View source for Continent

{{Short description|Large geographical region identified by convention}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

[[File:Continental models-Australia.gif|thumb|upright=1.6|Animated, colour-coded map showing some continents and the region of [[Oceania]] (purple), which includes the continent of Australia. Depending on the [[boundaries between the continents|convention and model]], some continents may be consolidated or subdivided.]]

A '''continent''' is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by [[convention (norm)|convention]] rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large [[landmass]], a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of Asia or Europe within [[Eurasia]], or a landmass and nearby islands within its [[continental shelf]]. Due to these varying definitions, the number of continents varies; up to seven or as few as four geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Most [[English-speaking world|English-speaking countries]] recognize seven regions as continents. In order from largest to smallest in area, these seven regions are <!-- Please DO NOT change the number of continents in the lede to six, five or four. The seven-continent model is the standard model used in the English-speaking countries and this has been agreed by consensus. -->[[Asia]], [[Africa]], [[North America]], [[South America]], [[Antarctica]], [[Europe]], and [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] (sometimes called [[Oceania]] or [[Australasia]]).<!-- Please DO NOT change Australia to Oceania or Australasia. Oceania is considered a geographical region and Australasia is considered a subregion of Oceania in the English-speaking countries and this has been agreed by consensus. --> Different variations with fewer continents merge some of these regions; examples of this are merging Asia and Europe into [[Eurasia]],<ref name="NatlGeo1">{{Cite web |title=Continents: What is a Continent? |date=20 September 2011 |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/Continent/ |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |access-date=6 December 2020 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716045120/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/continent/ |url-status=live }} "Most people recognize seven continents—Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia, from largest to smallest—although sometimes Asia and Europe are considered a single continent, Eurasia."</ref> North America and South America into the [[Americas]] (or simply America), and Africa, Asia, and Europe into [[Afro-Eurasia]].

[[Island#Oceanic islands|Oceanic islands]] are occasionally grouped with a nearby continent to divide all the world's land into geographical regions. Under this scheme, most of the island countries and territories in the [[Pacific Ocean]] are grouped together with the continent of Australia to form the geographical region of [[Oceania]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Warwick E. |last=Murray |author-link=Warwick Murray |chapter=Changing Rural Worlds – A Global View |editor1-first=Peter |editor1-last=Daniels |editor2-first=Michael |editor2-last=Bradshaw |editor2-link=Michael J. Bradshaw |editor3-first=Denis |editor3-last=Shaw |editor4-first=James |editor4-last=Sidaway |editor5-first=Tim |editor5-last=Hall |title=An Introduction To Human Geography |publisher=[[Pearson Education|Pearson]] |edition=5th |date=2016 |page=231 |isbn=978-1-292-12939-6}}</ref>

In [[geology]], a continent is defined as "one of Earth's major landmasses, including both dry land and [[continental shelf|continental shelves]]".<ref name="Glossary2005">{{cite book |title=Glossary of Geology |publisher=American Geological Institute |editor1-last=Neuendorf |editor1-first=K.K.E. |editor2-last=Mehl |editor2-first=J.P. Jr. |editor3-last=Jackson |editor3-first=J.A. |year=2005 |location=Alexandria, Virginia | page=139 |isbn=978-0922152896 |edition=5th}}</ref> The [[#Geological continents|geological continents]] correspond to seven large areas of continental crust that are found on the [[list of tectonic plates|tectonic plates]], but exclude small [[continental fragment]]s such as [[Madagascar]] that are generally referred to as [[Continental fragment|microcontinents]]. [[Continental crust]] is only known to exist on Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Choi |first=Charles Q. |date=16 July 2015 |title=Did Ancient Mars Have Continents? |url=https://www.space.com/29967-ancient-mars-continents-curiosity-rover.html |access-date=6 December 2020 |website=Space.com |archive-date=9 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609190241/https://www.space.com/29967-ancient-mars-continents-curiosity-rover.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The idea of [[continental drift]] gained recognition in the 20th century. It postulates that the current continents formed from the breaking up of a supercontinent ([[Pangaea]]) that formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

== Etymology ==
From the 16th century the English noun ''continent'' was derived from the term ''continent land'', meaning continuous or connected land<ref name="oed">"continent n." (1989) ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> and translated from the Latin {{lang|la|terra continens}}.<ref>"continent<sup>1</sup> n." (2006) ''The [[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 11th edition revised. (Ed.) Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> The noun was used to mean "a connected or continuous tract of land" or [[mainland]].<ref name="oed" /> It was not applied only to very large areas of land—in the 17th century, references were made to the ''continents'' (or mainlands) of the [[Isle of Man]], [[Ireland]] and [[Wales]] and in 1745 to [[Sumatra]].<ref name="oed" /> The word ''continent'' was used in translating Greek and Latin writings about the three "parts" of the world, although in the original languages no word of exactly the same meaning as ''continent'' was used.{{sfnp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|p=29}}

While ''continent'' was used on the one hand for relatively small areas of continuous land, on the other hand geographers again raised Herodotus's query about why a single large landmass should be divided into separate continents. In the mid-17th century, [[Peter Heylin]] wrote in his ''Cosmographie'' that "A Continent is a great quantity of Land, not separated by any Sea from the rest of the World, as the whole Continent of Europe, Asia, Africa." In 1727, [[Ephraim Chambers]] wrote in his ''Cyclopædia,'' "The world is ordinarily divided into two grand continents: the [[Old World|Old]] and the [[New World|New]]." And in his 1752 atlas, [[Emanuel Bowen]] defined a continent as "a large space of dry land comprehending many countries all joined together, without any separation by water. Thus Europe, Asia, and Africa is one great continent, as America is another."<ref>Bowen, Emanuel. (1752). ''A Complete Atlas, or Distinct View of the Known World''. London, p. 3.</ref> However, the old idea of Europe, Asia and Africa as "parts" of the world ultimately persisted with these being regarded as separate continents.

