What continents are there on Earth - names, location on the world map and characteristics. Continents and oceans on the surface of the earth Atlantic Ocean on the globe

08.02.2024

A continent is a large land surface that is washed on all sides by oceans or seas.

How many continents are there on Earth and their names

The Earth is a very large planet, but despite this, a significant area of it is water - more than 70%. And only about 30% is occupied by continents and islands of various sizes.

One of the largest is Eurasia, it occupies more than 54 million square meters. It contains the 2 largest parts of the world - Europe and Asia. Eurasia is the only continent that is washed on all sides by oceans. On its shores you can see a large number of large and small bays, islands of varying sizes. Eurasia is located on 6 tectonic platforms, which is why its relief is so diverse.

The highest mountains are located in Eurasia, as well as Baikal, the deepest lake. The population of this part of the world makes up almost a third of the entire planet, living in 108 countries.

Africa occupies more than 30 million square meters. The names of all the continents on the planet are studied in detail in the school curriculum, but some people do not know their number even as adults. This may be due to the fact that in geography lessons continents are often called continents. These two names have significant differences. The main difference is that the continent has no land border.

Africa is the hottest among all others. The main part of its surface is made up of plains and mountains. Hot Africa is home to the longest river on Earth, the Nile, as well as the Sahara desert.

Africa is divided into 5 regions: South, North, West, East, and Central. There are 62 countries on this part of the Earth.

The name of all continents includes North America. It is washed on all sides by the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic oceans. The coast of North America is uneven; a large number of large and small bays, islands of various sizes, straits and bays have formed along it. In the central part there is a huge plain.

North America

The local inhabitants of the mainland are Eskimos or Indians. In total, there are 23 states in this part of the Earth, among them: Mexico, the USA and Canada.

South America ranks on the surface of the planet there are more than 17 million square meters. It is washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and also has the longest mountain system. The rest of the surface is predominantly plateau or plains. Among all parts, South America is the rainiest. Its indigenous inhabitants are Indians living in 12 states.

South America

The number of continents on planet Earth includes Antarctica, its area is more than 14 million square meters. Its entire surface is covered with blocks of ice, the average thickness of this layer is about 1500 meters. Scientists have calculated that if this ice were to completely melt, the water level on Earth would rise by about 60 meters!

Antarctica

Its main area is a desert of ice, the population lives only on the shores. Antarctica is the lowest temperature surface of the planet, the average air temperature is from −20 to −90 degrees.

Australia- occupied area of more than 7 million square meters. This is the only continent with only 1 state. Plains and mountains occupy the main area; they are located along the entire coast. Australia is home to the largest number of large and small wild animals and birds, and it also has the greatest diversity of vegetation. The indigenous people are the Aborigines and Bushmen.

Australia

How many continents on Earth are there 6 or 7?

There is an opinion that their number is not 6, but 7. The area located around the South Pole is made up of huge blocks of ice. Currently, many scientists call it another continent on planet Earth. But there is no life at this South Pole, only penguins live.

To the question: “ How many continents are there on planet Earth?", you can accurately answer - 6.

Continents

There are only 4 continents on Earth:

America.
Antarctica.
Australia.
Afro-Eurasia.

But each country has its own opinion about their number. For example, in India, as well as residents of China, they believe that their total number is 7; residents of these countries call Asia and Europe separate continents. The Spaniards, when they mention the continents, name all the surfaces of the world associated with America. And the residents of Greece say that there are only 5 continents on the planet, because only people live on them.

What is the difference between an island and the mainland

Both definitions are a larger or smaller area of land, washed on all sides by water. At the same time, there are certain, significant differences between them.

Dimensions. One of the smallest is Australia; it occupies a much larger area than Greenland, one of the largest islands.
History of education. Each island is formed in a special way. There are continents that arose as a result of ancient fragments of lithospheric plates. Others were created due to volcanic eruptions. There are also those species that emerged from polyps, they are also called “coral islands”.
Its habitability. There is life on absolutely all six continents, even on the coldest one - Antarctica. But most of the islands remain uninhabited to this day. But on them you can meet animals and birds of a wide variety of species, and see plants hitherto unknown to man.

Consists of water and land. The World Ocean accounts for 70.8% of the Earth's surface, which is 361.06 million km2, and the land share is 29.2%, or 149.02 million km2.

The entire landmass of the Earth is conventionally divided into parts of the world and continents.

Continents of the Earth

continents, or continents- these 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 juts out into an ocean or sea and is surrounded on three sides by water is called peninsula. The largest peninsula on Earth is the Arabian (its area is 2,732 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(eg Canadian Arctic Archipelago). Based on their origin, the islands are divided into:

continental - large islands that have separated from the continents and are located on the underwater edge 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 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 is 2000 km long).

