Man began to divide the land into regions from time immemorial. With the development of large territories, it became necessary to designate them for a better understanding of land ownership. Parts of the world are large areas of land that include continents or large parts of them, including nearby islands. They are connected with the historical development of society, and are not equivalent.
How many and what parts of the world are there on Earth?
Divide land into different regions began in antiquity. In those days, three parts of the world were known: Europe, Asia and Africa, also called the Old World. During the period of great geographical discoveries, three more areas were mastered, including America, Australia and Antarctica, also called the New World. Thus, today the world is usually divided into six parts of the world. Some of them territorially coincide with the continents, and the Eurasian continent is divided into two large parts.
Australia and Oceania
Australia and Oceania on the map
At the same time, it is the smallest continent and part of the Earth, with an area of 7.6 million km². The federal state of Australia includes 6 states. More than 24 million people live here, the population density is very low.
They call a region consisting of islands and atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Their total area is 1.24 million km². Oceania includes more than 10 independent countries and about 30 territories dependent on other states. The population exceeds 10 million people.
Asia
Asia on the map
It is located in the eastern part of Eurasia and ranks first among all parts of the world both in terms of area and population. The area of the territory is about 44.58 million km². The natural border between Europe and Asia is the Ural Mountains. There are about 50 countries in Asia. More than 4 billion people live here, the ethnic composition of which is very diverse.
America
America on the map
America consists of two continents located in and hemispheres. The total area is 42.55 million km². There are 36 states and 17 independent territories in America. The population is about 1 billion people, most of which live in Latin America.
Antarctica
Antarctica on the map
It occupies the territory of the same continent. This part of the world was discovered in 1820. The area of Antarctica is 14.11 million km². There is no permanent population, and the temporary population is up to 5,000 thousand people. The land does not belong to any state. According to the international treaty of 1959, the territory is demilitarized. There are several polar stations on the continent, belonging to different countries. They conduct exclusively scientific activities.
Africa
Africa on the map
Another part of the world known since antiquity is. The ancient Greeks called it Libya. The size of this part of the world is approximately 30.3 million km². It is located in the southern and northern hemispheres of the Earth, passes through the territory of the continent. Africa is the cradle of humanity. Today there are 54 states in which 1.1 billion people live.
Europe
Europe on the map
Europe lies in the western part of the Eurasian continent, its area is 10.18 million km². Numerous large islands and peninsulas adjoin it. Today Europe is the largest political and cultural center Earth. There are 43 states on its territory. Part of the world is characterized by a high population density. About 10% of the world's population lives here.
How are parts of the world different from continents?
By the mainland is meant a huge part of the land, surrounded on all sides and. In different historical times, the number of continents was not the same. The division into continents is due to geographical and geological features. Parts of the world include the continents or part of them. These also include the islands closest to the continents. The division of land into parts of the world is associated with historical and cultural events.
Parts of the world and oceans
Europe is washed by 10 seas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The Asian part of the world is washed by three oceans. The main sea routes are located in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Therefore, the bays and coastal seas of the Asian part of Eurasia are actively used in world shipping.
From the northwest, Australia is washed by the Indian Ocean. The Pacific Ocean adjoins it from the east. The islands of Oceania are located in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
The southernmost part of the world, Antarctica, is washed by three oceans: the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. Some oceanographers combine the waters of these oceans into a separate Southern Ocean.
North America is washed by three oceans: the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic. The Pacific and Atlantic oceans adjoin the shores of South America.
The shores of Africa are washed by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The southern points of America and Africa are located close enough to Antarctica and are washed by the Southern Ocean.
Which countries are located in two parts of the world?
Russia has a huge territory. Occupying an impressive part of the continent, it is located simultaneously in the European and Asian parts of the world.
The Scandinavian country of Denmark is located in the northwest of Europe. It also includes Greenland. Geographically, it belongs to North America, so it can be argued that Denmark is located in two parts of the world.