== Definitions and application {{Anchor|Definition}} ==
{{Further|Island#Differentiation from continents}}

By convention, continents "are understood to be large, continuous, discrete masses of land, ideally separated by expanses of water".{{sfnp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|p=21}} By this definition, all continents have to be an island of some metric. In modern schemes with five or more recognized continents, at least one pair of continents is joined by land in some fashion. The criterion "large" leads to arbitrary classification: [[Greenland]], with a surface area of {{convert|2166086|sqkm}}, is only considered the world's largest island, while [[Australia (continent)|Australia]], at {{convert|7617930|sqkm}}, is deemed the smallest continent.

Earth's major landmasses all have coasts on a single, continuous [[Ocean#World Ocean|World Ocean]], which is divided into several principal oceanic components by the continents and various geographic criteria.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2006 |url=http://www.answers.com/Ocean#Encyclopedia |title=Ocean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303093700/http://www.answers.com/Ocean |archive-date=3 March 2007 |access-date=20 February 2007 |website=answers.com}}</ref><ref name="UNAoO">"[http://www.oceansatlas.com/unatlas/about/physicalandchemicalproperties/background/seemore1.html Distribution of land and water on the planet] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531103749/http://www.oceansatlas.com/unatlas/about/physicalandchemicalproperties/background/seemore1.html |date=31 May 2008 }}." ''[http://www.oceansatlas.com/ UN Atlas of the Oceans] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915105349/http://www.oceansatlas.com/ |date=15 September 2008 }}'' (2004). Retrieved 20 February 2007.</ref>

The geological definition of a continent has four criteria: high elevation relative to the ocean floor; a wide range of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks rich in silica; a crust thicker than the surrounding oceanic crust; and well-defined limits around a large enough area.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/science/earth-continents-geology-research.html |title=How Many Continents Are There? You May Not Like the Answers. |date=2024-10-30 |access-date=2024-11-03}}</ref>

=== Extent ===
The most restricted meaning of ''continent'' is that of a continuous<ref>"continent n. 5. a." (1989) ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. [[Oxford University Press]]; "continent<sup>1</sup> n." (2006) ''The [[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 11th edition revised. (Ed.) Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press; "continent<sup>1</sup> n." (2005) ''The [[New Oxford American Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. (Ed.) [[Erin McKean]]. Oxford University Press; "continent [2, n] 4 a" (1996) ''[[Webster's Dictionary#WebsThird New International|Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]]''. [[ProQuest|ProQuest Information and Learning]]; "continent" (2007) ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Retrieved 14 January 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref>{{tertiary source inline|date=October 2021}} area of land or mainland, with the coastline and any land boundaries forming the edge of the continent. In this sense, the term ''[[continental Europe]]'' (sometimes referred to in Britain as "the Continent") is used to refer to mainland Europe, excluding islands such as [[Great Britain]], [[Iceland]], [[Ireland]], and [[Malta]], while the term ''continent of Australia'' may refer to the [[mainland Australia|mainland of Australia]], excluding [[New Guinea]], [[Tasmania]], and other nearby islands. Similarly, the ''[[Contiguous United States#Continental and mainland United States|continental United States]]'' refers to "the 49 States (including [[Alaska]] but excluding [[Hawaii]]) located on the continent of North America, and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-constitutes-united-states-what-are-official-definitions|title=What constitutes the United States, what are the official definitions?|website=United States Geological Survey|access-date=2022-11-21|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116081238/https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-constitutes-united-states-what-are-official-definitions|url-status=live}}</ref>

From the perspective of geology or [[physical geography]], ''continent'' may be extended beyond the confines of continuous dry land to include the shallow, submerged adjacent area (the [[continental shelf]])<ref>"continent [2, n] 6" (1996) ''[[Webster's Dictionary#Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961)|Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]]''. [[ProQuest|ProQuest Information and Learning]]. "a large segment of the earth's outer shell including a [[Ecoregion#Terrestrial|terrestrial]] continent and the adjacent continental shelf"</ref> and the islands on the shelf ([[Island#Continental islands|continental islands]]), as they are structurally part of the continent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Monkhouse |first1=F. J. |first2=John |last2=Small |title=A Dictionary of the Natural Environment |year=1978 |publisher=Edward Arnold |location=London |pages=67–68 |quote=structurally it includes shallowly submerged adjacent areas (continental shelf) and neighboring islands}}</ref>

