing continents of the Earth were formed. At first it split in two. The northern part - Laurasia - formed the main continents of the northern hemisphere, and from the southern part - Gondwana - Africa was formed, South America, Australia and Antarctica.

The appearance and size of the continents have changed over billions of years and continue to change to this day.

Attention! What is Zealand? This is a new continent, which, according to New Zealand scientists, hides the Pacific Ocean. Its highest points are New Zealand and New Caledonia, and the remaining 94% are hidden in the depths of the waters.

Eurasia

Eurasia – the largest continent on Earth. It occupies more than ⅓ of its entire solid surface. The Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans wash its shores. The population of Eurasia is 5 billion people, or 70% of all living on the planet.

Geographical records of the Eurasian continent:

The Eurasian continent is the northernmost continent of our planet, since its extreme northern point– Cape Chelyuskin – is located 800 km closer to the North Pole than the northernmost point of North America.
The most coldest place in the world– Oymyakon village – located in the Republic of Yakutia. The record low temperature recorded here is -77.8°C.
The Bosphorus is the narrowest strait in the world. With a length of 30 km, its width in some places is only 700 m.
The Himalayas are recognized as the highest mountain system in the world. It consists of ten peaks with a height of more than 8000 meters.
- the deepest lake in the world. His deepest point – 1642 m.
Caspian Sea with an area of 371 thousand square meters. km - the most big lake peace.

Africa

Africa is the second largest continent on Earth. It occupies 6% of the land area of our planet. About 1.2 billion people live here. Most scientists believe that human civilization arose on the territory of this continent.

The equator passes through Africa, dividing the surface globe to the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and is also the origin of geographic latitude.

The most unique place on the African continent is the Sahara Desert. Its area exceeds the territory of the United States and is constantly increasing. The Sahara is the hottest desert on the planet, its surface warms up to +80 degrees. Beneath the sands of the Sahara are largest groundwater basins. It is they who supply water to the oases in which the sedentary desert inhabitants are concentrated.

Important! In Africa live the tallest (the Tutsi tribe with an average height of an adult male of 185 cm) and the shortest (the pygmy Mbuti tribe with an average height of an adult male of 140 cm) people on Earth.

Geographical records of the African continent:

The longest lake in the world, Tanganyika, is located here. It extends 670 km in length.
It is generally accepted that the Nile River has the longest water system on Earth (6852 km).
In the Witwatersrand, located in the territory of the Republic of South Africa, about half of the world's gold is mined.

North America

North and South America are separated by the Isthmus of Panama. The Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans wash the shores of the continent. The population of North America is 475 million people. Although it is not the largest continent on Earth, it contains many unique places.

Attention! The discoverer of the continent is considered to be Amerigo Vespucci, in whose honor the continents of the Earth - North and South America - received their names. Modern genetic studies indicate that long before Vespucci, the continent was visited by Scandinavian Vikings, in particular, the son of Erik the Red, Leif Erikson.

Geographical records of the North American continent:

Greenland – largest island of our planet. Its area exceeds 2 million square meters. km.
The Great Lakes of North America are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. They occupy an area of about 245 thousand square meters. km.
Until recently, Chomolungma was considered the highest mountain in the world. According to the latest data, almost 2000 meters higher than this peak Mount Mauna Kea, located on the island of Hawaii.

South America

The discoverer of the continent is, who, having discovered the island of Trinidad, assumed the presence of a large continent next to it. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans wash its shores. About 400 million people live in the countries of South America.

Geographical records South American continent:

South America is the wettest continent on Earth. At the same time, the driest Atacama Desert is located on its territory. In most of the desert, precipitation occurs once every decade.
Angel is the highest waterfall in the world, which has continuous free fall height 807 m.
The Amazon River competes with the Nile for the title of the longest watercourse in the world.

Antarctica

The continent was discovered at the beginning of the 19th century by the Russian navigator Thaddeus Bellingshausen. It is located at the southernmost point of the globe.

Geographical records of Antarctica:

The lowest air temperature for the entire period of observation was recorded here - -89.2 °C.
Antarctica holds the record for the lowest air humidity and the most intense solar radiation.
On the mainland no permanent population. Scientific stations with a small number of staff are located here.
No country in the world has the right to the continent. On its territory you can only engage in scientific activities.

