You are on page 1of 7

The Continents of the World Africa, the Americas, Antarctica, Asia, Australia together with Oceania, and Europe

are considered to be Continents. The term continent is used to differentiate between the various large areas of the earth into which the land surface is divided. So, a continent is "a large, continuous area of land on Earth". All continents together constitute less than one-third of the earth's surface, that means more than two-thirds of the earth's surface are covered with water. Two-thirds of the continental land mass is located in the Northern Hemisphere. keywords: world continents, Continents and Countries, 7 continents, African continent, American continent, Caribbean, Central America, North America, South America, Asian continent, Central Asia, Middle East, SEA, South East Asia, European continent, Australia/Oceanian continent, Antarctica, map Countries by Continents ___ Countries of Asia Countries:44 Asia is the largest continent in the world in both, area and population, constituting nearly onethird of the landmass, lying entirely north of the equator except for some Southeast Asian islands. It is connected to Africa by the Isthmus of Suez and borders Europe (part of the same landmass) along the Ural Mountains and across the Caspian Sea. Area: about 49 700 000 km2 (19 189 277 mi2) it covers about 60 percent of Earth's total land area. Population: more than 4 billion human inhabitants (4,157 million), about 60 percent of the world's population. Seven out of ten of the most populated countries are in Asia (2010). Highest Point: Sagarmatha (Chomolungma; known as Mount Everest) 8848m (29 028 ft) Nepal. Largest Lake: Caspian Sea (salt lake) 371 000 km2 (143 250 mi2), Ozero Baykal, Lake Baikal 31 500 km2 in Siberia is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume. Longest River: Yangtze (Yngz Jiang, or Chang Jiang (simplified Chinese: ) China, 6380 km (3 964 mi). Languages of Asia: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Russian, Thai, Turkic, Vietnamese and other. As the planet's largest continent, Asia covers about 30 percent of the world's landmass and includes (44) countries and assorted islands and/or dependencies. Significant features of the continent of Asia include the world's tallest mountain, Mt Everest in Nepal (and China), rising to 29,035 ft (8,850m). It also includes the world's lowest point, found in the Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan, at 1,286 ft (392m) below sea level. In addition, the continent includes the world's most populated countries, China and India; the world's longest coastline, the world's deepest lake; Lake Baykal, and some of the most important rivers on the planet.

Asia Geography Notes Burma: Military authorities have promoted the name Myanmar since 1989 as the conventional name for their state. That decision was not (and is not) approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and is not accepted by the U.S. government. However, Myanmar is widely accepted by numerous countries, and by the United Nations. European Russia: The Russian landmass west of the Ural Mountains is commonly referred to as European Russia in most educational atlases, and by the vast majority of geography experts. It is not a separate country, but rather called that because of its political, cultural and geographical blendings with Europe. For reference purposes it is shown above to the west of the dashed-line, however, the entire country (as a whole) is still considered part of the continent of Asia. Middle East: Countries considered part of the Middle East (or West Asia) are shown in a lighter shade of gray. Note that they are all still a part of the continent of Asia. Taiwan is still considered by China to be its 23rd province, and not an independent country. Very few other country governments accept China's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Opinions vary as to what countries make up the modern definition of Asia and the Middle East. Historically, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been long associated with the Middle East, but in recent years, some sources now consider them to be more closely aligned with Europe based on their modern economic and political trends. We have moved in that direction, and the same can be said for the island country of Cyprus. Turkey is officially, politically and geographically considered part of both Asia and Europe. The small northwestern portion of Turkey named (Thrace) is a recognized part of Europe, while the largest part (Anatolia) is located in the Middle East, a part of Asia. Countries by Continents ___ Countries of Africa Africa is the second-largest continent in the world in both area and population. Area: about 30 244 000 km2 (11 700 000 mi2) including its adjacent islands it covers about 20 percent of Earth's total land area. Countries:53 Population: 1,030 million human inhabitants, about 20 percent of the world's population. Highest Point: Mount Kilimanjaro - Uhuru Peak on the volcano Kibo, 5 895 m (19 340 ft) in Tanzania. Largest Lake: Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza; 68 870 sq. km. Longest River: Nile; 6 695 km. Languages of Africa: about thousand languages classified in four major language families: Afro-Asiatic (e.g. Berber lang), Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo (Bantu), and Khoi-San.