From this perspective, the edge of the continental shelf is the true edge of the continent, as shorelines vary with changes in sea level.<ref name=Ollier>[[Cliff Ollier|Ollier, Cliff D.]] (1996). Planet Earth. In Ian Douglas (Ed.), ''Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: The Environment and Humankind''. London: Routledge, p. 30. "Ocean waters extend onto continental [[rock (geology)|rocks]] at continental shelves, and the true edges of the continents are the steeper continental slopes. The actual shorelines are rather accidental, depending on the height of sea level on the sloping shelves."</ref> In this sense the islands of Great Britain and Ireland are part of Europe, while Australia and the island of New Guinea together form a continent. Taken to its limit, this view could support the view that there are only three continents: Antarctica, Australia-New Guinea, and a single mega-continent which joins Afro-Eurasia and America via the contiguous continental shelf in and around the Bering Sea. The vast size of the latter compared to the first two might even lead some to say it is the only continent, the others being more comparable to Greenland or New Zealand.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

[[File:Island nations.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of [[list of island countries|island countries]]: these states are often grouped geographically with a neighboring continental landmass.]]

As a [[social constructionism|cultural construct]], the concept of a continent may go beyond the continental shelf to include [[Island#Oceanic islands|oceanic islands]] and continental fragments. In this way, Iceland is considered a part of Europe, and [[Madagascar]] a part of Africa. Extrapolating the concept to its extreme, some geographers group the [[mainland Australia|Australian continental landmass]] with other islands in the Pacific Ocean into [[Oceania]], which is usually considered a region rather than a continent. This divides the entire land surface of Earth into continents, regions, or quasi-continents.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997 |page=40 |ps=: "The joining of Australia with various Pacific islands to form the quasi continent of Oceania ... "}}</ref>

=== Separation ===
{{Main|Boundaries between the continents}}
{{See also|List of transcontinental countries}}

The criterion that each continent is a discrete landmass is commonly relaxed due to historical conventions and practical use. Of the seven most globally recognized continents, only Antarctica and Australia are completely separated from other continents by the ocean. Several continents are defined not as absolutely distinct bodies but as "''more or less'' discrete masses of land".{{sfnp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|p=35}} Africa and Asia are joined by the [[Isthmus of Suez]], and North America and South America by the [[Isthmus of Panama]]. In both cases, there is no complete separation of these landmasses by water (disregarding the [[Suez Canal]] and the [[Panama Canal]], which are both narrow and shallow, as well as human-made). Both of these [[isthmus]]es are very narrow compared to the bulk of the landmasses they unite.

North America and South America are treated as separate continents in the seven-continent model. However, they may also be viewed as a single continent known as [[Americas|America]]. This viewpoint was common in the United States until [[World War II]], and remains prevalent in some Asian six-continent models.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997 |loc=Chapter 1 |ps=: "While it might seem surprising to find North and South America still joined into a single continent in a book published in the United States in 1937, such a notion remained fairly common until World War II. [...] By the 1950s, however, virtually all American geographers had come to insist that the visually distinct landmasses of North and South America deserved separate designations."}}</ref> The single American continent model remains a common view in European countries like France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Latin American countries and some Asian countries.

The criterion of a discrete landmass is completely disregarded if the continuous landmass of [[Eurasia]] is classified as two separate continents (Asia and Europe). [[Physical geography|Physiographically]], Europe and the [[Indian subcontinent]] are large peninsulas of the Eurasian landmass. However, Europe is considered a continent with its comparatively large land area of {{convert|10180000|sqkm}}, while the Indian subcontinent, with less than half that area, is considered a subcontinent. The alternative view—in geology and geography—that Eurasia is a single continent results in a six-continent view of the world. Some view the separation of Eurasia into Asia and Europe as a residue of [[Eurocentrism]]: "In physical, cultural and historical diversity, [[China]] and [[India]] are comparable to the entire European landmass, not to a single European country. [...]."{{sfnp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|pages=104–123}} However, for historical and cultural reasons, the view of Europe as a separate continent continues in almost all categorizations.

If continents are defined strictly as discrete landmasses, embracing all the contiguous land of a body, then Africa, Asia, and Europe form a single continent which may be referred to as [[Afro-Eurasia]].<ref name="McColl">{{cite encyclopedia |title=continents |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Geography |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA215 |editor-first=R.W. |editor-last=McColl |year=2005 |publisher=Facts on File, Inc. |isbn=978-0-8160-7229-3 |page=215 |access-date=26 June 2012 |quote=And since Africa and Asia are connected at the Suez Peninsula, Europe, Africa, and Asia are sometimes combined as Afro-Eurasia or Eurafrasia. The International Olympic Committee's official flag, containing [...] the single continent of America (North and South America being connected as the Isthmus of Panama). |via=[[Google Books]] |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221195231/https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA215 |url-status=live }}</ref> Combined with the consolidation of the Americas, this would produce a four-continent model consisting of Afro-Eurasia, America, Antarctica, and Australia.

When sea levels were lower during the [[Pleistocene]] [[ice age]]s, greater areas of the continental shelf were exposed as dry land, forming [[land bridge]]s between [[Tasmania]] and the [[mainland Australia|Australian mainland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chopping |first1=Richard |url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/australian-continent |title=The Australian Continent |last2=Blewett |first2=Richard |last3=Kennett |first3=Brian |publisher=[[Australian National University]] Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-76046-247-5 |location=Canberra |page=4 |language=en |doi=10.22459/ac.08.2018 |s2cid=135195553 |doi-access=free |access-date=8 December 2020 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214155428/https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/australian-continent |url-status=live }}</ref> At those times, Australia and New Guinea were a single, continuous continent known as [[Sahul]]. Likewise, Afro-Eurasia and the Americas were joined by the [[Beringia|Bering Land Bridge]]. Other islands, such as [[Great Britain]], were joined to the mainlands of their continents. At that time, there were just three discrete landmasses in the world: [[Africa]]-[[Eurasia]]-[[Americas|America]], [[Antarctica]], and [[Australia]]-[[New Guinea]] ([[Sahul]]).

