Continent | National Geographic Society (2023)

Acontinentit is one of the seven main divisions of the Earth. He

continents

They are, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Formigaarctic, Europe and Australia.

Whengeographersidentify a

continent

, usually include allIslandsassociated with it. Japan, for example, is part of the

continent

from Asia, Greenland and all

Islands

in the Caribbean Sea, they are generally considered part of North America.

together the

continents

they add up to about 148 million square kilometers (57 million square miles) of land.

continents

They make up most, but not all, of Earth's land surface. A very small portion of the earth's total surface is made up of

Islands

that are not considered physical parts of

continents

. HeOceancovers nearly three-quarters of the Earth. The area of

Ocean

is more than twice the area of ​​everyone

continents

define. All

continents

limit at least one

Ocean

. asia the greatest

continent

, has the largest series ofcostas.

costas

, however, notindicatethe real limits of

continents

.

continents

are defined by their

continental

shelves. FORcontinental plateIt is a gently sloping area that extends out from thepraialonge no

Ocean

. A

continental

to be

is part of

Ocean

, but it is also part

continent

.

A

geographers

,

continents

they are also culturallydistinct. He

continents

from Europe and Asia, for example, are part of a singlehugepiece of land calledEurasia. Butlinguisticallyand ethnically, Asian and European areas are

distinct

. Due to this, most

geographers

to divide

Eurasia

towards Europe and Asia. An imaginary line, running from the northern Uralsmountainsin Russia, south of the Caspian and Black Seas, it separates Europe in the west from Asia in the east.

Building the Continents

Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago from a great swirling cloud ofdustygas. The continuous crushing of space.wreckageand the attraction ofgravityIt made the interior of the Earth hot. As the heat increased, some of Earth's rocky material melted and rose to the surface, where it cooled and formed aCortex. The heavier material sank towards the center of the Earth. Over time, the earth came to have three main layers: thecenter, hemanto, it's him

Cortex

.

He

Cortex

and the top of

manto

to form ahardlayer around the earth that is divided into large sections calledtectonic plates. The heat from the Earth's interior causes the plates to slide on the surface.molten

manto

. Hello,

tectonic plates

they continue to slide slowly across the surface, just as they have been doing for hundreds of millions of years.geologistsbelieve in the interaction of plates, a process calledtectonic plates, contributed to the creation of

continents

.

Studies of rocks found inancestralareas of North America have revealed that the oldest known pieces of

continents

began to form nearly four billion years ago, shortly after Earth formed. At that time, oneprimitive

Ocean

covered ground. Only a small fraction of

Cortex

was composed of

continental

material. scientiststheorizethat this material has accumulated along the boundaries of the

tectonic plates

during a process calledsubduction. Duringsubduction, the plates collide and the edge of one plate slides under the edge of another.

when heavyoceanic crust

subduzido

in the direction

manto

not melted

manto

The intense heat of Once melted, the rock became lighter. Calledmagma, climbed through the top plate and burst likelava. When the

lava

cooled, hardened intoigneous rock.

Gradually, the

igneous rock

built in smallvolcanic islandsabove the surface of

Ocean

. Over time, these

Islands

grew, in part as a result of more

lava

flows and partly by the accumulation of scraped materialdownwarddishes. When the plates load

Islands

subduzido

, he

Islands

not themselves

to descend

no

manto

. your stuffmergedwith the of

Islands

on the neighboring board. This made the landmasses even larger, the first

continents

.

the construction of

volcanic

Islands

y

continental

things through

tectonic plates

It is a process that continues to this day.continental crustit is much lighter than

oceanic

Cortex

. Emsubduction zones, where

tectonic plates

interact with each other,

oceanic

Cortex

Always

subdue

low

continental

Cortex

.