Egypt is located in Africa and Asia at the same time. The small Sinai Peninsula, which belongs to this country, belongs to the Middle East. It is in Sinai that oil deposits and beautiful resorts are located. Most of the country is located in the desert African lands.
The Republic of Yemen, located in Southwest Asia, belongs to the Socotra archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which belongs to the African part of the world.
Indonesia is the largest archipelago. Its islands are located on both sides of the equator. The northern part of the republic is located in Asia, and the southern part is in Oceania.
The main part of the territory of Spain is located in the south-west of Europe. The remnant of the once vast Spanish colonial empire in Africa is the enclave of Vanity.
Two thirds of Kazakhstan's territories are in Asia. A small part of it lies in Europe. Azerbaijan and Turkey are on the border between Europe and Asia.
USA is located in North America. However, the state owns several land areas in the Pacific Ocean, which belongs to Oceania.
The mainland is a vast expanse of land, washed by the seas and oceans. Continent is a geological concept. The border between the continents on land runs along the isthmuses: Panama - between North and South America, and Suez - between Africa and Asia.
How many continents on Earth are 6 or 7?
There is an opinion that there are not 6 continents on Earth, but 7. The territory located around the South Pole is huge blocks of ice. Currently, many scientists call it another continent on planet Earth.
However, answering the question: “How many continents are there on planet Earth?”, You can accurately answer - 6.
How many continents are on Earth and their names
- Eurasia,
- Africa,
- North America,
- South America,
- Australia,
- Antarctica.
In geology, the mainland is also often referred to as the underwater margin of the mainland, including the islands located on it. From a tectonic point of view, continents are sections of the lithosphere that have a continental structure of the earth's crust.
The continent (inseparable, continuous), unlike the mainland, is a continuous land mass, not separated by the sea. The borders of the continent cannot pass by land. Four continents:
- Old World (Eurasia and Africa),
- New World(North America and South America),
- Australia,
- Antarctica.
There is also a similar historical and cultural concept of "part of the world." On the continent of Eurasia there are two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, and part of the world America includes two continents - South and North America. The world is divided into six parts of the world:
- Asia,
- Africa,
- America,
- Europe,
- Australia and Oceania,
- Antarctica (Antarctica with coastal seas and islands).
Sometimes Oceania and the Arctic are separated into separate parts of the world.
The border between Europe and Asia from north to south runs along the Ural Mountains, then along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea, north of the Caucasus - along the Kuma and Manych rivers to Sea of Azov, then - along the Black, Marmara and Mediterranean seas. The border described above is not indisputable - it is only one of several options accepted in the world.
Continental patterns
In the world, there are several traditions of dividing the lands into continents and parts of the world.
| Number of continents in different traditions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colors highlight parts of the land allocated to continents in various cultures |
||||||||
| 4 continents | Afro-Eurasia | America | Antarctica | Australia | ||||
| 5 continents |
Africa | Eurasia | America | Antarctica | Australia | |||
| 6 continents | Africa | Europe | Asia | America | Antarctica | Australia | ||
| 6 continents |
Africa | Eurasia | North America | South America | Antarctica | Australia | ||
| 7 continents |
Africa | Europe | Asia | North America | South America | Antarctica | Australia | |
- The seven continents model is popular in China, India, partly in Western Europe and in English-speaking countries.
- The six continent model with America united ("Parts of the World") is popular in Spanish speaking countries [and parts of Eastern Europe, including Greece with its five continent model (five inhabited continents).
Comparison of area and population
Eurasia
Eurasia on the globe
Eurasia- the largest continent on Earth, and the only one washed by four oceans: in the south - the Indian, in the north - the Arctic, in the west - the Atlantic, in the east - the Pacific. The continent is located in the Northern Hemisphere between 9° W. and 169° W. while some of the Eurasian islands are located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of continental Eurasia lies in the Eastern Hemisphere, although the extreme western and eastern ends of the mainland are in the Western Hemisphere. Eurasia stretches from west to east for 10.5 thousand km, from north to south - for 5.3 thousand km, with an area of 53.6 million km². This is more than a third of the total land area of the planet. The area of the Eurasian islands is approaching 2.75 million km².