=== Number ===
{{Anchor|Number}}<!-- [[Five continents]], [[Six continents]], [[Seven continents]], [[5 continents]], [[6 continents]], [[7 continents]] redirect here -->
There are several ways of distinguishing the continents:

[[File:Seven continents Australia not Oceania.png|center|600px]]{{center|Color-coded map showing the various continents.<br />Similar shades exhibit areas that may be consolidated or subdivided.}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;" | Number
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="7" class="unsortable" | Continents
! style="text-align:center;" class="unsortable" | Sources
! style="text-align:center;" class="unsortable" | Comment
|-
! {{Hs|4!}} Four
|colspan="3" |{{small|{{color strip|#fed52e|#f33e01|#c10000}}}} [[Afro-Eurasia]] ([[Old World]] or [[The Geographical Pivot of History#The World Island|World Island]])
|colspan="2" |{{small|{{color strip|#0c0|green}}}} [[Americas|America]] ([[New World]])
|{{small|{{color strip|#0040ff}}}} [[Antarctica]]
|{{small|{{color strip|#c04080}}}} [[Australia (continent)|Australia]]
|<ref name="Dempsey 2013">{{cite web |last=Dempsey |first=Caitlin |title=Geography Facts about the World's Continents |website=Geography Realm |date=2013-10-15 |url=https://www.geographyrealm.com/continents/ |access-date=2022-08-26 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826235549/https://www.geographyrealm.com/continents/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=wonderopolis>{{cite web |url=https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-many-continents-are-there |title=How many continents are there? |website=Wonderopolis |quote=If you count Europe and Asia as one continent (called Eurasia), then there are six continents. Some people also count North America and South America as one continent (called America), since the two land masses are separated only by the human-made Panama Canal. This would allow for a model with only five continents. |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529082931/https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-many-continents-are-there |url-status=live }}{{ref|8|wonderopolis}}</ref><ref name="Strobel2015">{{cite book|first=Christoph |last=Strobel |title=The Global Atlantic: 1400 to 1900 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q-gBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |year= 2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-52552-3 |pages=13–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Manual of Modern Geography: 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZcpPfQDE-cC&pg=PA18 |year=1870 |publisher=William Blackwood |pages=18– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="DunnMitchell2016">{{cite book |first1=Ross E. |last1=Dunn |first2=Laura J. |last2=Mitchell |first3=Kerry |last3=Ward |title=The New World History: A Field Guide for Teachers and Researchers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aowDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 |year=2016 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-28989-5 |pages=232– |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221195225/https://books.google.com/books?id=-aowDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Chatterjee2015">{{cite book|first=Sankar |last=Chatterjee |title=The Rise of Birds: 225 Million Years of Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V-okBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204|date=2015 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4214-1614-4 |pages=204– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="Mackay1861">{{cite book |first=Alexander |last=Mackay |title=Manual of Modern Geography: Mathematical, Physical, and Political : on a New Plan : Embracing a Complete Development of the River Systems of the Globe |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.82417|year=1861 |publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.82417/page/n29 15]–}}</ref><ref name="Kermack2013">{{cite book |first=D. M. |last=Kermack |title=The Evolution of Mammalian Characters |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_-ePBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141 |date= 2013 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |isbn=978-1-4684-7817-4 |pages=141– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
| [[Landmass|Continuous landmasses]]
|-
! {{Hs|5!}} Five
|{{small|{{color strip|#fed52e}}}}&nbsp;[[Africa]]
|colspan="2" |{{small|{{color strip|#f33e01|#c10000}}}}&nbsp;[[Eurasia]]
|colspan="2" |{{small|{{color strip|#0c0|green}}}}&nbsp;America
|{{small|{{color strip|#0040ff}}}}&nbsp;Antarctica
|{{small|{{color strip|#c04080}}}}&nbsp;Australia
|<ref name="scienceline">[http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=196] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326024102/http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=196|date=26 March 2023}} "In some textbooks, North and South America are combined into 'America' and/or Europe and Asia are combined into 'Eurasia', for a grand total of 6 or even 5."{{ref|7|scienceline}}</ref><ref name=Wigen>Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen, The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997){{ref|9|Wigen}}</ref><ref name="universetoday">[https://www.universetoday.com/45468/how-many-continents-are-there/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516124737/https://www.universetoday.com/45468/how-many-continents-are-there/|date=16 May 2023}} "There are even geographical views that prefer the presence of both a Eurasian as well as one American continent. These geographers therefore contend that there should only be 5 continents."{{ref|11|universetoday}}</ref>
| [[Physiographic region]]s
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{Hs|6!}} Six 
|{{small|{{color strip|#fed52e}}}}&nbsp;Africa
|colspan="2" |{{small|{{color strip|#f33e01|#c10000}}}}&nbsp;Eurasia
|{{small|{{color strip|#0c0}}}}&nbsp;[[North America]]
|{{small|{{color strip|green}}}}&nbsp;[[South America]]
|{{small|{{color strip|#0040ff}}}}&nbsp;Antarctica
|{{small|{{color strip|#c04080}}}}&nbsp;Australia
|<ref name=EB /><ref name=Columbia>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/co/continent.html |title=Continent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202190101/http://www.bartleby.com/65/co/continent.html |archive-date=2 February 2007 |website=The Columbia Encyclopedia |date=2001 |location=New York |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |via=Bartleby}}</ref>
|[[#Geological continents|Geological continents]]
|-
|{{small|{{color strip|#fed52e}}}}&nbsp;Africa
|{{small|{{color strip|#f33e01}}}}&nbsp;[[Asia]]
|{{small|{{color strip|#c10000}}}}&nbsp;[[Europe]]
|colspan="2" |{{small|{{color strip|#0c0|green}}}}&nbsp;America
|{{small|{{color strip|#0040ff}}}}&nbsp;Antarctica
|{{small|{{color strip|#c04080}}}}&nbsp;Australia
|<ref name="HEL"/>
|[[United Nations geoscheme|UNSD continental regions]]
|-
! {{Hs|7!}} Seven
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#fed52e}}}}&nbsp;Africa
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#f33e01}}}}&nbsp;Asia
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#c10000}}}}&nbsp;Europe
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#0c0}}}}&nbsp;North America
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|green}}}}&nbsp;South America
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#0040ff}}}}&nbsp;Antarctica
| width=120px | {{small|{{color strip|#c04080}}}}&nbsp;Australia
|<ref name=EB>"[https://www.britannica.com/science/continent Continent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619215854/https://www.britannica.com/science/continent |date=19 June 2019 }}". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</ref><ref name=NatlGeo2>[https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/?xpop=1 World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124171218/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/?xpop=1 |date=24 November 2023 }}, ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] – [https://web.archive.org/web/19990221165514/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/ Xpeditions Atlas].'' 2006. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.</ref><ref name=AoCA>[http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/world/referencemap_image_view The World – Continents] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221064548/http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/world/referencemap_image_view |date=21 February 2006 }}, [http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/index.html ''Atlas of Canada''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221064548/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/index.html |date=21 February 2006 }}</ref><ref name=Oxford1>''[[Oxford English Dictionary|The New Oxford Dictionary of English]].'' 2001. New York: Oxford University Press.</ref><ref name=Encarta>"[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553387/Continent.html Continent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028025748/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553387/Continent.html |date=28 October 2009 }}". ''[[Encarta|MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006]].''. 31 October 2009.</ref><ref name=Oxford2>"Continent". McArthur, Tom, ed. 1992. ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language''. New York: Oxford University Press; p. 260.</ref>
| [[#Etymology|"Parts" of the world]]<!-- Q2418896 -->
|}

