RELIEF AND WATER ON

THE CONTINENTS

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01 OCEANS AND CONTINENTS

There are two main types of surfaces on the Earth: water and emergent land.

1. oceans: 2. continents:
• Pacific Ocean • America
• Atlantic Ocean • Africa
• Indian Ocean • Asia
• Arctic Ocean • Europe
• Southern Ocean • Antarctica
• Oceania

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02 LAND RELIEF
Land relief in Africa

• On the coasts of Africa are the Somalia Peninsula,

the Gulf of Guinea and the Cape of Good Hope.
• Some of the most important rivers and lakes are the
Nile, the Congo and Lake Chad.
• Plateaus occupy almost 6% of the continent, with
deserts such as the Sahara and the Kalahari.
• The main mountains are found in the north, east and
south of the continent.
• The Rift Valley is a tectonic fracture with lakes like the
Victoria and Tanganyika.

surface area of Africa:

30,310,000 km2 3
02 LAND RELIEF
Land relief in America

• Landforms on the coasts include the Florida, Yucatan and

Labrador peninsulas, and Hudson Bay and the Gulf of
Mexico.
• Continental plains, such as the Great American Plain and
the vast Amazon Basin, are crossed by great rivers.
• Shields are very large, low plateaus, such as the Canadian
and Brazilian shields, and the Peruvian Altiplano between
the Andes mountains.
• Mountain systems in the east of the continent have gentle,
undulating forms, while in the west, they are very steep and
cover the entire Pacific coast.
surface area of America:
42,091,000 km2
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02 LAND RELIEF
Land relief in Asia

• On the coasts are the Kamchatka and Korean

peninsulas in the east, the Arabian and Indochina
peninsulas in the south, and the Persian and Bengal
gulfs.
• Plains occupy most of the surface area. The continental
plains are in the north, and the alluvial plains are located
around the great rivers of China, Indochina and India.
• Plateaus include the Central Siberian, Iranian and
Deccan plateaus, as well as the high plateaus of the
Pamir Mountains and Tibet.
• The highest mountains are the Himalayas, with the
world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. surface area of Asia:
44,308,000 km2
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02 LAND RELIEF
Land relief in Oceania

• It is made up of many islands.

• The largest island is Australia, which is characterised by plateaus
located in the west, plains in the central regions and mountains
which form an arc around the east coast, such as the Great
Dividing Range and the Australian Alps.
surface area of Oceania:
• Some islands in the small archipelagos are volcanic in origin. 8,946,000 km2
Others, such as atolls, are made of coral.

Land relief in Antarctica

• The main mountains in the Transantarctic Mountains emerge
from the ice sheet. They include Mount Vinson.
surface area of Antarctica:
13,177,000 km2
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02 LAND RELIEF
Land relief in Europe

• Most of Europe is covered by plains, including the Great

European Plain.
• The continent has a very long coastline. Individual coasts
are generally very short and irregular.
• The oldest highlands were formed during an older stage
and have experienced more erosion. They are found in
the north and east, including the Scandinavian and Ural
mountains.
• The youngest mountain systems and alpine mountain
ranges were formed more recently, so they have high
altitudes and steep relief. They form a mountainous line
parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. surface area of Europe: 10,522,000 km2
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03 THE WORLD’S RIVERS AND LAKES
Rivers and lakes in Africa
• The distribution of rivers in Africa is influenced by the huge areas of deserts.
• African lakes are mainly located in the fracture of the Rift Valley, such as lakes
Victoria and Tanganyika, but they are also in the sunken areas of the plateaus, such
as Lake Chad.

Atlantic Indian Ocean Mediterranean

watershed watershed watershed
main rivers • Congo • Zambezi • Nile
• Niger • Jubba
• Orange
Nile River

main lakes • Chad, Victoria, Tanganyika

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03 THE WORLD’S RIVERS AND LAKES
Rivers and lakes in America
• In America, rivers are influenced by their location in relation to the continent’s
eastern mountain ranges.
• Lakes are abundant in the northern regions of America. There are few lakes in
South America and they are mainly small; Lake Titicaca is one exception.

Atlantic Pacific Arctic

watershed watershed watershed
main rivers • Mississippi • Colorado • Mackenzie
• Amazon • Yukon
• Orinoco
the Amazon
• Paraná

main lakes • Titicaca, Great Bear, Superior, Ontario, Michigan

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03 THE WORLD’S RIVERS AND LAKES
Rivers and lakes in Asia
Asia has long rivers with a high flow that originate in the inland mountain ranges and
cross wide plains to empty into the sea.

Indian Pacific Arctic

watershed watershed watershed
main rivers • Indus • Huang He • Lena
• Ganges • Yangtze • Yenisey
• Amur

main lakes • Caspian, Baikal

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03 THE WORLD’S RIVERS AND LAKES
Rivers and lakes in Oceania
• Oceania is made up of many islands, and there are few rivers and lakes.
• There are large rivers in Central Australia, such as the Murray which empties into
the Southern Ocean.

Rivers and lakes in Europe

• Rivers in the Atlantic Ocean watershed have a high flow, due to the constant rains
in the areas that they flow through.
• The rivers of Northern Europe empty into the Arctic Ocean. They have a high flow
and freeze in winter.
• The rivers of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea watershed are the longest on the
continent as they run through the plains of Central Europe.
• The rivers of the Mediterranean watershed are short and have an irregular flow
due to summer droughts.
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03 THE WORLD’S RIVERS AND LAKES
Rivers and lakes in Europe

Atlantic Mediterranean Arctic Caspian Black Sea

watershed watershed watershed Sea watershed
watershed
main rivers • Elbe • Rhône • Pechora • Volga • Danube
• Rhine • Po • Northern • Ural • Dniester
• Seine • Ebro Dvina • Dnieper
the Volga
• Tajo • Don

• Lakes of glacial origin are found in Northern Europe.

• Alpine lakes are smaller but very beautiful.
main lakes • Ladoga, Onega, Geneva, Constance

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