Continents of the World

What is a Continent?

• A continent is a large area of land with distinct geographic borders, like mountains or oceans.

• However, there is no EXACT agreement on what a continent actually is, or even how many there are.

How Many Continents Are There?

• Depending on where you live in the world, you may be taught there are as many as seven, or as few as four continents.

How we are Taught in the U.S.

However, other countries teach continents differently.

North America

North America

• There are 23 countries in North America. These include

– The United States

– Canada

– Mexico

– Greenland

– The Countries of Central America

– The Caribbean Islands

South America

South America

• South America has many unique features, including:

– The Amazon River (largest river on Earth by volume)

– Andes Mountains (longest mountain range on Earth)

– Amazon Rainforest (largest tropical rainforest on Earth)

Antarctica

Antarctica

• The only continent with no permanent residents. The population is zero (except for scientists who study their for short periods)

• The coldest and windiest continent.

• More than half the world’s fresh water is contained in frozen Antarctic ice sheets.

Africa

Africa

• Africa has many unique features, including:

– The Sahara Desert (largest desert on Earth)

– Nile River (longest river on Earth)

– Largest savannas (tropical grasslands)

• Africa is also believed to be the place where humans came from.

Europe

Europe

• Europe is one of the smallest continents, but it is the most densely populated. That means people tend to be packed close together.

• This lets you visit cities in multiple countries in just a few days.

Asia

Asia

• Asia has many unique features, including:

– Mount Everest (highest point on Earth, 29,029 feet)

– Dead Sea (lowest point on Earth, -997 feet)

– Largest population of any continent (60% of all people live here)

– Home to thousands of cultures and languages.

Australia

Australia

• Australia is the smallest of the seven continents.

• It is home to some of the weirdest animals on Earth, since it is the most isolated of the six populated continents (we’re not counting Antarctica, since few species of animals live there).

Oceania

Oceania

• Oceania is a geographic region of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

• However, some parts of the world consider it to be a continent that includes Australia.

Map Quest

• Turn your worksheet over and complete the Map Quest activity. Use pages RA4 and RA5 at the front of the textbooks to complete the activity.

• If you do not finish in class, it is homework due tomorrow. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the worksheet to access the maps on my website.