* The seven-continent model is taught in most [[list of countries by English-speaking population|English-speaking countries]], including [[Australia]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanitiesandsocialsciences/geography/Curriculum/F-10#cdcode=ACHGK009&level=2 | title = F-10 Curriculum Geograph | publisher = Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140324191238/http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanitiesandsocialsciences/geography/Curriculum/F-10#cdcode=ACHGK009&level=2 | archive-date = 24 March 2014}}</ref> [[Canada]], the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-geography-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-geography-programmes-of-study | title = National curriculum in England: geography programmes of study | publisher = UK Department for Education | access-date = 24 March 2014 | archive-date = 30 March 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230330073825/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-geography-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-geography-programmes-of-study | url-status = live }}</ref> and the [[United States]], and also in [[Bangladesh]], [[China]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Pakistan]], the [[Philippines]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Suriname]], parts of [[Europe]] and [[Africa]].
* The six-continent combined-Eurasia model is mostly used in [[Russia]] and some parts of [[Eastern Europe]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://natworld.info/nauki-o-prirode/kakoe-kolichestvo-materikov-i-chastej-sveta-na-planete-zemlja |title=Какое количество материков и частей света на планете Земля? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 10 January 2018|website= |publisher=Природа Мира |access-date=7 November 2023 |quote= |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107084319/https://natworld.info/nauki-o-prirode/kakoe-kolichestvo-materikov-i-chastej-sveta-na-planete-zemlja |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/;3925410 |title=kontynent |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=encyklopedia pwn |publisher=WN PWN SA |access-date= |quote=7 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107084320/https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/;3925410 |url-status=live }}</ref><!--- 2 example citations provided. The claim is very likely true, but equally, it does not appear to be stated explicitly by an authoritative source --->
* The six-continent combined-America model is taught in [[Greece]] and many [[Romance-speaking world|Romance-speaking countries]]{{Emdash}}including [[Latin America]].<ref name="HEL">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100928055209/http://pi-schools.sch.gr/dimotiko/geografia_st/math/math_21_30.pdf] Older/previous official Greek Paedagogical Institute ''6th grade Geography textbook'' (at the [[Wayback Machine]]), 5+1 continents combined-America model; ''Pankosmios Enyklopaidikos Atlas'', CIL Hellas Publications, {{ISBN|84-407-0470-4}}, p. 30, 5+1 combined-America continents model; ''Neos Eikonographemenos Geographikos Atlas'', Siola-Alexiou, 6 continents combined-America model; ''Lexico tes Hellenikes Glossas'', Papyros Publications, {{ISBN|978-960-6715-47-1}}, lemma ''continent'' (''epeiros''), 5 continents model; ''Lexico Triantaphyllide'' online dictionary, Greek Language Center (''Kentro Hellenikes Glossas''), lemma ''continent'' (''[http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/search.html?lq=%CE%AE%CF%80%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82 epeiros] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403112843/http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/search.html%3Flq%3D%25CE%25AE%25CF%2580%25CE%25B5%25CE%25B9%25CF%2581%25CE%25BF%25CF%2582|date=3 April 2019}}''), 6 continents combined-America model; ''Lexico tes Neas Hellenikes Glossas'', [[Georgios Babiniotis|G.Babiniotes]], Kentro Lexikologias (Legicology Center) LTD Publications, {{ISBN|960-86190-1-7}}, lemma ''continent'' (''epeiros''), 6 continents combined-America model</ref>
* The [[Olympic symbols#Different types of flags|Olympic flag]]'s five rings represent the five inhabited continents of the combined-America model but excludes the uninhabited Antarctica.<ref name="OC">{{cite web|url=https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf#page=11|title=Preamble|date=17 July 2020|work=Olympic Charter|publisher=International Olympic Committee|page=10|quote=the five interlaced rings, which represent the union of the five continents|access-date=3 August 2021|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119013958/https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf#page=11|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the English-speaking countries, geographers often use the term [[Oceania]] to denote a geographical region which includes most of the [[list of island countries|island countries and territories]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]], as well as the [[Australia (continent)|continent of Australia]].<ref name="worldatlas">{{cite web |title=The Four Sub-regions Of Oceania |date=26 December 2017 |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-four-sub-regions-of-oceania.html |publisher=WorldAtlas |access-date=24 January 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124222422/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-four-sub-regions-of-oceania.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Eighth continent====
[[Zealandia]] (a [[submerged continent]]) has been called the eighth continent.<ref name="x122">{{cite web | last=Gorvett | first=Zaria | title=New maps of Earth's lost continent | website=BBC Home | date=2023-09-29 | url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230928-the-mysteries-of-the-worlds-eighth-continent | access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>