Africa, the planet's 2nd largest continent and the second most-populous continent (after Asia) includes (53) individual countries, as well as Western Sahara, a member state of the African Union whose statehood is disputed by Morocco. With just over a billion people (a 2009 estimate) it accounts for just over 14% of the world's human population. It also contains the Nile River system, the world's longest, and the massive Sahara Desert, the world's largest. Africa is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, and is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely thought (by science) to be the origin of humans as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors. Physical Map of Antarctica Map is showing the Antarctic region and the continent of Antarctica with a land area of 14 million sq km (280,000 sq km ice-free, 13.72 million sq km ice-covered), so Antarctica is larger than Australia (7,617,930 sq km), it is the world's fifth-largest continent in area, after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America (see the Americas). The nearest countries to Antarctica are South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina. On Antarctica there are no cities or villages, 98% of the continent is covered by ice. Size: 13,209,000 sq km, 5,100,021 sq miles (varies due to changing ice shelves) Percent of Earth's Land: 8.9% Status Antarctica, almost 98% solid ice, was finally considered a continent in 1840, and not just a group of isolated islands. Today it has active territorial claims submitted by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. (Many of these claims are not recognized by some countries and remain in a constant disputed status) Capital City none Climate Antarctica is the coldest and windiest spot on the planet. In fact, the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was recorded in Antarctica (-129.3F) and the mean winter temperatures range from -40 to -94F. Winds are commonly measured at up to 200 miles per hour. Highest Point Vinson Massif at 16,066 ft. (4,897 m) (map) Lowest Point Bentley Subglacial Trench, -2,555 m) Latitude/Longitude 90 S, 0.00 E Official Language none

Official Currency none Population Officially none, but governmental research stations are populated with small groups of scientists at all times. In addition, during the 2009/2010 season, nearly 37,000 tourists visited the continent. Countries by Continents ___ Countries of Europe Area: 23 million km2 (8 876 000 mi2) Population: 728 million Countries:44 Highest Point: 1. El'brus in Russia, (5 642 m/18 510 ft); 2. Mont Blanc, France-Italy: 4 807m (15 771 ft). Largest Lake: Lake Balaton Hungary, largest lake of Central Europe, 592 km2. Longest Rivers: 1. Volga (3,690 km (2,293 miles), 2. Danube 2850 km (1770 miles) Languages of Europe: English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Nordic Languages, East European languages. Europe, the planet's 6th largest continent, includes 47 countries and assorted dependencies, islands and territories. Europe's recognized surface area covers about 9,938,000 sq km (3,837,083 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface, and about 6.8% of its land area. In exacting geographic definitions, Europe is really not a continent, but part of the peninsula of Euroasia which includes all of Europe and Asia. However, it's still widely referred to as an individual continent. The European continent, bordered by numerous bodies of water, is separated from Asia by Russia's Ural Mountains and by the Caspian and Black Seas. It is separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. Namesake: The name "Europe" comes from Greek mythology. The continent was actually named after Europa, a Phoenician princess that Zeus abducted after he assumed the form of an impressive white bull. Major Languages: Languages vary greatly across the entire European continent. The 'Romance Languages' of French, Italian and Spanish are the most prevalent. English and Germanic languages are used in many places. Slavic languages are spoken in eastern Europe, and to the north, Scandinavian and Baltic languages are ubiquitous from Iceland east to European Russia. Population: 731,000,000 (2008 est) It is the third most populous continent, after Asia and Africa Population Density: 70 per sq km (181 per sq mi)

Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands. Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom New Member States of the European Union: The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and a divided Cyprus became union members in May 2004. Bulgaria and Romania became union members in January 2007. EU candidate countries: Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Turkey North America North America, the planets 3rd largest continent, includes (23) countries and dozens of possessions and territories. It contains all Caribbean and Central America countries, Canada, Mexico, the United States of America, as well as Greenland - the worlds largest island. Positioned in the planet's northern and western hemispheres, it's bordered in the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean, in the southeast by the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Additional North American countries (not shown on this map) include: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago Namesake: Americo Vespucci, the Italian explorer Major Languages: English, French and Spanish Population: 528,720,588 (2008 est) It's the fourth most populous continent, after Asia, Africa, and Europe Population Density: 22.9 km2 (59.3 sq mi) South America South America, the planet's 4th largest continent, includes (12) independent countries and (3) major territories; the Falkland Islands, Galapagos Islands and French Guiana.

The continent contains the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela; the largest river (by volume), the Amazon River; the longest mountain range, the Andes, and the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile. In addition, it includes the largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest; the highest capital city, La Paz, Bolivia; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica, the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro, Chile. Namesake: Americo Vespucci, the Italian explorer Major Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Arabic, and dozens of indigenous languages Population: 379,500,000 (2009 est) It's the fifth most populous continent, after Asia, Africa, Europe and North America Population Density: 21.4 sq km (56.0 sq mi) Australia/OCEANIA: OCEANIA Continent Size: 8,112,000 sq km 3,132,059 sq miles Percent of Earth's Land: 5.3% Population: 32,000,000 Highest Point: Mt. Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea, 14,794 ft (4,509m) Lowest Point: Lake Eyre, Australia, 52ft (16m) below sea level Description OCEANIA, the smallest continent, is without doubt one of the most diverse and fascinating areas on the planet. A large percentage of geography experts now consider the long-established continent of Australia to be more accurately defined as Australia/Oceania. Collectively it then combines all of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, as well as the thousands of coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific Ocean, including the Melanesia and Polynesia groups. Oceania also includes Micronesia, a widely scattered group of islands that run along the northern and southern edges of the Equator. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm

You might also like