Contains two parts of the world: Europe and Asia. The border line between Europe and Asia is most often drawn along the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Emba River, the northwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, the Kuma River, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Manych River, the eastern coast of the Black Sea, the southern coast of the Black Sea, the Strait Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, the Strait of Gibraltar. This division has developed historically. Naturally, there is no sharp boundary between Europe and Asia. The continent is united by the continuity of land, the current tectonic consolidation and the unity of numerous climatic processes.
North America
North America on the globe
North America(English) North America, fr. Amerique du Nord, Spanish America del Norte, Norteamérica , ast. Ixachitlān Mictlāmpa) is one of the continents of the planet Earth, located in the north of the Western Hemisphere of the Earth. North America is washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean with the Bering Sea, Alaska and California bays, from the east by the Atlantic Ocean with the Labrador, Caribbean, St. Lawrence and Mexican seas, from the north by the Arctic Ocean with the Beaufort, Baffin, Greenland and Hudson Bay seas. From the west, the continent is separated from Eurasia by the Bering Strait. In the south, the border between North and South America runs through the Isthmus of Panama.
North America also includes numerous islands: Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, Vancouver Island, the Alexander Archipelago and others. The area of North America, together with the islands, is 24.25 million km², without the islands, 20.36 million km².
South America
South America on the globe
South America(Spanish) America del Sur, Sudamérica, Suramérica , port. America do Sul, English South America, netherl. Zuid-Amerika, fr. Amerique du Sud, guar. Ñembyamérika, Quechua Urin Awya Yala, Urin Amerika) is the southern continent in America, located mainly in the Western and Southern hemispheres of planet Earth, however, the continent is partially located in the Northern Hemisphere. It is washed in the west by the Pacific Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic, from the north it is limited by North America, the border between the Americas runs along the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea.
South America also includes various islands, most of which belong to the countries of the continent. Caribbean territories belong to North America. The South American countries that border the Caribbean - including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana - are known as Caribbean South America.
The most important river systems in South America are the Amazon, Orinoco and Parana, with a total basin of 7 million km² (the area of South America is 17.8 million km²). Most of the lakes in South America are located in the Andes, the largest of which and the world's highest navigable lake is Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru. The largest in area is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, it is also one of the oldest on the planet.
Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, is located in South America. On the mainland, there is also the most powerful waterfall - Iguazu.
The area of the continent is 17.8 million km²: 4th place among the continents.
Africa
Africa on the globe
Africa- the second largest continent after Eurasia, washed by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the Red Sea from the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south. Africa is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland Africa and adjacent islands.
The African continent crosses the equator and several climatic zones; it is the only continent that stretches from the northern subtropical climate zone to the southern subtropical one. Due to the lack of permanent rainfall and irrigation - as well as glaciers or aquifers of mountain systems - there is practically no natural regulation of the climate anywhere except the coasts.
Australia
Australia on the globe
Australia(from lat. australis- "southern") - a continent located in the Eastern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth. The entire territory of the mainland is the main part of the state of the Commonwealth of Australia. The mainland is part of the world Australia and Oceania. The northern and eastern coasts of Australia are washed by the Pacific Ocean: the Arafura, Coral, Tasman, Timor Seas; western and southern - the Indian Ocean. Near Australia are the large islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. Along the northeast coast of Australia, the world's largest coral reef stretches for more than 2000 km - Great Barrier Reef.
Antarctica
Antarctica on a globe
Antarctica(gr. ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of Arctida) - a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean. Antarctica is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.