== Area and population ==
{{Anchor|List}}<!-- [[List of continents]] redirects here -->
{{Anchor|Area and population table}}
{{For|a more detailed list of populations by continental regions and subregions|List of continents and continental subregions by population}}

The following table provides areas given by the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' for each continent in accordance with the seven-continent model, including [[Australasia]] along with [[Melanesia]], [[Micronesia]], and [[Polynesia]] as parts of Oceania. It also provides populations of continents according to {{UN_Population|Year}} estimates by the [[United Nations Statistics Division]] based on the [[United Nations geoscheme]], which includes all of Egypt (including the [[Isthmus of Suez]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]]) as a part of Africa, all of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Indonesia (including [[Western New Guinea]],) Kazakhstan, and Turkey (including [[East Thrace]]) as parts of Asia, all of Russia (including [[Siberia]]) as a part of Europe, all of Panama and the United States (including [[Hawaii]]) as parts of North America, and all of Chile (including [[Easter Island]]) as a part of South America.

<!-- The UN itself reports global and continental populations only to two significant figures: see e.g., https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population. The same is done here, in view of there being no precise definition of continental boundaries which is universally accepted. -->
{{srn}}{{table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers col1left" {{right}}
|+ Land areas and population estimates
|- class="static-row-header" style="vertical-align:bottom;"
! scope="col" rowspan=2 | Continent
! scope="col" colspan=3 | Land area<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Asia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Asia |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=18 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118141016/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110518/Asia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Africa |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125142803/https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=North America |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503170221/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/418612/North-America |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=South America |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/South-America |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=7 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507100801/https://www.britannica.com/place/South-America |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Antarctica |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Antarctica |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619002114/https://www.britannica.com/place/Antarctica |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Europe |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=12 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141212230056/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195686/Europe/34577/Languages |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Australia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502193756/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43654/Australia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Oceania |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913004432/https://www.britannica.com/place/Oceania-region-Pacific-Ocean |url-status=live }}</ref>
! scope="col" colspan=2 | Population{{nobold|{{UN population|ref}}}}
|- class="static-row-header" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom;"
! scope="col" | {{km2}}
! scope="col" | {{mi2}}
! scope="col" | % of{{br}}world
! scope="col" | {{UN population|Year}}{{br}}(estimate)
! scope="col" | % of{{br}}world
|- class=static-row-numbers-norank
| scope=row | '''Earth'''
| {{convert|149733926|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 100.0
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=4|{{UN population|World}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[Asia]]
| {{convert|44614000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 29.8
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=3|{{UN population|Asia}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[Africa]]
| {{convert|30365000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 20.3
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=3|{{UN population|Africa}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[North America]]
| {{convert|24230000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 16.2
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=2|{{UN population|North America}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[South America]]
| {{convert|17814000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 11.9
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=2|{{UN population|South America}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[Antarctica]]
| {{convert|14200000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 9.5
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=2|{{UN population|Antarctica}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=|pad=yes}}
|-
| scope=row | [[Europe]]
| {{convert|10000000|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 6.7
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=2|{{UN population|Europe}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|-
| scope=row | [[Oceania]]{{efn-lg| Not usually considered to be a continent in the [[English-speaking world]]. Its land area and population includes [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Papua New Guinea]], but excludes the [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru Islands]] and [[Western New Guinea]].}}
| {{convert|8510926|sqkm|disp=table}}
| 5.7
| {{n+p|disp=table|sigfig=1|{{UN population|Oceania}}|{{UN population|World}}|%=}}
|}