Oceanic

Cortex

is constantly recycled in

manto

. For this reason,

continental

Cortex

is much, much greater than

oceanic

Cortex

.

wandering continents

If you could visit Earth as it was millions of years ago, it would look very different. He

continents

they weren't always where they are today. About 480 million years ago, most

continents

were pieces of land scattered along or south of theEcuador. Millions of years of continuous tectonic activity shifted their positions, and 240 million years ago almost all of the world's land was united into a single huge

continent

.

geologists

call itsupercontinente Wonder, which means "all lands" in Greek.

About 200 million years ago, the forces that helped form

Wonder

caused the

super

continent

to start breaking. the pieces of

Wonder

that began to separate were the beginnings of

continents

that we know today.

A giant landmass that would become Europe, Asia and North America separated from another landmass that would split into other

continents

. In time, ant

arctic

and Australia, still united, broke away and moved south. The small piece of land that would become thePeninsulafrom India broke away and for millions of years moved north as a great

island

. Eventually it collided with Asia. Gradually, the different landmasses moved to their current locations.

The positions of

continents

they are always changing. North America and Europe are moving away from each other at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters (one inch) per year. If you could visit the planet in the future, you would discover that part of the US state of California has split off from North America and has become a

island

. Africa could have split in two along the Great Riftvale. It is even possible that another

super

continent

can be formed one day.

continental characteristics

the surface of

continents

changed many times due to

mountain

building,weathering,erosion, and accumulation ofsediment. continuous and slow movement of

tectonic plates

it also changes the characteristics of the surface.

The rocks that make up the

continents

They have been shaped and reshaped many times. Greatmountain rangesthey rose and then wore off.

Ocean

the waters havefloodedlarge areas and then gradually dried up. Hugeice capcame and went, carving thelandscapein the process.

today, all

continents

it's great

mountain

contracts

,grandeplains,extensiveplateaus, youcomplexriver systems. average land masseselevationAbovethe sea levelit is about 838 meters (2,750 feet).

Although each one issingle, all

continents

share two basic characteristics: old,geologicallystableregions, and younger, a little more active

regions

. in the youngest

regions

, the process of

mountain

Construction happened recently and is often still going on.

the power to

mountain

building, theorogenesis, comes from

tectonic plates

. One Way

mountains

path is through the collision of two

tectonic plates

. The impact creates wrinkles in the

Cortex

, just as a rug wrinkles when pushed against one end. Such a collision created the Asian Himalayas several million years ago. The plate carrying India slowly and forcefully pushed the landmass of India towards Asia, which was mounted on another plate. The collision continues to this day, causing the Himalayas to grow taller each year.

recently formed

mountains

, calledcoastal chains, appear near the western coasts of North and South America. older, older

stable

mountain

contracts

are found inside

continents

. The Appalachians of North America and the Urals, on the border between Europe and Asia, are older

mountain

contracts

that they are not

geologically

active.

even older than these

ancestral

, corroded

mountain

contracts

they are flatter, more

stable

areas of

continents

calledcratones. A

craton

is an area of

ancestral

Cortex

that formed during Earth's early history. Each

continent

there is a

craton

.microcontinentes, like New Zealand, lacks

cratones

.

Cratones

has two forms:shieldsyplatforms.

shields

They are bare rocks that can be the roots or

cores

of

ancestral

mountain

contracts

that have been completely eroded.

Platforms

son

cratones

swindler

sediment

ysedimentary rocklying on top.

the canadian

armor

represents about a quarter of North America. For hundreds of thousands of years, ice sheets up to 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) thick covered Canada.

armor

. Moving ice has worn away the material above

ancestral

layers of rock, exposing some of the oldest formations on Earth. When you're in the oldest part of Canada

armor

, you stand directly on rocks that formed more than 3.5 billion years ago.

North America

North America, the third largest

continent

, extends from the small Aleutians

Islands

in the northwest toIsthmusfrom Panama in the south. He

continent

includes the

huge

island

Greenland in the northeast. In the far north, the

continent

covers half the world, from Greenland to the Aleutians. But in the narrowest part of Panama, the

continent

it is only 50 kilometers (31 mi) wide.

