How many continents are there on the blue-eyed Earth?

Our planet is amazingly beautiful and diverse. Seas and oceans, continents and islands, rivers and lakes, mountains and volcanoes create its unique face. Today we will figure out how many continents there are on the blue-eyed Earth.

Some terminology

Before talking about how many continents there areon our mother Earth, it is necessary to understand what it is. In science, the term "continent" is understood to mean a large area of ​​land that rises above the level of the World Ocean. And the continental crust is its base.

Answering the question about how many continents on the globe exists, there are not many options to hear. There are only six of them, but each of them has its own peculiarities. We'll talk about them in the next section.

Continents of the Northern Hemisphere

So, with how many continents there are on our planet, we sorted it out. Now let's talk about each of them separately. First of all, consider those that are in the north.

• Eurasia. It consists of two massifs, two parts of the world, and the conditional border between Asia and Europe passes through the Ural Mountains. This is the largest continent of the Earth, and it is washed by four oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic). Most of Eurasia is located in the Northern Hemisphere, including beyond the Arctic Circle. In the Southern Hemisphere, there are only isolated islands and archipelagos. On the territory of the mainland there are about a hundred states, and the Asian part is the most populated in the world.
• Africa ranks second in size. It is the hottest continent in the world, because it has no aquifer of mountains and glaciers, snow can be found only on the highest volcanoes. The coasts are washed by the Atlantic and Indian oceans, the Mediterranean Sea. And in Africa are 53 countries. It is noteworthy that the continent is divided by the equator, that is, part of it is in the Northern Hemisphere, and a part in the Southern.
• North America, as expected, is locatedentirely in the Northern Hemisphere. Its territory is washed by three oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic), as well as several seas that belong to their water area. From neighboring South America the continent is separated by a narrow Panama Isthmus. This is the third largest continent, which consists of about 16% of the islands and their groups. There are only three states located here: the USA, Canada and Mexico.

How many continents in the south?

• South America can be found in the Southern Hemisphere andOnly its small part is located in the North. The boundaries of the continent are delineated by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It accounts for about twelve per cent of the land (the fourth largest), with a dozen countries. The continent is considered the wettest, since it has the most full-flowing rivers, the highest waterfall and the same navigable lake.
• The fifth place in size is Antarctica. It is the coldest continent in the territory of which the South Pole is located. There are no countries on it, and the entire area is covered with snow and age-old ice. Only occasionally there are places free from the ice cover (the so-called oases). The shores are washed by the Southern Ocean.
• The last - the sixth largest in sizeAustralia. In addition to it, the mainland includes the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. Australia - a deserted and sparsely populated continent, and on its territory is located the only state (of the same name). The shores are washed by the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Conclusion

So, how many continents and their names the reader already knows. We briefly talked about their features, because a more detailed review of each of them could take more than one page.