Antarctica is the highest continent, its average height is 2040 meters. About 85% of the planet's glaciers are also located on the mainland. There is no permanent population in Antarctica, but there are more than 50 scientific stations belonging to different states and intended for research and detailed study of the characteristics of the continent.
Antarctica is almost completely covered by an ice sheet, the average thickness of which exceeds 2500 meters. There are also a large number of subglacial lakes (more than 140), the largest of which is Lake Vostok discovered by Russian scientists in the 1990s.
Hypothetical continents
Kenorland
Kenorland- a hypothetical supercontinent that, according to geophysicists, existed in the Neoarchean (about 2.75 billion years ago). The name comes from the Kenoran phase of folding. Paleomagnetic studies indicate that Kenorland was at low latitudes.
Nuna
Nuna (Colombia, Hudsonland) is a hypothetical supercontinent that existed in the period from 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago (maximum assembly ~ 1.8 billion years ago). The assumption of its existence was put forward by J. Rogers and M. Santosh in 2002. Nuna is dated to the Paleoproterozoic era, making it the supposedly oldest supercontinent. It consisted of plateau precursors of ancient platforms that were part of the earlier continents of Laurentia, Fennosarmatia, the Ukrainian Shield, Amazonia, Australia, and possibly Siberia, the Sino-Korean platform and the Kalahari platform. The existence of the Columbia continent is based on geological and paleomagnetic evidence.
Rodinia
Rodinia(from "Motherland" or from "give birth") - a hypothetical supercontinent that allegedly existed in the Proterozoic - the Precambrian eon. It originated about 1.1 billion years ago and broke up about 750 million years ago. At that time, the Earth consisted of one giant piece of land and one giant ocean, which received the name Mirovia, also taken from the Russian language. Rodinia is often considered the oldest known supercontinent, but its position and shape is still a matter of controversy. After the collapse of Rodinia, the continents managed to once again unite into the supercontinent Pangea and disintegrate again.
Lavrussia
Lavrussia (euramerica) is a Paleozoic supercontinent formed as a result of the collision of the North American (the ancient continent of Laurentia) and the East European (the ancient continent of Baltica) platforms during the Caledonian orogeny. The names are also known Caledonia, « ancient red continent" (eng. Old Red Continent), « mainland ancient red sandstone» ( Old Red Sandstone Continent). In the Permian period, it merged with Pangea and became its integral part. After the collapse of Pangea, it became part of Laurasia. Broken up in the Paleogene.
gondwana
Disappeared continents
Gondwana in paleogeography, an ancient supercontinent that arose about 750-530 million years ago, was localized around the South Pole for a long time, and included almost all the land that is now located in the southern hemisphere (Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia), as well as tectonic blocks of Hindustan and Arabia, now moved to the northern hemisphere and become part of the Eurasian continent. In the early Paleozoic, Gondwana gradually shifted to the north, and in the Carboniferous period (360 million years ago) it merged with the North American-Scandinavian continent to form the giant protocontinent Pangea. Then, during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago), Pangea again split into Gondwana and the northern continent of Laurasia, which were separated by the Tethys Ocean. 30 million years later, in the same Jurassic period, Gondwana gradually began to break up into new (current) continents. Finally, all modern continents - Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica and the Hindustan Peninsula - stood out from Gondwana only at the end of the Cretaceous, that is, 70-80 million years ago.
Pangea
Pangea surrounded by Panthalassa
Pangea(other Greek. Πανγαῖα - "all-earth") - the name given by Alfred Wegener to the protocontinent that arose in the Paleozoic era. The giant ocean that washed Pangea from the Silurian period of the Paleozoic to the early Mesozoic, inclusive, was called Panthalassa (from other Greek. παν- "all-" and θάλασσα "sea"). Pangea was formed in the Permian period, and split at the end of the Triassic (about 200-210 million years ago) into two continents: northern - Laurasia and southern - Gondwana. In the process of the formation of Pangea from more ancient continents, mountain systems arose at the places of their collision, some of them (for example, the Urals and the Appalachians) have existed to this day. These early mountains are much older than the younger mountain systems (the Alps in Europe, the Cordillera in North America, the Andes in South America, or the Himalayas in Asia). Due to erosion lasting many millions of years, the Urals and Appalachians are flattened low mountains.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan- the Middle Paleozoic continent, which was located between Laurussia and the Siberian platform. It stretches from the Turgai trough and the Turan lowland to the Gobi and Takla-Makan deserts.