Australia

The smallest continent on Earth occupies 5% of the total surface area of the earth's solid surface. The Indian and Pacific Oceans wash the shores of the continent. Australia was discovered by the Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon at the beginning of the 17th century. The legendary James Cook is rightfully considered the explorer of the mainland.

This is the only continent on whose territory there is one country with the same name.

In terms of population density, it ranks one of the last places in the world. Since a third of the continent is desert, the majority of the population (90%) is concentrated in cities on the east coast. Today the population of the continent is about 25 million people.

Geographical Australian records:

Australia is the smallest continent on Earth.
2500 km is the length of the largest coral reef in the world - the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches along the north-eastern coast of Australia.

Parts of the world

The solid surface of the Earth is also divided into parts of the world. There are also six of them, like the continents. But the concepts themselves - continent and part of the world - differ in meaning and time of origin. Division of land into parts of the world developed historically and is based on knowledge about the history, culture and geography of certain regions of the globe.

There are currently 6 parts of the world identified. Here are their names:

Europe;
Asia;
Africa;
America;
Australia;
Antarctica.

The continents of the Earth and parts of the world differ in the following: Eurasia, consisting of two parts of the world, is considered one continent, and two continents - North and South America - are united into one part of the world - America.

Continents and oceans of the Earth, how many are there?

The history of the appearance of continents on our planet

Conclusion

Now you know that Eurasia is largest continent Earth, and the Pacific Ocean is the largest accumulation of salt water. You know what a continent and part of the world is. But the main discoveries are yet to come, because our planet is a unique creation of nature, where there is room for a variety of phenomena.

In this article you will learn how many continents are there on earth and all detailed information about them.

About 71% of the earth's surface is occupied by the World Ocean, and the remaining land surface is distributed between continents.

By definition, a continent is a large massif of the earth's crust rising above the level of the World Ocean. Oddly enough, the number of continents is not generally accepted, amounting to different countries from 4 to 7. In the post-Soviet space there are 6 continents with the following area in million km 2:

Eurasia – 54;
Africa – 30;
Antarctica – 14;
Australia – 9.5;
North America –24;
South America -18.

The largest continent, Eurasia, includes two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. The two American continents, on the contrary, make up one part of the world - America. The remaining continents coincide with the parts of the world of the same name.

Mainland - Eurasia

Eurasia accounts for a third of the entire earth's landmass, where ¾ of the total population is concentrated. Here are the largest countries in the world in terms of territory and population. Russia occupies over 17 million km2, and the population of China at the beginning of 2016 was 1 billion 375 million people.

The territory of Asia occupies 80% of the entire Eurasian continent. With an average altitude of 830 m above sea level, this continent is the highest.

Eurasia owns several more geographical records:

Chomolungma (Everest) – highest mountain planets (8848 m);
Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth (1642 m), and the Caspian Sea is the largest;
The Mariana Trench of the Dead Sea is the deepest ocean floor(about 11 km);
the shallowest is the Sea of Azov, and the largest is the Mediterranean.

Continent - Africa (how many continents are there on earth)

The African continent has the largest number of states - 53. Africa is home to the largest diamond deposits and the highest level of diamond mining, often illegal.

This fact has virtually no effect on the material standard of living, which here, with rare exceptions, is very low.

Africa is home to the largest desert on earth, the Sahara. Africa stands out for its richness of animal life, among which the cheetah is the fastest animal on the planet.

Everyone knows Egyptian pyramids. But few people know that there are many more pyramids in the largest African country- Sudan. It’s hard to believe, but in Africa, in Morocco, there is a good ski resort called Ifrane, located at an altitude of 1600 m.

Continent - Antarctica (how many continents are there on earth)

Antarctica's ice accounts for 90% of the total earth ice and contain 70% of all earthly reserves fresh water. The average ice thickness exceeds 2 m. The largest iceberg discovered was 300 km long and 37 km wide.

Surprisingly, it is Antarctica, and not Africa, that is the driest continent on earth. Only 10 cm of precipitation per year is recorded here - less than in African deserts.

Antarctica belongs to no one. There are no time zones here either. No one lives permanently on the mainland, and the temporary population consists of participants in scientific expeditions.

The climate of Antarctica is too harsh even for polar bears, which are not there, contrary to popular belief. Most of the continent is inhabited by penguins.

Continent - Australia (how many continents are there on earth)

The smallest continent on earth consists of a single state - the Commonwealth of Australia. A third of the continent is desert, making Australia the driest inhabited continent.