Parts of the world

In addition to dividing the land into continents, in the course of cultural and historical development there was another division 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. The islands of the Pacific Ocean, far removed from the continents, form a special group called Oceania. The largest of them is Fr. New Guinea (area - 792.5 thousand km 2).

Geography of continents

The location of the continents, as well as differences in the properties of waters, the system of currents and tides makes it possible to divide, called oceans.

Currently, there are five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and since 1996, by decision of the Commission on Geographical Names, the Southern. More information about the oceans will be provided in the next section.

Table 1. General information about the continents


Characteristics			North America	South America	Australia	Antarctica
Area, million km 2 without islands with islands
Coastline, thousand km
Length, km: from North to South from west to east
Extreme points
northern	m. Chelyuskin 77°43" N	m. Ben Sekka 37°20" N	Cape Murchison 71°50"N	m. Gapyinas 12°25" N	m. York 10°41" S	Sifre 63° S
	m. Piai 1° 16" Media.	m. Igolny 34°52" S.Sh.	m. Maryato 7° 12" N	m. Frowerd 53°54" juli.	m. South-East 39°11" S.
western	M. Roka 9°34" W	m. Almadi 17°32" W	Prince of Wales m. 168°00" W.	m. Parinhas 81°20" W	m. Steep Point 113°05" E.
eastern	m. Dezhneva 169°40" W.	m. Ras Hafun 51°23" E.	m. St. Charles 55°40" zl.	m. Cabo Branco 34°46" W.	m. Byron 153°39" E.

It is not enough just to know what a globe is. You need to learn how to read it correctly in order to learn a lot of new and interesting things. In this lesson we will learn what the colors on the globe mean. Let's learn the names of the oceans and continents, talk about their features and differences. Let's get acquainted with the amazing wonders of nature, flora and fauna.

Why are there the most blue and cyan colors on the globe? Most of the earth's surface is covered with water. In a photograph taken from space, all areas of water appear blue. This color on the globe indicates oceans and seas, rivers and lakes.

Rice. 2. Earth from space ()

But if you look closely, you will notice that in different places the ocean is indicated by different shades. This is done to show depth: the deeper the ocean, the darker the blue color, and the shallower the depth, the lighter the paint on the globe. - these are huge expanses of bitterly salty water that surround continents and islands.

Pacific Ocean- the largest on Earth.

Rice. 4. Physical map of the Pacific Ocean ()

The navigator Ferdinand Magellan gave it this name because during his journey on sailing ships this ocean was calm. Although in fact the Pacific Ocean is not quiet at all, especially in its western part, where it raises and drives huge waves - tsunami, bringing a lot of trouble to the inhabitants of the Japanese islands.

Mariana Trench- the deepest place in the world. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, its depth is eleven kilometers and thirty-four meters.

Rice. 6. Mariana Trench ()

Previously, Europeans did not even suspect the existence of the Pacific Ocean. They knew only one ocean - Atlantic, which seemed limitless, so it was named after the most powerful hero of Greek myths, Atlas.

Rice. 7. Physical map of the Atlantic Ocean ()

In fact, the Atlantic Ocean is the second largest after the Pacific Ocean, the greatest depth of the ocean is 5 kilometers. In the Atlantic Ocean there are huge waves as high as a three-story building.

Indian Ocean It is especially restless in its southern part. It is warmer than others; even in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the waters warm up to + 35 degrees.

Rice. 8. Physical map of the Indian Ocean ()

Arctic- the northernmost region, covered in winter and summer with a thick layer of ice and snow. There is a fourth ocean near the North Pole, almost its entire surface is covered with thick, strong ice, and there are multi-meter snowdrifts around. That's why this ocean was named Arctic.

Rice. 9. Physical map of the Arctic Ocean

Relatively recently, oceanographers began to identify a fifth, South ocean.

Rice. 10. Physical map of Antarctica ()

Previously, this ocean was considered to be the southern parts of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. All oceans together: Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Southern - merge together into one world Ocean, which washes the entire globe.

On the globe, large areas of land called continents are depicted in green, yellow, brown and white. On the ground six continents: Eurasia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America.

Eurasia- the largest continent, within its borders lie two parts of the world: Europe and Asia.

Rice. 11. Physical map of Eurasia ()

It is the only continent on Earth washed by four oceans: the Arctic in the north, the Indian in the south, the Atlantic in the west and the Pacific in the east. Our homeland is located on this continent Russia.