Laurasia
Topographic map of Zealand showing the borders with Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu
Laurasia- a supercontinent that existed as the northern part of the fault of the Pangea protocontinent (southern - Gondwana) in the late Mesozoic era. It united most of those territories that today make up the existing continents of the northern hemisphere - Eurasia and North America, which in turn broke away from each other from 135 to 200 million years ago.
Pangea Ultima
It seems likely that in 100-200 Ma the continents will reassemble into a supercontinent. Various possible scenarios for this unification are proposed, known as Pangea Ultima, Novopangea and Amasia.
Zealand
Hypothetical continent, currently almost completely submerged. Broke off from Australia 60-85 million years ago and from Antarctica between 130 and 85 million years ago. It may have been completely flooded about 23 million years ago.
At school, I really liked to study the geography of continents and oceans. It has always been interesting, but how do people live on other continents, what is interesting there and what is there that we do not have. Now I have traveled a bit in different parts of the world and I can say that there is some kind of zest on every continent.
How are continents different from parts of the world?
First you need to figure out what is the mainland. As a child, I called them giant islands, which is approximately how it turns out, because the continents are completely surrounded by water (one can consider Africa an exception, which is separated from Europe by an artificially dug channel). A continent should be understood as a giant piece of land.
With parts of the world, everything is also extremely clear. These are vast territories that have some kind of peculiarity, but are not necessarily surrounded on all sides by water. For example, they share Asia and Europe, these two parts of the world have a lot of differences, although they share one continent. Parts of the world can be distinguished for similar climatic conditions, they can also be distinguished due to certain historical factors, for example: Western Europe.
Some people manage to confuse these two concepts, but they have many different differences between them.
How many parts of the world are on the planet
If everything is simple with the continents, there are only six of them, then with parts of the world things are much more complicated. It is unlikely that it will be possible to give an absolutely accurate answer to this question, and this is all because different sources emit different amounts of parts of the world. Common ones are:
- Europe;
- Asia;
- America;
- Oceania.
Also popular is the division into the Old World (which includes Eurasia and Africa, these are the continents that were known before the discovery of America) and the New World, which includes those continents that were discovered during the Late Middle Ages.
The same Europe is also usually divided into several parts of the world, for example, Western Europe, Eastern, Central. With Asia, the situation is about the same.
Some parts of the world are called the same as the continent where they are located, these are Africa and Antarctica, Australia can also be added here.
Consists of body of water and land. The share of the World Ocean accounts for 70.8% of the Earth's surface, which is 361.06 million km 2, and the share of land - 29.2%, or 149.02 million km 2.
It is customary to conditionally divide all the land of the Earth into parts of the world and continents.
Continents of the Earth
Continents, or continents are very large areas of land surrounded by water (Table 1). There are six of them on Earth: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australia. All continents are quite well isolated from each other.
The total area of all continents is 139 million km2.
A piece of land that extends into an ocean or sea and is surrounded on three sides by water is called peninsula. The largest peninsula on Earth is the Arabian Peninsula (its area is 2732 thousand km 2).
A small piece of land compared to the mainland, surrounded on all sides by water, is island. There are single islands (the largest is Greenland, its area is 2176 thousand km 2) and clusters of islands - archipelagos(for example, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago). By origin, the islands are divided into:
- continental - large islands that have separated from the continents and are located on the underwater margin of the continents (for example, the island of Great Britain);
- oceanic, among which there are volcanic and coral.
