The names of the 6 continents of the earth are shown on the map. Continents of planet Earth: names, brief description

ABOUT continents I knew from childhood, although until the age of ten I was sometimes confused about their number. By themselves they did not arouse interest. Later, in geography lessons, I realized that they are of interest not only because of their obvious differences from each other (natural, historical, sociocultural), but they can also tell a lot about the geological history of the planet.

Earth and its continents

Continents- huge areas of land in the middle of the World Ocean.

On our planet six continents:

Eurasia;
South America;
North America;
Africa;
Antarctica;
Australia.

Please note that the Arctic is not a continent, because under the ice there is North Pole no sushi. But Antarctica is a continent, but covered with a huge crust of ice.

Not to be confused continents And parts of the world.

Asia and Europe are different parts of the world, but occupy one continent. But North and South America - different continents , but are united in a common part of the world - America.

Position of the continents changes all the time. Within the framework of a short human century this is imperceptible, but lithospheric plates, from which the continents are formed, are actively moving, sometimes moving closer, sometimes moving away from each other.

Once upon a time, there was one supercontinent - Pangea. Gradually it was split into pieces, which eventually led the Earth to the form in which we know it now.

Why are they called that?

It is believed that Europe named after the heroine of the same name in ancient Greek mythology. Asia(Asia) stood out as a separate part of the world even by the ancient Greeks. Under this name it appeared in Homer's Iliad. But the exact etymology is unknown.

"Eurasia"- a simple merger of two words.

WITH Africa it's Complicated. There are only speculations about the origin of this name. Maybe she's named after Afri tribes who once lived there. Maybe everything is much more complicated, and the roots lie in some other language of its peoples.

About America exist too different versions, but it is traditionally believed that it was named after the Florentine traveler Amerigo Vespucci.

Antarctica named in contrast to its polar “sister” the Arctic. Ant-Arctic = opposite the Arctic. "Arctic" comes from the ancient Greek "arktos" - bear. It's connected with constellation Ursa Major , pointing north.

Etymology Australia quite clear. The name comes from the Latin “terra australis incognita” - “unknown southern land”.

Unique. To make it easier for people to understand what place is about we're talking about, scientists came up with names for land, dividing it into continents, continents, and parts of the world. These are all different concepts, and each of them has a specific designation. So how does a part of the world differ from a continent and what continents exist?

First, it’s worth understanding what a continent is. This is a huge land mass that is washed by seas and oceans.

Difference between and part of the world

In geography, the term “continent” is often used, which means the mainland. Although these two concepts are not synonymous. IN different countries Ah the world, continental models of perception of the world are different. In India and China, as well as in English-speaking European countries, it is generally accepted that there are seven continents. Spanish-speaking countries and South American countries use a six-continent model. IN Eastern Europe and Greece, it is generally accepted that there are five continents: these countries consider only those territories where people live to be continents; they do not include Antarctica in the list. In Russia and neighboring countries of Eurasia, it is believed that there are four continents.

To understand how a part of the world differs from a continent, one must understand the entire model of the division of the Earth.

Continents

The continent is a large part of land washed by seas and oceans. There are six continents in total: the largest is Eurasia. Its area is almost 55 million square kilometers. In second place is Africa, with an area of thirty million square kilometers. North America is slightly smaller, then South America. Antarctica ranks fifth in size. The smallest continent is Australia. All these continents are separated by seas and oceans, although there are formations separated by a land border. Such continents are North and South America, which are divided by the Isthmus of Panama. Between Africa and Eurasia is the Isthmus of Suez.

What is the difference between a part of the world and a continent? To understand this, you should know that, unlike continents, continents do not have land borders. Based on this, scientists divided the entire land into four continents: Afro-Eurasia, America, Antarctica and Australia.

Parts of the world

Knowing how a part of the world differs from a continent, you can understand the geographical system of dividing the Earth. So, the terms “mainland” and “continent” have a scientific basis and meaning, but “part of the world” is a division of land along historical and cultural grounds. The following parts of the world are distinguished:

Europe.
Asia.
America, or the New World.
Africa.
Australia and Oceania.
Antarctica.

When people talk about parts of the world, they mean not only large areas of land, but also the islands adjacent to them.

Answering the question of how the concepts of “continent” and “part of the world” differ, we can say that a continent is land surrounded by bodies of water, and a part of the world is land developed by people, located on these continents.