Rice. 12. Russia on the map of Eurasia ()

The surface of the continent is very diverse. Mountains and plains are the main forms of the earth's surface. Brown indicates the location of mountains, while green and yellow indicate plains. The largest of them West Siberian(flat plain) Eastern European(hilly plain).

Rice. 13. West Siberian Plain ()

Rice. 14. Physical map of the East European Plain ()

Rivers are indicated on the globe by uneven blue lines drawn along the surface of the continents. Rivers flow across the East European Plain Volga, Don, Dnieper, a river flows across the West Siberian Plain Ob. Mountains rise above the surface of the plains. The higher the mountains, the darker their color on the globe. Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.

Rice. 15. Himalaya mountains ()

Jamalungma (Everest)- the highest mountain in the world (8 km 708 m).

Rice. 16. Mount Jamalungma ()

Located in Eurasia Baikal- the deepest lake,

Rice. 17. Lake Baikal ()

The largest lake

Rice. 18. Caspian Sea ()

largest peninsula Arabian,

Rice. 19. Coast of the Arabian Peninsula ()

lowest point of land in the world - depression Dead Sea.

Rice. 20. Dead Sea ()

Rice. 21. Pole of Cold Oymyakon ()

Africa is the second largest continent, which is located on both sides of the equator, washed by the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south.

Rice. 22. Physical map of Africa ()

Africa is known for its diversity of nature: impenetrable tropical forests with orchids,

Rice. 23. Rainforest ()

grassy plains with baobabs (huge trees up to forty meters in circumference),

vast expanses of desert.

Rice. 25. Desert in Africa ()

Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. Here it is Sahara Desert.

Rice. 26. Sahara Desert ()

It is the largest desert in the world and the hottest place on Earth (the maximum recorded temperature is +58 degrees). On this continent flows Nile- the second longest river in the world.

Rice. 27. River Nile ()

Volcano Kilimanjaro- the highest point in Africa.

Rice. 28. Mount Kilimanjaro ()

Victoria, Tanganyika, Chad- the largest lakes on this continent.

Rice. 29. Lake Victoria ()

Rice. 30. Lake Tanganyika ()

Rice. 31. Lake Chad ()

In the Western Hemisphere are North America And South America, they are washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean, from the east by the Atlantic, and North America is also washed by the Arctic Ocean from the north.

Rice. 32. Physical map of North America

Rice. 33. Physical map of South America

North America also includes the largest island on Earth, it is called Greenland.

Rice. 34. Coast of Greenland ()

These continents are rich in rivers and lakes. North America is home to one of the world's greatest rivers Mississippi,

Rice. 35. Mississippi River ()

and in South America there is a river that is the largest in the world in terms of depth and length.

Rice. 36. Amazon ()

There is a bay on the coast of North America Fundy, which, in addition to its incredible beauty, is famous for the largest tides in the world, more than seventeen meters.

Rice. 37. Bay of Fundy ()

Just imagine, millions of tons of water approach the shore in twelve hours and then move away from it. South America is home to the world's tallest waterfall - Angel, its total height is 979 meters.

Rice. 38. Angel Falls ()

It seems as if it is shrouded in fog - a curtain of tiny particles of water that is sprayed, falling from such a great height. The most powerful waterfall in the world is located on the same continent Iguazu.

Rice. 39. Iguazu Falls ()

Although in fact it is a whole complex of 270 individual waterfalls, which is about 2.7 km wide. South America is home to the driest place in the world - the desert. Atacama.

Rice. 40. Atacama Desert ()

In some places in this desert, rain falls once every few decades.

Australia- the fifth continent, which is smaller than all the others. The Pacific Ocean washes the northern and eastern coasts, the Indian Ocean washes the western and southern coasts.

Rice. 41. Physical map of Australia

Most of the continent is occupied by deserts and semi-deserts, there are very few rivers, which is why Australia is considered the driest continent on Earth. Common here screams(English creek - rivulet) - rivers that exist only during the rainy season and completely dry up for most of the year.

The Earth's surface has an extremely uneven relief. The deep depressions are filled with water, the rest of the planet is represented by land. All this together - oceans and continents. They differ in size, climate, shape, and geographical location.

Interaction of oceans and continents

Despite the fact that the world's water and land have a number of distinctive properties, they are inseparably linked. The map of continents and oceans is evidence of this (see below). Water continuously influences processes occurring on land. In turn, the continents shape the features of the world's oceans. In addition, interaction occurs in both the animal and plant worlds.