Perhaps the largest number of volcanic islands can be observed in the Pacific Ocean. Coral (organogenic) islands are characteristic of the hot zone. Coral structures - atolls have the shape of a ring or a horseshoe with a diameter of up to several tens of kilometers. Sometimes atolls form truly gigantic clusters along the coast - barrier reefs(for example, the Great Barrier Reef along the east coast of Australia has a length of 2000 km).
Parts of the world
In addition to the division of land into continents, in the course of cultural and historical development, there was another allocation parts of the world, of which there are also six: Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Antarctica and Australia. Part of the world includes not only the mainland, but also the islands adjacent to it. Far from the mainland, the islands of the Pacific Ocean form a special group called Oceania. The largest of them - about. New Guinea (area - 792.5 thousand km 2).
Geography of the continents
The location of the continents, as well as differences in the properties of waters, the system of currents and tides, allows us to divide, called oceans.
Currently, five oceans are distinguished: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and since 1996, by decision of the Commission on Geographical Names, the South. More information about the oceans will be given in the next section.
Table 1. General information about the continents
| Characteristics |
North America |
South America |
Australia |
Antarctica |
||
|
Area, mln km2 without islands with islands |
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|
Coastline, thousand km |
||||||
|
Length, km:
|
||||||
| extreme points | ||||||
|
northern |
Cape Chelyuskin 77°43" N |
m Ben Secca 37°20" N |
Cape Murchison 71°50" N |
Cape Gapinas 12°25" N |
m York 10°41"S |
Sifre 63° S |
|
m. Piai 1° 16" media. |
Cape Igolny 34°52" Yu.Sh. |
m. Maryato 7° 12" N |
Cape Froward 53°54" Jul. |
m. Yugo-Vostochny 39°11" S |
||
|
western |
Cape Roca 9°34"W |
Cape Almadi 17°32"W |
m Prince of Wales 168°00"W |
Cape Parinhas 81°20"W |
m. Steep Point 113°05"E |
|
|
eastern |
Dezhnev metro station 169°40"W |
Cape Ras Hafun 51°23"E |
m. St. Charles 55°40" PLN |
Cape Cabo Branco 34°46"W |
Cape Byron 153°39" E |
|
Parts of the world - regions of land, including the continents or large parts of them, along with nearby islands.
Usually there are six parts of the world:
- Australia and Oceania;
- Asia;
- America;
- Antarctica;
- Africa;
- Europe.
There is a difference between the concepts of "mainland" and "part of the world." The division into continents is made on the basis of separation by water space from other continents, and parts of the world are rather a historical and cultural concept. Thus, the continent of Eurasia consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. And part of the world America is located on two continents - South America and North America. In addition, parts of the world also include the islands assigned to them, so that although there is no such continent Oceania, the corresponding islands are included in the part of the world Australia and Oceania.
Old World and New World
The division into parts of the world should not be confused with the division into the "Old World" and the "New World", that is, with concepts denoting the continents known to Europeans before 1492 and after (except for Australia and Antarctica).
All three "known to the ancient" parts of the world - Asia and Africa, were called the Old World, and the part of the southern transatlantic continent, discovered by the Portuguese in 1500 and 1501-1502, began to be called the New World.
It is believed that the term was proposed by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503, however this opinion is disputed. A number of sources attribute this merit to the Italian-Spanish historian Pietro Martire d'Angiera (see Italian - Pietro Martire d'Anghiera or Spanish - Pedro Mártir de Anglería), who already in a letter about the first voyage of Columbus, dated November 1, 1492, uses the designation in the Latin form "novi orbis", then a year later in another letter he transforms it into "orbis novus", and in 1516 he publishes a well-known work under the title beginning with "De orbe novo ..." ("In the New World ...") , describing the first contact of Europeans with the indigenous inhabitants of open lands.
In 1524, the same term was used by Giovanni da Verrazzano - already for the story of the voyage to the coast of the present