Young

mountains

— including the Rocky Mountains, the largest mountain range in North America — grow in the west. Some of the Youngest on Earth

mountains

they are located in the Cascade Range of the states of Washington, Oregon and California, in the United States. Some peaks there began to form only a million years ago, a blink of an eye in the Earth's long history. oldest north america

mountain

contracts

they are born near the east coast of the United States and Canada.

between the

mountain

the systems are extensive

plains

that contain deep, richfloor. A lot of

floor

formed from material deposited during the most recentice Age. That's itIce Agepeaked about 18,000 years ago. Asglaciersretreated, rivers of melting ice fell

sediment

on earth, building layers offertile

floor

no

plains

region

.Graingrown in this

region

Called "North America's breadbasket," it feeds much of the world.

North America contains a variety of natural wonders.landformsand all kinds ofvegetationmay be within your limits. North America has deepcannons, like copper

canyon

in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Yellowstone National Park in the US state of Wyoming has some of the most active parks in the world.each other. CanadaBayof Fundy has the greatest variation ofthe seaworld levels. Hegreat lakesmake up the largest area on the planetfresh water. in california,giant sequoias, the largest trees in the world, grow to over 250 feet (76 meters) in height and almost 100 feet (31 meters) in diameter.

Greenland, on the east coast of Canada, is the largest

island

. Despite its name, Greenland is mostly covered in ice. Your ice is ascrap or scrapsBig ones

ice cap

that onceapproacheda lot of americans

continent

. Greenland is the only place other than Ant

arctic

who still has one

folha de gelo

.

of freezing

arctic

in the directiontropicaljunglesofCentral America, North America enjoys moreclimatevariation than any other

continent

. almost every kind ofecosystemis represented somewhere in the

continent

, ofcoral reefsin the Caribbean to Greenland

folha de gelo

in the directiongreat plansin the United States and Canada.

Today, North America is home to citizens of Canada, the United States, Greenland, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and

island

countries and territories dotting the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic.

Most of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the US states of Washington, Oregon and California lie on the small Juan de Fuca plaque. Parts of California and the Mexican state of Baja California lie in the

huge

Pacific Plate. Parts of Baja California and the Mexican states of Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Jalisco lie on the Cocos Plate. The Caribbean Plate carries most of the small

Islands

the Caribbean Sea (south of the

island

of Cuba), as well as

Central America

from Honduras to Panama. the hawaiian

Islands

in the middle of the pacific

Ocean

on the Pacific plate, they are generally considered part of North America.

South America

South America is connected to North America by the Strait

Isthmus

from Panama These two

continents

they weren't always connected; they came together just three million years ago. South America is the fourth largest

continent

and stretches from the sun

Beaches

from the Caribbean Sea tofrigidwaters near theAntarctic Circle.

southern tip of South America

Islands

, calledFire land, are less than 1,120 kilometers (700 mi) from Ant

arctic

. Those

Islands

even host some ants

arctic

birds such as penguins, albatrosses and terns. old spanishexplorersvisiting the

Islands

for the first time I saw small fires dotting the earth. These bonfires, made byindigenouspeople, it seemed to float on water, which is probably how the

Islands

has his name—

Fire land

means "Land of Fire".

The Andes mountain range, the longest on Earthterra

mountain

range

, extend throughout South America. many assetsvolcanoespoint the range. These volcanic areas are fueled by heat generated as a large

oceanic

plate, called the Placa de Nazca, grinds beneath the plate that leads to South America.

The south-central zone of South America haspampa, o

plains

. These rich areas are ideal foragriculture. The growth ofwheatis a majorindustryno

pampa

.animals grazing, asbedand sheep, are also raised in the

pampa

region

.

In northern South America, the Amazon River and its tributaries flow through the longest river in the world.

tropical

selva. By volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world. More water flows from it than the next six largest rivers combined.

