What and Where is Asia?

Asia is the largest of the World’s continents in terms of both land area and population (Fig.1)

Figure 1 The World's Continents

As we can see from Fig.1 Asia has land boundaries with 3 other continents: Europe to the
West; Africa to the South-West and Oceania to the South-East.
The word ‘Asia’ is attributed to the Ancient Greek Herodotus (about 440BCE) referring to
places to the East of Greece, on the Eastern shores of the Aegean in what is now
modern-day Turkey. Since then, the term has been broadened to describe the huge
continental area today regarded as Asia.
Use Figure 1 to answer the following questions:
1. How many continents are there?
7

2. Which Ocean lies to the North of Asia?

Arctic Ocean

3. Which Ocean lies to the South of Asia?

Indian Ocean

4. Which Ocean lies to the East of Asia?

Pacific Ocean
 The land boundaries of Asia are historical and cultural
constructs and still a matter of dispute with a range of
different definitions existing. The border is most complex
and difficult to define between European Russia and Asia
(Fig.2) The most convenient geographical boundary to
mark the continental divide is a line that runs south from
the Arctic Ocean along the Ural Mountains and then turns
Southwest along the Emba River to the northern shore of
the Caspian Sea; west of the Caspian, the boundary
follows the Kuma-Manych Depression to the Sea of Azov
and the Kerch Strait of the Black Sea. This makes the
Caucasus Mountain Range running between the Black
and Caspian Seas, part of Asia.

This definition of the boundary between Europe and Asia has a number of interesting
consequences:
● Whilst the most populous part of Russia is in the West and is in Europe, most of Russia’s
land area is in Asia.
● Apart from Russia, 3 other countries (Turkey, Georgia, and Kazakhstan) have land in
both Europe and Asia.

Use Fig.2 and an atlas map to answer the following questions:

5. Which continent is Kazakhstan mostly in?
Asia

6. Which continent is Turkey mostly in?

Asia

7. Which continent is Armenia in?

Asia

8. Which continent in Georgia mostly in?

Asia

9. Which continent is Ukraine in?

Europe

10. Which two mountain ranges mark important boundaries between European Russia and
Asia?
The Ural Mountains and the Caucasus Mountain Range.
 The border between Africa and Asia
(Fig.3) is generally regarded by
geographers as being the Suez Canal
that links the Red Sea to the
Mediterranean. This definition puts the
Sinai Peninsula part of Egypt in Asia
and the rest of Egypt on Africa.
Sometimes though, the whole of Egypt
is shown as being in Africa (Fig.1) and
this is the division used by the United
Nations (UN).

Finally, the divide between Oceania and Asia is

also a matter of dispute (Fig.4). According to
the UN’s definition, the continental border is on
the island of New Guinea (marked Y on Fig.1)
This definition makes Indonesia, to the West
part of Asia, whilst Papua New Guinea to the
East is part of Oceania along with Australia,
New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Now answer the following questions:
Look at Fig.5 below that shows the sizes of the World’s continents by land area.

Figure 5 The World's Continents by Land Area

11. For each of the following statements, say whether it is true or false:

a) Asia is the largest continent.

true

b) Together, Africa and Europe could fit into Asia.

true

c) Asia is over 4x the size of Europe.

true

d) Together North and South America could fit into Asia.

true

e) The 4 smallest continents combined could all fit into Asia.

false