The geography of continents and oceans demonstrates clear boundaries between water and land areas. Continents are distributed unevenly on the surface of the planet. Most of them are located in That is why the South is called hydrological in science. The continents are also divided into two groups relative to the equator. Those above the line belong to the northern half, the rest to the southern half.

Each continent borders the world's waters. So which oceans wash the continents? The Atlantic and Indian border on four continents, the Arctic on three, and the Pacific on all except Africa. In total, there are 6 continents and 4 oceans on the planet. The boundaries between them are uneven and prominent.

Pacific Ocean

It has the largest water area among other pools. A map of continents and oceans shows that it washes all continents except Africa. It includes dozens of large seas, the total area of which is about 180 million square meters. km. Through it connects with the Arctic Ocean. It shares a swimming pool with the other two.

The maximum depth of the water area is the Mariana Trench - more than 11 km. The total volume of the basin is 724 million cubic meters. km. The seas occupy only 8% of the area of the Pacific Ocean. The study of the water area began in the 15th century by Chinese geographers.

Atlantic Ocean

It ranks second in size in the world basin. As is customary, each is derived from an ancient term or deity. Atlantic is named after the famous Greek titan Atlas. The water area extends from Antarctica to subarctic latitudes. It borders on all other oceans, even the Pacific (via Cape Horn). One of the largest straits is the Hudson. It connects the Atlantic basin with the Arctic basin.

The seas make up about 16% of the total ocean area. The basin area is just over 91.5 million square meters. km. Most of the Atlantic seas are inland, and only a small part of them are coastal (up to 1%).

Arctic Ocean

It has the smallest water area on the planet. It is entirely located in the Northern Hemisphere. Occupied territory - 14.75 million square meters. km. At the same time, the volume of the pool is about 18.1 million cubic meters. km of water. The deepest point in the Greenland Sea is considered to be 5527 m.

The bottom relief of the water area is represented by the outskirts of continents and a large shelf. The Arctic Ocean is conventionally divided into the Arctic, Canadian and European basins. A distinctive feature of the water area is a thick ice cover, which can persist all 12 months of the year, constantly drifting. Due to the harsh cold climate, the ocean is not as rich in fauna and flora as the rest. However, important trade shipping routes pass through it.

Indian Ocean

It occupies a fifth of the world's total water surface. It is noteworthy that each name of the oceans has either a geographical or theological background. The only difference is the Indian Pool. Its name has rather a historical background. The ocean was named after the first Asian country that became known to the Old World - in honor of India.

The water area covers an area of 76.17 million square meters. km. Its volume is about 282.6 million cubic km. It washes 4 continents and borders the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It has the widest basin in the world's waters - more than 10 thousand kilometers.

Eurasian continent

It is the largest continent on the planet. Eurasia is located primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. In terms of territory, the continent occupies almost half of the world's landmass. Its area is about 53.6 million square meters. km. The islands occupy only 5% of Eurasia - less than 3 million square meters. km.

All oceans and continents are interconnected. As for the Eurasian continent, it is washed by all 4 oceans. The border line is heavily indented and deep. The continent consists of 2 parts of the world: Asia and Europe. The border between them runs along the Ural Mountains, the Manych, Ural, Kuma rivers, the Black, Caspian, Marmara, Mediterranean seas and a number of straits.

South America

The oceans and continents in this part of the planet are located mainly in the Western Hemisphere. The continent is washed by the Atlantic and Pacific basins. It borders North America through the Caribbean Sea and the Isthmus of Panama.

The mainland includes dozens of medium and small islands. Most of the inland water basin is represented by rivers such as the Orinoco, Amazon and Paraná. Together they make up a water area of 7 million square meters. km. The total area of South America is about 17.8 million square meters. km. There are few lakes on the continent, most of them are located near the Andes mountains, for example Lake Titicaca.

It is worth noting that on the mainland there is the world's highest waterfall - Angel.

North America

Located in, washed by all oceans except the Indian. The coastal waters include the seas (Bering, Labrador, Caribbean, Beaufort, Greenland, Baffin) and St. Lawrence, Hudson, Mexican). North America shares borders with South America via the Panama Canal.

The most significant island systems are the Canadian and Alexandria archipelagos, Greenland and Vancouver. The continent covers an area of more than 24 million square meters. km, excluding islands - about 20 million square meters. km.

African continent

In terms of territorial area, it ranks second after Eurasia, with which it borders in the northeast. It is washed only by the Indian and Atlantic oceans. The largest coastal sea is the Mediterranean. It is noteworthy that Africa is both a continent and a part of the world.

In this area of the planet, oceans and continents cross several climatic zones and the equator. In turn, Africa stretches from the northern to southern subtropical zone. That is why the level of precipitation here is extremely low. This leads to problems with fresh water and irrigation.