South America is also home to the largestwaterfall, Angel Falls, in the country of Venezuela. The water runs over 979 meters (3,212 feet), almost a mile. The falls are so high that most of the waterevaporatesemfogor it is blown by the wind before it hits the ground.

On the American

tropical jungles

contains a

huge

abundance of animal and plant life. More than 15,000 species of plants and animals are found in the Amazon River alonecuenca. Many species of Amazonian plants are sources offoodymedicinefor the rest of the world. Scientists are trying to find ways to preserve this.preciousyfragileenvironmentiron clotheshow people move to the amazon

cuenca

and clear the land for settlements and

agriculturalculture.

Twelve independent countries make up South America: Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana and Suriname. The territories of French Guiana, part of France and the Falklands

Islands

, part of the United Kingdom, are also part of South America.

Almost all of South America lies on the South American Plate.

Europa

Europe, the sixth largest

continent

, contains only seven percent of the world's land. In total area, the

continent

of Europe is only slightly larger than the country of Canada. However, the population of Europe is more than twice that of South America. Europe has over 40 countries and many of the world's major cities, including London, UK; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Rome Italy; Madrid Spain; and Moscow, Russia.

Most European countries have access to

Ocean

. He

continent

borders with the

arctic

Ocean

in the north, the Atlantic

Ocean

to the west, the Caspian Sea to the southeast and the Mediterranean and Black Sea to the south. The proximity of these bodies of water and thenavigationof many of Europe's rivers played an important role in

continent

the history of the first Europeans learned to

river systems

of the Volga, Danube, Don, Rhine and Po, and could successfully run the length and breadth of the small

continent

forreplacement,communication, oconquest.

Navigation

yexplorationoutside Europe was an important part of thedevelopmentdo

continent

ofeconomic, social,

linguistic

and politicallegacy. european

explorers

took charge of colonizing the land in each

continent

except ant

arctic

. This colonization process had adrasticimpact on the

economic

and political

development

those

continents

as well as Europe.

To the east, the Urals

mountains

separate Europe from Asia. The nations of Russia and Kazakhstanundecided attitudeboth

continents

. Another range, added Kjølen

mountains

, stretches along the northern part of the Swedish-Norwegian border. To the south, the Alps form a

arco

it stretches from Albania to Austria, through Switzerland and northern Italy to France. As the youngest and steepest in Europe

mountains

, os Alpes

geologically

resemble the Rocky Mountains of North America, another young mountain range.

A large smooth rolling area

plains

it stretches from northern France eastward to the Urals. FOR

climate

of hot summers, cold winters and abundant rainfall helps make this European veryagricultural landsVery productive.

He

climate

Western Europe, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, makes it one of the mainturismodestinations

Almost all of Europe is sitting on the huge

eurasiano

Blade.

Africa

Africa, the second largest

continent

, covers an area more than three times that of the United States. From north to south, Africa stretches for about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). It is linked to Asia by the

Isthmus

Suez not Egypt.

The Sahara, which covers much of North Africa, is the world's largest hot zone.desert. The longest river in the world, the Nile runs over 6,560 kilometers (4,100 miles) from its highest point.remoteheaderson Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. A series of falls andfastalong the southern part of the river behind

navigation

difficult. The Nile has played an important role in African history. In

ancestral

Egyptiancivilization, was a source of life for

food

, water and transport.

The upper half of Africa is mostly dry, hot

desert

. The middle area hasLinen, or flat, lawn

plains

. That's it

region

it is home to wild animals such as lions, giraffes, elephants, hyenas, cheetahs and wildebeest. The central and southern areas of Africa aredominatedby

tropical jungles

. Many of these forests thrive around Africa's other great rivers, the Zambezi, Congo and Niger. However, trees are being cut down in Africa.

tropical jungles

for many of the same reasonsloggingis happening in

tropical jungles

from South America and Asia:

development

for businesses, homes and

agricultural

culture

.