At the same time, the Australian Snowy Mountains receive more snow than the Swiss Alps.

Tasmania, one of 6 Australian states, has the cleanest air in the world, and the country as a whole is famous for its ideal ecology.

The longest road in the world in the Nullarbor Desert is 146 km long, and the Great Barrier Coral Reef stretches for 2600 km.

There are a lot of kangaroos, sheep, and especially rabbits in Australia. It was to protect sheep pastures from rabbits and dingoes that the longest fence in the world, 8.5 thousand km, was built.

Continent - North America (how many continents are there on earth)

The border between the United States and Canada, which is almost 9 thousand km, is not guarded. Partially it passes through residential buildings. The island of Greenland, geographically belonging to the North American continent, belongs to the European state of Denmark.

The Bay of Fundy on the east coast of Canada is home to the highest tides in the world's oceans, reaching 18 m. Under the influence of a tidal wave, the waterfall located here reverses its direction of movement.

In North America, the most recorded heat on the ground. In 1913, it was 57 0 C in Death Valley, California.

Sequoia grows on the North American continent - the most ancient representative of the earth's flora. These trees reach 150 m in height and 20 m in width.

Continent - South America (how many continents are there on earth)

Many people know that Colombia is named after the Spanish navigator. The name Venezuela also has European roots. Amerigo Vespucci (who gave the name to the entire continent), having studied the features of the development of Venezuela, found similarities with Venice.

And the Panama hat was invented not in the country of the same name, but in Ecuador, named after the word “equator”.

This continent holds several geographical records:

The Amazon, with a length of about 7 thousand km, is the largest river on earth;
the height of the Venezuelan Angel Falls exceeds a kilometer;
the highest capital in the world is Bolivian La Paz, whose height reaches 4 km;
in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile there has been no precipitation for centuries (!).

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It seems that everything is similar even by definition. This is a large land mass, washed on all sides by oceans. But many scientists explain the difference between a continent and a mainland based on the theory of continental drift, which was presented in 1912 by the German geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Lothar Wegener.

Continental drift theory

The essence of the theory is that a long time ago, during the Jurassic period, 200 million years ago, all continents were a single landmass. And only then, under the influence of tectonic forces, they were divided among themselves.

The structure of the continents can serve as proof. Just look at the map to see: the relief of the western coast of Africa fits perfectly with the relief of the eastern coast of South America. Vegetable and animal world continents that are separated by thousands of kilometers. For example, the flora and fauna of North America and Europe. Wegener outlined his theory in the book “The Origin of Continents and Oceans.”

To be fair, it should be said that his idea had many critics. But by the end of the 60s of the 20th century, as a result of numerous studies, the theory turned into the doctrine of plate tectonics, which makes it possible to separate concepts such as continent and continent.

Continents

There are six continents on Earth:

Eurasia is the largest of the continents, with an area of 54.6 million square meters. km.
Africa is the hottest continent, with an area of 30.3 million square meters. km.
North America is a continent with the most indented coastline with many bays and islands, with an area of 24.4 million square meters. km.
South America is the rainiest continent, with an area of 17.8 million square meters. km.
Australia is the flattest continent, with an area of 7.7 million square meters. km.
Antarctica is the southernmost and at the same time the coldest continent, with an area of 14.1 million square meters. km.

Continents

Unlike continents, there are only 4 continents on Earth. Continent means “continuous” in Latin. Therefore, it is unlikely that Europe and Africa can be called separate continents, because they are separated by the artificially created Suez Canal.

The same goes for North and South America. They were separated in 1920 by the Panama Canal. It is interesting that the idea of connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans through the narrowest isthmus was born back in the 16th century, since the benefits of this for trade and navigation were obvious. However, King Philip II of Spain “cut down” the project, declaring: “What God has united, man cannot separate.” However, over time he won common sense, and one continent was divided into two continents - North and South America.

There are four continents on the planet:

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

The theory of continental drift and history allow us to answer the question “A continent and a mainland - what is the difference?” is a large area of land washed by water. A continent is a continuous area of land washed by water, which may include continents connected by land.

The Earth's surface has an extremely uneven relief. The deep depressions are filled with water, the rest of the planet is represented by land. All this together - oceans and continents. They differ in size, climate, shape, and geographical location.

Interaction of oceans and continents

Although world water and land have a number of distinctive properties; they are inseparably linked. The map of continents and oceans is evidence of this (see below). Water continuously influences processes occurring on land. In turn, the continents shape the features of the world's oceans. In addition, interaction occurs in both the animal and plant worlds.