Mainland Antarctica

This is the coldest and most lifeless continent. Located at the South Pole of the Earth. Antarctica, like Africa, is a continent and part of the world. All adjacent islands belong to the territorial possessions.

Antarctica is considered the highest continent in the world. Its average height fluctuates around 2040 meters. Most of the land is occupied by glaciers. There is no population on the mainland, only a few dozen stations with scientists. There are about 150 subglacial lakes within the continent.

Australian mainland

The continent is located in the Southern Hemisphere. The entire territory it occupies belongs to the state of Australia. It is washed by the seas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, such as the Coral, Timor, Arafura and others. The largest adjacent islands are Tasmania and New Guinea.

The continent is part of a part of the world called Australia and Oceania. Its area is about 7.7 million square meters. km.

There are 4 time zones across Australia. In the northeast of the mainland, the coast is represented by the largest coral reef in the world.

Rice. 2. Earth from space ()

Pacific Ocean- the largest on Earth.

Rice. 4. Physical map of the Pacific Ocean ()

Mariana Trench- the deepest place in the world. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, its depth is eleven kilometers and thirty-four meters.

Rice. 6. Mariana Trench ()

Rice. 7. Physical map of the Atlantic Ocean ()

Indian Ocean It is especially restless in its southern part. It is warmer than others; even in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the waters warm up to + 35 degrees.

Rice. 8. Physical map of the Indian Ocean ()

Rice. 9. Physical map of the Arctic Ocean

Relatively recently, oceanographers began to identify a fifth, South ocean.

Rice. 10. Physical map of Antarctica ()

Eurasia- the largest continent, within its borders lie two parts of the world: Europe and Asia.

Rice. 11. Physical map of Eurasia ()

Rice. 12. Russia on the map of Eurasia ()

Rice. 13. West Siberian Plain ()

Rice. 14. Physical map of the East European Plain ()

Rice. 15. Himalaya mountains ()

Jamalungma (Everest)- the highest mountain in the world (8 km 708 m).

Rice. 16. Mount Jamalungma ()

Located in Eurasia Baikal- the deepest lake,

Rice. 17. Lake Baikal ()

The largest lake

Rice. 18. Caspian Sea ()

largest peninsula Arabian,

Rice. 19. Coast of the Arabian Peninsula ()

lowest point of land in the world - depression Dead Sea.

Rice. 20. Dead Sea ()

Rice. 21. Pole of Cold Oymyakon ()

Africa is the second largest continent, which is located on both sides of the equator, washed by the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south.

Rice. 22. Physical map of Africa ()

Africa is known for its diversity of nature: impenetrable tropical forests with orchids,

Rice. 23. Rainforest ()

grassy plains with baobabs (huge trees up to forty meters in circumference),

vast expanses of desert.

Rice. 25. Desert in Africa ()

Africa is the hottest continent on the planet. Here it is Sahara Desert.

Rice. 26. Sahara Desert ()

It is the largest desert in the world and the hottest place on Earth (the maximum recorded temperature is +58 degrees). On this continent flows Nile- the second longest river in the world.

Rice. 27. River Nile ()

Volcano Kilimanjaro- the highest point in Africa.

Rice. 28. Mount Kilimanjaro ()

Victoria, Tanganyika, Chad- the largest lakes on this continent.

Rice. 29. Lake Victoria ()

Rice. 30. Lake Tanganyika ()

Rice. 31. Lake Chad ()

Rice. 32. Physical map of North America

Rice. 33. Physical map of South America

North America also includes the largest island on Earth, it is called Greenland.

Rice. 34. Coast of Greenland ()

These continents are rich in rivers and lakes. North America is home to one of the world's greatest rivers Mississippi,

Rice. 35. Mississippi River ()

and in South America there is a river that is the largest in the world in terms of depth and length.

Rice. 36. Amazon ()

There is a bay on the coast of North America Fundy, which, in addition to its incredible beauty, is famous for the largest tides in the world, more than seventeen meters.

Rice. 37. Bay of Fundy ()

Rice. 38. Angel Falls ()

Rice. 39. Iguazu Falls ()

Although in fact it is a whole complex of 270 individual waterfalls, which is about 2.7 km wide. South America is home to the driest place in the world - the desert. Atacama.

Rice. 40. Atacama Desert ()

In some places in this desert, rain falls once every few decades.

Australia- the fifth continent, which is smaller than all the others. The Pacific Ocean washes the northern and eastern coasts, the Indian Ocean washes the western and southern coasts.

Rice. 41. Physical map of Australia

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