To the ancient navigators of Our Sea, the continents were separated by seas.

The canal extended

the southern shore into the Red Sea. The symmetry of the scheme was too geometric for the Greeks
to resist, as they represented all geographic masses by regular figures if they could. A triangle
prevailed in the Greek imagination with points at the Pillars, the Tanais and the Red Sea. As the
sides were three shores, the continents were three.
Further information on the etymology of Asia: Name of Asia
Imperial Roman geography[edit]
The geographer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, distinguishes between geography, which is "a representation
in picture of the whole known world," and chorography ("study of places"), which "treats more fully
the particulars."[12] The idea of the continents is geography and is presented as such. A chorographer
in Ptolemy's view was the expert in a specific locality, such as a ship captain, a merchant, or a
native. Geographers consult them but they do not write geography unless they happen to be both.
Ptolemy was a geographer of the middle Roman Empire, an Egyptian. The idea of the continents
preceded the imperial Romans but through them reached to modern time to determine today's
geographic views, which are enhancements and refinements of the classical. Stating that "continents
are bounded more properly, when it is possible, by seas than by rivers," Ptolemy defines a three-
continent system: Europe, Libya, Asia. His Libya is the North Africa of today, containing a province,
Africa, whose name replaced Libya. Rejecting the Nile River as the Asian border so as not to
split Egypt, Ptolemy designates the Red Sea as the border between Libya and Asia. In the north, the
border between Asia and Europe is a meridian through the mouth of the Don River northward "to the
unknown region."[13] Asia Minor remains "Asia properly so called." [14]
Ptolemy's Asia extends to the Far East, approximately identical to today's Asia, except that the
European border runs through the future location of Moscow, then a wilderness of forest skirted
by Sarmatian tribesmen. In a striking foreshadowing of European and Asian Russia, European
Sarmatia lies between the Vistula River and the Don River, while Asiatic Sarmatia runs east of the
Don to Scythia.[15]

Geologic view[edit]
See also: North Asia §  Geomorphology, and Geology of India
The relatively recent study of plate tectonics has discovered that Asia has several regions that would
be considered distinct landmasses if strictly geologic and tectonic criteria were used (for example,
South Asia and East Asia). Definition of continental plates is the realm of geologists. Strictly in terms
of geological landmasses or tectonic plates, Europe is a western peninsula of Eurasia and of the
Africa-Eurasia landmass. In the latter, Europe and Asia are parts of the Eurasian plate, which
excludes the Arabian and Indian tectonic plates.

Regional view[edit]
In human geography, there are several schools of thought. The more common school follows
historical convention and treats Europe and Asia as different continents, categorizing East Asia,
South Asia, and the Middle East as specific regions for more detailed analysis. Other schools equate
the word "continent" to geographical "region" when referring to Europe and Asia in terms of physical
geography.[citation needed]

Ethnic view[edit]
In European languages, the term "Asian" more commonly refers to ethnic heritage rather than a
strict geographic area. In American English, "Asian" often refers to East Asians, while in British
English, Asian often refers to South Asians. See the List of transcontinental countries for further
geographic definitions. The term Asia Pacific generally refers to a combination of East
Asia, Southeast Asia, and islands in the Pacific Ocean – and most are also considered part
of Australasia or Oceania. Asia.