Islands

Now we know how a continent differs from a part of the world, and how it differs from an island? By definition, both a mainland and an island are land washed by oceans or seas. However, these concepts have differences.

Size. The smallest continent is Australia - Greenland.
Education. All continents of the Earth are of tiled origin. According to scientists, once there was only one. It was split, which is why Laurasia and Gondwana appeared, which broke into six more parts. Islands are formed most different ways, including during volcanic eruptions, during the action of polyps, as a result of plate movement.
Habitability. Many islands are still uninhabited, unlike the mainland. Even in the harsh Antarctica there are people.

Continents are large parts of land washed by the waters of oceans and seas, and parts of the world are the same land with which some historical and cultural events are associated. A part of the world may include several continents and islands.

how many continents are there in the world and their names

Eurasia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia, Africa
5 total
America as one
100% I say 6 continents:
Before we get into the topic of how many continents there are on planet Earth, let’s remember what a continent is in general. A continent is a large piece of land that is washed on all sides by water. The question, in fact, is not as simple and obvious as it might seem at first glance. When looking online, views on how many continents there are on Earth vary considerably. In answering this question, we proceed from the general preparatory course in schools.
Continents of planet Earth:

Eurasia;
Africa;
South America;
North America;
Antarctica;
Australia.

These are the six continents that were also described in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

The ambiguity of this issue is explained by the fact that, for example, North and South America are connected by the narrow Isthmus of Panma. Many believe that thanks to this, there is one continent, America, which can be divided into two continents, North and South America. The same applies to the continents of Eurasia and Africa. The fact is that they are also connected by the Isthmus of Suez, so many now believe that they form one continent, Afro-Eurasia. In addition, the difficulty may lie in the fact that in some languages the word continent and parts of the world are written the same way.

If we follow the classical view of such things, then we traditionally distinguish between the six continents that we listed above.
TOTAL there are six of them - 6
CONTINENT (continent), large massif earth's crust, most of which protrudes above the level of the World Ocean, and the periphery is below its level (see Underwater margin of the continent). Characteristic for the mainland continental type structures of the earth's crust with a thickness of 35-70 km with the presence of a granite-metamorphic layer. In the modern geological era there are continents:

Eurasia,
North America,
South America,
Africa,
Australia,
Antarctica.
shit
1 eurasia
2 north america
3 south america
4 Africa
5 Antarctica
6 Australia
7 pangea
8 Rodinia
9 gondwana
10 laurasia
11 Colombia
12 Kenorland
Only 5!
Eurasia, Antarctica, Africa, South and North America, Australia
6 continents
A continent (mainland) is a large land mass surrounded by water. Today there are six continents: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica and seven parts of the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica).
Eurasia, Antarctica, Africa, North and South America, Australia - 5
Continents: Afro-Eurasia (this is a supercontinent and the largest landmass, home to 85% of humanity. It is divided by the Suez Canal into the continents of Africa and Eurasia, the latter is also historically divided into parts of the world: Europe and Asia. Old light includes Afro-Eurasia and adjacent islands.), Eurasia, Asia, Africa, America, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Oceania, Australia.
Continents: Eurasia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia, Africa.
Part of the world: America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia (+Oceania), Antarctica.

Only a third of planet Earth is occupied by land, while the remaining 2/3 is vast expanses of water. That is why it is also called the “blue planet”. Water separates parts of the land, creating several continents from once existing fused land masses.

What parts is the earth divided into?

Geologically, the land is divided into continents, but from the point of view of history, culture and politics - into parts of the world.

There are also concepts of "Old" and "New World". During the heyday of the ancient Greek state, three parts of the world were known: Europe, Asia and Africa - they are called the “Old World”, and the remaining areas of the earth that were discovered after 1500 are called the “New World”, this includes North and South America , Australia and Antarctica.

A large area of land that has common cultural, scientific, economic and political heritage is called a “part of the world.”

It’s interesting to know: which ones exist on planet Earth?

Their names and locations

They often coincide with continents, but it is known that one continent can contain two parts of the world. For example, the continent of Eurasia is divided into Europe and Asia. And, on the contrary, two continents can be one part of the world - South and North America.

So, there are six parts of the world in total:

Europe
Africa
America
Australia and Oceania
Antarctic

It is worth noting that the islands close to the mainland also belong to a certain part of the world.