{{notelist-lg}}

== Other divisions ==
=== Supercontinents ===
{{Main|Supercontinent}}
{{Further|Geological history of Earth}}

[[File:Pangaea 200Ma.jpg|thumb|upright=1.45|Reconstruction of the supercontinent [[Pangaea]] approximately 200 million years ago]]

Apart from the current continents, the scope and meaning of the term ''continent'' includes past geological ones. [[Supercontinent]]s, largely in evidence earlier in the geological record, are landmasses that comprise most of the world's [[craton]]s or continental cores.<ref name="Evans_2013">{{Cite journal |last=Evans |first=D.A.D. |date=2013 |title=Reconstructing pre-Pangean supercontinents |url=https://people.earth.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Evans/58-GSAB125.pdf |journal=GSA Bulletin |volume=125 |issue=11–12 |page=1736 |bibcode=2013GSAB..125.1735E |doi=10.1130/B30950.1 |access-date=8 December 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326023833/https://people.earth.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Evans/58-GSAB125.pdf |url-status=live | issn=0016-7606}}</ref> These have included [[Vaalbara]], [[Kenorland]], [[Columbia (supercontinent)|Columbia]], [[Rodinia]], [[Pannotia]], and [[Pangaea]]. Over time, these supercontinents broke apart into large landmasses which formed the present continents.

=== Subcontinents ===
{{Further|Indian subcontinent|Arabian Peninsula}}

[[File:India 78.40398E 20.74980N.jpg|thumb|The [[Indian subcontinent]]|left]]

Certain parts of continents are recognized as subcontinents, especially the large peninsulas separated from the main continental landmass by geographical features. The most widely recognized example is the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="Baldwin">{{citation |last=Baldwin |first=James A. |chapter=Continents |editor=R.W. McColl |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA214 |year=2014 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-7229-3 |pages=214–216 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The [[Arabian Peninsula]], [[Southern Africa]], the [[Southern Cone]] of South America, and [[Alaska]] in North America might be considered further examples.<ref name="Baldwin"/><ref>{{cite book |title = The Geopolitics of Regional Power| first =  Sören |last =Scholvin |year =2016| isbn = 9781317030461| page = 16| publisher = Routledge }}</ref>

In many of these cases, the "subcontinents" concerned are on different [[plate tectonics|tectonic plates]] from the rest of the continent, providing a geological justification for the terminology.<ref name="Molnar2015">{{cite book |last=Molnar |first=Peter |title=Plate Tectonics: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbuUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-104396-3 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* p. 98: Thus, we can calculate past positions of the Indian Plate, with the Indian Subcontinent as its passenger, with respect to the Eurasian Plate.
* p. 116: The Arabian Subcontinent later, approximately 35 million years ago, collided with southern Eurasia to form the Zagros Mountains of southwestern Iran.
</ref> [[Greenland]], generally considered the [[list of islands by area|world's largest island]] on the northeastern periphery of the [[North American Plate]], is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book |title=Nares Strait and the drift of Greenland: a conflict in plate tectonics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9prkteX0EdsC&pg=PA32 |publisher=[[Museum Tusculanum Press]] |isbn=978-87-635-1150-6 |pages=32– |year=1982 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="FarmerCook2013">{{citation|last1=Farmer |first1=G. Thomas |last2=Cook |first2=John |title=Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis: Volume 1 – The Physical Climate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbtEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA281 |year=2013 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |isbn=978-94-007-5757-8 |pages=281– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> This is a significant departure from the more conventional view of a subcontinent as comprising a very large peninsula on the fringe of a continent.<ref name="Baldwin"/>

Where the Americas are viewed as a single continent (America), it is divided into two subcontinents ([[North America]] and [[South America]])<ref name="Gallay2015">{{cite book |last=Gallay |first=Alan |title=Colonial Wars of North America, 1512–1763 (Routledge Revivals): An Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jmnbCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-48719-7 |pages=204– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="InnesHaron2000">{{cite book |last1=Innes |first1=John L. |last2=Haron |first2=Abu Hassan |title=Air Pollution and the Forests of Developing and Rapidly Industrializing Regions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qOXUQ21zb4C&pg=PA36 |year=2000 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-0-85199-932-6 |pages=36– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="Vivares2014">{{cite book|last=Vivares |first=Ernesto |title=Exploring the New South American Regionalism (NSAR) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pab8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]], Ltd. |isbn=978-1-4094-6961-2 |pages=40– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> or three ([[Central America]] being the third).<ref name="Leonard2005">{{cite book |last=Leonard |first=Thomas M. |title=Encyclopedia of the Developing World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC&pg=PA1637 |date=2005 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-1-57958-388-0 |pages=1637– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>In Ibero-America, North America usually designates a region ({{lang|es|subcontinente}} in Spanish) of the Americas containing Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and often Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Bermuda; the land bridge of Central America is generally considered a subregion of North America.[http://mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html Norteamérica (Mexican version)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130015145/http://mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html |date=30 January 2009 }}/[http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html (Spaniard version)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129035625/http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html |date=29 January 2009 }}. ''Encarta Online Encyclopedia''. 2009.</ref> When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Asia and Europe are treated as subcontinents.<ref name="Baldwin"/>