The geography of continents and oceans demonstrates clear boundaries between water and land areas. Continents are distributed unevenly on the surface of the planet. Most of them are located in That is why the South is called hydrological in science. The continents are also divided into two groups relative to the equator. Those above the line belong to the northern half, the rest to the southern half.

Each continent borders the world's waters. So which oceans wash the continents? The Atlantic and Indian border on four continents, the Arctic on three, and the Pacific on all except Africa. In total, there are 6 continents and 4 oceans on the planet. The boundaries between them are uneven and prominent.

Pacific Ocean

It has the largest water area among other pools. A map of continents and oceans shows that it washes all continents except Africa. It includes dozens large seas, the total area of which is about 180 million square meters. km. Through it connects with the Arctic Ocean. It shares a swimming pool with the other two.

The maximum depth of the water area is the Mariana Trench - more than 11 km. The total volume of the basin is 724 million cubic meters. km. The seas occupy only 8% of the area of the Pacific Ocean. The study of the water area began in the 15th century by Chinese geographers.

Atlantic Ocean

It ranks second in size in the world basin. As is customary, each is derived from an ancient term or deity. Atlantic is named after the famous Greek titan Atlas. The water area extends from Antarctica to subarctic latitudes. It borders on all other oceans, even the Pacific (via Cape Horn). One of the largest straits is the Hudson. It connects the Atlantic basin with the Arctic basin.

The seas make up about 16% of the total ocean area. The basin area is just over 91.5 million square meters. km. Most of the Atlantic seas are inland, and only a small part of them are coastal (up to 1%).

Arctic Ocean

It has the smallest water area on the planet. It is entirely located in the Northern Hemisphere. Occupied territory - 14.75 million square meters. km. At the same time, the volume of the pool is about 18.1 million cubic meters. km of water. The deepest point in the Greenland Sea is considered to be 5527 m.

The bottom relief of the water area is represented by the outskirts of continents and a large shelf. The Arctic Ocean is conventionally divided into the Arctic, Canadian and European basins. Distinctive feature The water area is covered with thick ice cover, which can persist all 12 months of the year, constantly drifting. Due to the harsh cold climate, the ocean is not as rich in fauna and flora as the rest. However, important trade shipping routes pass through it.

Indian Ocean

Occupies a fifth of the world's total water surface. It is noteworthy that each name of the oceans has either a geographical or theological background. The only difference is the Indian Pool. Its name has rather a historical background. The ocean was named after the first asian country, which became known to the Old World, - in honor of India.

The water area covers an area of 76.17 million square meters. km. Its volume is about 282.6 million cubic km. It washes 4 continents and borders the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It has the widest basin in the world's waters - more than 10 thousand kilometers.

Eurasian continent

It is the largest continent on the planet. Eurasia is located primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. In terms of territory, the continent occupies almost half of the world's landmass. Its area is about 53.6 million square meters. km. The islands occupy only 5% of Eurasia - less than 3 million square meters. km.

All oceans and continents are interconnected. As for the Eurasian continent, it is washed by all 4 oceans. The border line is heavily indented and deep. The continent consists of 2 parts of the world: Asia and Europe. The border between them runs along Ural mountains, rivers Manych, Ural, Kuma, Black, Caspian, Marmara, Mediterranean seas and a number of straits.

South America

The oceans and continents in this part of the planet are located mainly in the Western Hemisphere. The continent is washed by the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Borders with North America through the Caribbean Sea and the Isthmus of Panama.

The mainland includes dozens of medium and small islands. Most of the inland water basin represent rivers such as the Orinoco, Amazon and Parana. Together they make up a water area of 7 million square meters. km. The total area of South America is about 17.8 million square meters. km. There are few lakes on the continent, most of them are located near the Andes mountains, for example Lake Titicaca.

It is worth noting that on the mainland there is the world's highest waterfall - Angel.

North America

Located in Washed by all oceans except the Indian. The coastal waters include the seas (Bering, Labrador, Caribbean, Beaufort, Greenland, Baffin) and St. Lawrence, Hudson, Mexican). North America shares borders with South America via the Panama Canal.

The most significant island systems are the Canadian and Alexandria archipelagos, Greenland and Vancouver. The continent covers an area of more than 24 million square meters. km, excluding islands - about 20 million square meters. km.