Much of Africa is a high

plateau

surrounded by narrow strips of coastal plains. mountain plateaus and

mountains

climb in some areas of the interior.

glaciers

on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, is just a few kilometers from the

tropical

jungles

below. Although Kilimanjaro is not far from

Ecuador

,nevecovers yourcumeall year round.

In East Africa, a giant depression called the GreatVale do Riftgoes from the Red Sea to the country of Mozambique. (He

crack

vale

actually starts in Southeast Asia.) The Great

crack

vale

It is a place of great tectonic activity, where the

continent

Africa is splitting in two.

geologists

I have already mentioned the two parts of the African dish. Henubian platewill take most of the

continent

, west of the rift; heprato somaliwill take the easternmost part of the

continent

, including so-calledhorn of africa.” He

horn of africa

it is a

Peninsula

which resembles the upturned horn of a rhinoceros. The countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia are located in the southern part of the country.

horn of africa

it's him

prato somali

.

Africa is home to 56 countries, but only 14 percent of the world's total population. The area of ​​central and eastern Africa is important to scientists who studyevolutionand the earliest origins of mankind. This area is believed to be wherehominidsstarted to evolve.

The totality

continent

from Africa sits on the African plate.

Asia

asia the greatest

continent

, extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the western Pacific

Ocean

. There are over 40 countries in Asia. Some are among the most populous countries in the world, including China, India and Indonesia. Sixty percent of the Earth's population lives in Asia. More than a third of the world's population lives in China and India alone.

He

continent

from Asia includes many

Islands

, some of them countries. Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan are the main

island

Asian nations.

Most people in Asia live in cities or

fertile

farming areas near the river

vales

,

plains

, and costs. He

plateaus

in Central Asia they are largely unsuitable for agriculture and sparsely populated.

Asia accounts for almost a third of the world's land. He

continent

has a wide range of

climate

regions

, ofpolarnoSiberian

arctic

a

tropical

em

equatorial

Indonesia. Parts of Central Asia, including the Gobi

Desert

in China and Mongolia they are dry all year round. Southeast Asia, on the other hand, depends on the annual ratemonzonasthat bring the rain and make

agricultural

culture

possible.

Monsoon

rains andthawingfeed Asian rivers such as the Ganges, Yellow, Mekong, Indus and Yangtze. The riches

vale

between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Western Asia is called "Fertile Crescentfor your place in

development

of

agricultural

culture

and human

civilization

.

Asia is the most

mountainous

of all the

continents

. More than 50 of the world's highest peaks are in Asia. Soaring over 8,700 meters (29,000 feet) in the Himalayas, Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth. Those

mountains

they have become top destinations for adventurous travelers.

Tectonic plates

continuously push the

mountains

higher. As the Indian landmass moves north towards the Indian landmass,

Eurasia

, parts of the Himalayas are rising at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters (one inch) every five years.

Asia contains not only the highest on Earth

elevation

, but also its lowest place on earth - the shores of the Dead Sea in the countries of Israel and Jordan. The earth is more than 1,300 feet (390 meters) below

the sea level

.

Despite

eurasiano

The board carries most of Asia, it's not the only one that supports most of the big

continent

. the arab

Peninsula

, no

continent

To the southwest of , it is carried by the Arabian Plate. The Indian Dish supports the Indian

Peninsula

, sometimes calledIndian subcontinent. The Australian plate has some

Islands

In Indonesia. North American plate heads east

Siberia

and the north

Islands

from Japan

Australia

In addition to being the smallest

continent

, Australia is the flattest and second driest after Ant

arctic

. He

continent

sometimes calledOceania, to include the thousands of small

Islands

Central Pacific and South Pacific, especially Melanesia, Micronesia andPolynesia(including the US state of Hawaii). However, the

continent

of Australia itself includes only the nation of Australia, the eastern part of the

island

of New Guinea (the nation of Papua New Guinea) and the

island

New Zealand nation.