A continent, or continent, is a large and unbroken area of the Earth's crust that is not covered with water.. The boundaries of continents and their outlines change over time. Continents that existed in ancient times are called paleocontinents.

They are separated by oceanic and sea waters, and those between which the land border lies are separated by isthmuses: North and South America are connected by the Isthmus of Panama, Africa and Asia by the Isthmus of Suez.

Eurasia

The largest continent on Earth, washed by the waters of four oceans (Indian, Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific), is Eurasia. It is located in the Northern Hemisphere, and some of its islands are in the Southern Hemisphere. Occupies an area of about 53 million square kilometers - this is 36% of all land earth's surface.

On this continent there are two parts of the world that belong to the “Old World” - Europe and Asia. They are separated Ural mountains, Caspian Sea, Dardanelles Strait, Strait of Gibraltar, Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas.

Initially, the continent was called Asia, and only since 1880, Austrian geologist Eduard Suess The term Eurasia was introduced. This part land formed when the protocontinent Laurasia was divided into North America and Eurasia.

What is unique about the parts of the world Asia and Europe?

The presence of the narrowest strait in the world - the Bosphorus;
The continent is home to great ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Roman and Byzantine empires, etc.);
Here is an area that is rightfully considered the coldest point on earth - Oymyakon;
Eurasia contains Tibet and the Black Sea basin - the highest and lowest points on the planet;
On the mainland there are all existing climatic zones;
The continent is home to 75% of the entire world population.

Belongs to the New World, surrounded by the waters of two oceans: the Pacific and the Atlantic. The border between the two Americas is the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea. Countries bordering Caribbean Sea, commonly called Caribbean America.

In terms of size, South America ranks 4th among the continents, the population is about 400 million.

Opened this land H. Columbus in 1492. In his desire to find India, he crossed the Pacific Ocean and landed on the Greater Antilles, but realized that beyond them lay a whole hitherto unexplored continent.

A third of the total area is occupied by the Amazon, Parana and Orinoco rivers;
Here is the most big river world - the Amazon, according to the results of the 2011 world competition, it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
In South America there is the largest dry-bottom lake in the world - Titicaca;
On the territory of the continent there are the highest - Angel, and the most powerful - Iguazu waterfalls in the world;
The most big country mainland - Brazil;
The highest capital in the world is La Paz (Bolivia);
There is never any precipitation in the Chilean Atacami Desert;
It is also home to the largest beetles and butterflies in the world (woodcutter beetles and agrippina butterflies), the smallest monkeys (marmosets) and life-threatening poisonous red-backed frogs.

North America

Another continent belonging to the same part of the world. Located in the Western Hemisphere on the North side, washed by the Bering Sea, the Mexican, California, St. Lawrence and Hudson Bays, the Pacific, Atlantic and North Arctic oceans.

The discovery of the mainland took place in 1502. It is believed that America was named after the Italian navigator and traveler Amerigo Vespucci who discovered it. However, there is a version according to which America was discovered by the Vikings long before this. First appeared on the map as America in 1507.

On its area, which occupies about 20 million square kilometers, there are 20 countries. Most of the territory is divided between two of them - Canada and the United States.

TO North America also include a number of islands: Aleutian, Greenland, Vancouver, Alexandra and Canadian archipelago.

North America is home to the world's largest administrative building, the Pentagon;
Most of the population spends almost all of their time indoors;
Mauna Kea is the highest mountain in the world, the height of which is two thousand meters higher than Chomolungma;
Greenland is the largest island on the planet and belongs to this continent.

Africa

Second largest continent after Eurasia. Its area occupies 6% of all land on Earth. It is washed by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The continent crosses the equator.

It is believed that the name of the continent came from such Latin words, as “sunny”, “without cold”, “dust”.

What makes Africa unique?

The mainland contains huge reserves of diamonds and gold;
There are places here that no human has ever set foot on;
You can see tribes with the lowest and highest tall people on the planet;
Average duration human life in Africa it is 50 years.

Antarctica

Part of the world, a continent, almost entirely covered with 2 thousand meters of ice. Located in the very south of the globe.

There are no permanent residents on the mainland, only scientific stations;
Traces have been found in glaciers indicating a “former tropical life continent";
Comes to Antarctica every year a large number of tourists (about 35 thousand) who want to see seals, penguins and whales, as well as those who are interested in scuba diving.