African continent

In terms of territorial area, it ranks second after Eurasia, with which it borders in the northeast. It is washed only by the Indian and Atlantic oceans. The largest coastal sea is the Mediterranean. It is noteworthy that Africa is both a continent and a part of the world.

In this area of the planet, oceans and continents cross several climatic zones and the equator. In turn, Africa stretches from the northern to southern subtropical zone. That is why the level of precipitation here is extremely low. This leads to problems with fresh water and irrigation.

Mainland Antarctica

This is the coldest and most lifeless continent. Located at the South Pole of the Earth. Antarctica, like Africa, is a continent and part of the world. All adjacent islands belong to the territorial possessions.

Antarctica is considered the highest continent in the world. Its average height fluctuates around 2040 meters. Most of the land is occupied by glaciers. There is no population on the mainland, only a few dozen stations with scientists. There are about 150 subglacial lakes within the continent.

Australian mainland

The continent is located in the Southern Hemisphere. The entire territory it occupies belongs to the state of Australia. It is washed by the seas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, such as the Coral, Timor, Arafura and others. The largest adjacent islands are Tasmania and New Guinea.

The continent is part of a part of the world called Australia and Oceania. Its area is about 7.7 million square meters. km.

There are 4 time zones across Australia. In the northeast of the mainland, the coast is represented by the largest coral reef in the world.

Continents (or continents) are the main and very large land masses, quite well isolated from each other and surrounded on almost all sides by the waters of the World Ocean. They are located evenly on the Earth, without particularly pronounced voids, and occupy a total area of slightly less than a third of the entire earth's surface. All land on the earth's surface is also divided into parts of the world.

How many continents there are on earth and parts of the world, as well as some differences between these concepts that determine such a division, we will learn from our article.

How many continents on planet earth existed in ancient times, which included the coastal shallow parts of the seas (shelves) that frame them and the nearby islands? It is generally accepted that on Earth, about 200 million years ago, all the continents were connected to each other and made up a global continent called Pangea. Since then, the number of continents has changed significantly, and their location has also changed. Modern era has six names of long-known continents.

Eurasia

It is considered the largest continent that is surrounded by four existing oceans. In Eurasia all climatic and natural areas northern hemisphere. This continent consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, between which there is a conventional border along the Ural mountain range.

Africa

The second largest continent is Africa, which is washed in the west by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south and east by the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea covers the northern part. The continent is characterized by latitudinal natural zoning, the zones of which are considered symmetrical on both sides of the equator, naturally replacing each other.

North America

The continent is located entirely in the northern part of the equator, surrounded by three oceans and several seas. It is shared with South America in the south by the Isthmus of Panama and has a considerable number of islands and archipelagos.

South America

This continent occupies almost the entire territory of the Southern Hemisphere and a small part near the border with North America, washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is famous for its high-water rivers, incredible waterfalls, and the largest navigable and freshwater lake.

Antarctica

One of the southernmost and highest continents is Antarctica with harsh climate, surrounded by the waters of the Southern Ocean. It is practically uninhabited, the territory is covered mainly with snow and ice.

Australia

A small continent, Australia is located in the southern hemisphere with a very hot climate zone. Approximately in the middle, the Southern Tropic intersects with the composition of the islands, which includes New Guinea and Tasmania.

The landmass of all continents accounts for approximately 139 million square kilometers with adjacent islands. How many square kilometers does the land area that makes up the islands in the seas and oceans occupy - the remaining 10 million.

The division of the entire landmass into parts of the world, which includes the continent or its large part together with the islands, developed historically with some dissimilarity in the division into continents. The question of how many parts of the world there are is of interest to many? There are six of them on our planet:

Europe is the western part of the continent of Eurasia.
Vast and contrasting Asia belongs to the east of Eurasia.
America's territory occupies the Western Hemisphere.
Africa is one-fifth of the landmass of the north and south of the Earth.
Small Australia dominates the south of the globe.
The southernmost and harshest Antarctica.

There are exactly as many parts of the world as there are continents on our Earth, however, they have some differences. The separation of continents from each other is carried out according to the principle of isolation by water space. Parts of the world, in to a greater extent have not so much a geographical definition as a historical and cultural one. For example, North and South America are two separate continents and at the same time a united America. The single continent of Eurasia consists of Europe and Asia, divided since historical times into these parts, supplemented by islands included in them.