Australia covers just under 8.5 million square kilometers (about 3.5 million square miles). Its population is around 31 million. It is the mostdifficultlypopulous

continent

, after the ant

arctic

.

A

plateau

in central mainland Australia makes up most of the

continent

total area of. The rain is light

plateau

, and few people settled there. The Great Dividing Band, a long

mountain

range

, rises near the east coast and extends from the northern part of the territory of Queensland to the territories of New South Wales and Victoria. Mainland Australia is known forFora, a

desert

area inside. This area is so dry, hot andsterilefew people live there.

beyond the heat

plateaus

y

deserts

In mainland Australia, the

continent

also has exuberant

equatorial

tropical jungles

about it

island

from New Guinea,

tropical

Beaches

, it's tall

mountain

peaks and

glaciers

in New Zealand.

Most of Australia's inhabitants live in cities along the continent's southern and eastern coasts. Major cities include Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Animal biologists consider Australia a livelihoodlaboratory. When the

continent

began to separate from the ant

arctic

more than 60 million years ago, used achargeof animals with him.Isolatedof life in another

continents

, the animals became creatures

single

to Australia, such as the koala, the platypus and the Tasmanian devil.

The Great Barrier Reef, off the northeast coast of mainland Australia, is another

laboratory

. the biggest in the worldcoralrecife

ecosystem

, is home to thousands of species of fish, sponges, marine mammals,

corals

, youcrustaceans. The reef itself has 1,920 kilometers (1,200 miles) of life

coral

communities By some estimates, it is the largest living organism in the world.

Most of Australia lies on the Australian Plate. The southern part of the south

island

New Zealand is on the Pacific plate.

Antarctica

Ant

arctic

It is the windiest, driest and coldest place on Earth. Ant

arctic

It is bigger than Europe or Australia, but unlike the

continents

, It does not havepermanentehuman population. The people who work there are scientists.researchersand support personnel such as pilots and cooks.

He

climate

ant

arctic

makes it impossible to support

agricultural

culture

the one

permanente

civilization

. Temperatures in Formiga

arctic

, much lower than

arctic

temperatures, drop below -73 degrees Celsius (-100 degrees Fahrenheit).

Scientific bases and laboratories were established on Ant.

arctic

for studies in fields, includinggeology,

oceanography

, youmeteorology. As the freezing temperatures of Ant

arctic

make it an excellent place to study Earth's history.atmospherey

climate

.ice coresof the huge ant

arctic

folha de gelo

recorded changes in the temperature of the Earth and atmosphere

gases

For thousands of years. Ant

arctic

It is also an ideal place to discovermeteorites, or rocky objects that impacted Earth from space. The darkness

meteorites

, often made ofrailsas

hierro

stands out from the white

landscape

of the majority

continent

.

Ant

arctic

it is almost completely covered with ice, sometimes as thick as 3.2 kilometers (two miles). In winter, ant

arctic

The surface area can be doubled asblocks of icedoes not accumulate

Ocean

around of

continent

.

like everyone

continents

, ant

arctic

has volcanic activity. the most active

volcano

It's Mount Erebus, which is less than 1,392 kilometers (870 miles) from the South Pole. ANDfrequentEruptions are manifested by heat,

molten

rock under the

continent

the icy surface of

Ant

arctic

has no country. However, scientific groups from different countries inhabit theresearch stations. A multinational treaty negotiated in 1959 and revised in 1991 states that

rese

arco

in ant

arctic

It can only be used for peaceful purposes. McMurdo Station, the largest Ant community

arctic

, is operated by the United States. The Vostok station, where the coldest temperature on Earth was recorded, is operated by Russia.

every ant

arctic

sit on the ant

arctic

Blade.

International Education Week: Continental IQ QuizCIA: World Exploration Game