Australia

The continent is washed by the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the Tasman, Timor, Arafura and Coral seas Pacific Ocean. The mainland was discovered by the Dutch in the 17th century.

Off the coast of Australia there is a huge size coral reef- Great Barrier Reef, about 2 thousand km long.

Also sometimes by a separate part of the world they mean Oceania, the Arctic, New Zealand .

But most scientists still divide the land into the 6 parts of the world presented above.

Very for a long time to the question “how many continents are there on planet Earth?” people answered: “Five!” Because they didn’t even guess about the sixth, the most mysterious and coldest one. And only in 1820 Antarctica was discovered - a continent 98 percent covered with ice.

Centers of world civilization

However, people learned about the existence of continents on the planet (as well as the fact that the Earth is round) relatively recently. If the question “how many continents are there on Earth?” asked in ancient times, many would have answered: “Two.”. The fact is that the two oldest land masses - Eurasia and Africa - were known to mankind a long time ago.

Moreover, these continents are considered the cradle of modern civilization, and many scientists believe that the first man appeared here.

Vast Eurasia

So, Eurasia is the most large continent on our planet. Its area is about 53.89 million square kilometers. When compared with other continents combined, Eurasia occupies 36 percent of the earth's landmass. That is, a third of the entire continental land.

How many continents and parts of the world are there on earth? And here it is interest Ask. After all, vast Eurasia, in turn, is divided into two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, which have enormous differences. Different religions, sometimes polar image life, completely different values and their own history make these parts of the world independent units on political map peace.

Densely populated Europe and numerous Asia

Europe is considered the most densely populated, there are 45 states, cities and settlements are located close to each other. There are dwarf countries in Europe, such as Monaco and the Vatican, which represent a tiny territory. The Vatican, for example, is a country within a city, located in the very center of Rome. Well, the largest state in Eurasia, which is located in two parts of the world at once, in Europe and Asia, is Russia. It occupies one sixth of the world's landmass.

Asia, in turn, is the most populated part of the world. More than half of the entire earth's population lives here, over 3 billion 981 million people. In the same part of the world there are also the main countries where the population has exceeded one million.

Asia has 48 states. But because climatic conditions- large mountain ranges and deserts - it is populated extremely unevenly.

Mysterious Africa

The hottest and hottest continent on the planet, which is the second largest, is Africa. It is here that the most big desert in the world - Sahara. Africa today is home to 960 million people and occupies one fifth of the landmass. There are 53 states on its territory.

Despite the abundance of deserts and the title of the hottest continent, in Africa you can see snow and ice on the mountain tops.

Two Americas

How many continents are there on planet Earth? At least two of them have almost the same name.

In order not to confuse them, one America, which is located in the northern part globe, called Northern, and the one at the bottom of the map - Southern. Simple and clear. They, respectively, occupy third and fourth places in terms of area. These two huge continents, together with nearby islands, form one part of the world, which is also called America. There are 36 states and 17 sovereign territories that have a special status in the world.

America was discovered relatively recently - in 1492. This is due to the fact that both continents are surrounded by oceans and located at a considerable distance from the other continents.

Romantic Australia

Australia claims two interesting records at once - this is the most small continent, and there is only one country with the same name located on it. The territory of this continent is quite deserted, and the climate there is harsh. This is why Australia is the most sparsely populated landmass.

Icy Antarctica

While studying the topic of how many continents and parts of the world there are on earth, we came to the coldest continent on the planet, the existence of which people had no idea until the beginning of the 19th century. Only in 1820, Russian travelers discovered this land and proved that it was still a continent, and not a huge iceberg.

Almost the entire territory, namely 98 percent of Antarctica, is covered eternal ice. There are very small areas where the earth is visible, and they are called oases.

Due to the fact that it is impossible to live here permanently and conduct any activity, representatives of different countries agreed that Antarctica would not belong to any of the states, but at the same time everyone had the right to conduct scientific research there.

How many continents, so many parts of the world

Today the answer to the question “how many continents are there on Earth, and what are they called?” even a schoolboy knows. Very easy to remember - the most big continent begins with the letter "E", and all others begin with the first letter of the alphabet.

There are the same number of parts of the world - six. True, Eurasia occupies two parts of the world at once: Europe and Asia, but North and South America, on the contrary, have united into one called America.

The continent of Australia belongs to the part of the world called Australia and Oceania, the remaining parts of the world - Africa and Antarctica - have the same name as the continents of the same name.