=== Submerged continents ===
{{Main|Submerged continent}}
{{Further|List of lost lands}}

[[File:Zealandia, topographic map.jpg|thumb|[[Zealandia]], the largest submerged landmass or continent]]

Some areas of [[continental crust]] are largely covered by the ocean and may be considered [[submerged continent]]s. Notable examples are [[Zealandia]], emerging from the ocean primarily in [[New Zealand]] and [[New Caledonia]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rafferty|first=John P|date=|title=A Tale of Two Submerged Continents|url=https://www.britannica.com/story/a-tale-of-two-submerged-continents|access-date=26 December 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=7 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607185449/https://www.britannica.com/story/a-tale-of-two-submerged-continents|url-status=live}}</ref>{{tertiary source inline|date=October 2021}} and the almost completely submerged [[Kerguelen Plateau]] in the southern [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cassimaly |first=Khalil a |date=5 March 2013 |title=The Violent History Of Mauritia: Birth, Oblivion, Renaissance {{!}} Labcoat Life {{!}} Learn Science at Scitable |url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/labcoat-life/the_violent_history_of_mauritia/ |access-date=31 December 2020 |website=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |language=en |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607140813/https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/labcoat-life/the_violent_history_of_mauritia/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Microcontinents ===
{{Further|Continental fragment}}
{{See also|Madagascar}}

Some islands lie on sections of continental crust that have rifted and drifted apart from a main continental landmass. While not considered continents because of their relatively small size, they may be considered [[continental fragment|microcontinents]]. Madagascar, the largest example, is usually considered an island of Africa, but its divergent evolution has caused it to be referred to as "the eighth continent" from a biological perspective.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hillstrom |first1=Kevin |last2=Collier Hillstrom |first2=Laurie |title=Africa and the Middle East: a continental overview of environmental issues |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |location=Santa Barbara, CA |year=2003 |page=50 |isbn=978-1-57607-688-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XxIk9zTm_e8C |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

=== Geological continents ===
{{See also|Zealandia}}

[[Geologist]]s use four key attributes to define a continent:<ref name="Mortimer_et_al_2017"/>

# Elevation – The [[landmass]], whether dry or submerged beneath the ocean, should be elevated above the surrounding [[ocean crust]].
# Geology – The landmass should contain different types of rock: [[igneous rock|igneous]], [[metamorphic rock|metamorphic]], and [[sedimentary rock|sedimentary]].
# Crustal structure – The landmass should consist of the [[continental crust]], which is thicker and has a lower [[seismic wave|seismic velocity]] than the oceanic crust.
# Limits and area – The landmass should have clearly defined boundaries and an area of more than one million square kilometres.{{efn|In accordance with these attributes, Eurasia and North America are connected by a bridge of continental crust at least 2 thousand kilometers wide. And with Africa, Eurasia is connected by such a bridge (interrupted by internal sections of the oceanic crust) with a width of at least 5 thousand kilometers.}}

With the addition of [[Zealandia]] in 2017, Earth currently has seven recognized geological continents: 
* Africa
* Antarctica
* [[Australia (continent)|Australia]]
* [[Eurasia]]
* North America
* South America
* Zealandia<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/zealandia-pieces-finally-falling-together-for-long-overlooked-continent|title=Zealandia – pieces finally falling together for continent we didn't know we had|first=Elle|last=Hunt|date=17 February 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025142621/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/zealandia-pieces-finally-falling-together-for-long-overlooked-continent|url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to a seeming lack of Precambrian [[craton]]ic rocks, Zealandia's status as a geological continent has been disputed by some geologists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/chunk-of-an-ancient-supercontinent-discovered-under-new-zealand |first1=Maya |last1=Wei-Haas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721115526/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/chunk-of-an-ancient-supercontinent-discovered-under-new-zealand|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2021|title=Chunk of an ancient supercontinent discovered under New Zealand|date=21 July 2021|website=Science}}</ref> However, a study conducted in 2021 found that part of the [[submerged continent]] is indeed [[Precambrian]], twice as old as geologists had previously thought, which is further evidence that supports the idea of Zealandia being a geological continent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-continent-zealandia-under-new-zealand-age-map-2021-7 |url-access=subscription |date=Aug 14, 2021 |title=A fragment of a mysterious 8th continent is hiding under New Zealand — and it's twice as old as scientists thought|first=Aylin|last=Woodward|website=Business Insider|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002103506/https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-continent-zealandia-under-new-zealand-age-map-2021-7|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.concrete-online.co.uk/ancient-continent-of-zealandia-raises-new-questions-for-geologists/ |website=concrete |title=Ancient Continent Of Zealandia Raises New Questions For Geologists|first=George|last=Barsted|date=17 August 2021|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=10 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510041927/https://www.concrete-online.co.uk/ancient-continent-of-zealandia-raises-new-questions-for-geologists/|url-status=unfit }}</ref>

All seven geological continents are spatially isolated by geologic features.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bigthink.com/hard-science/earths-hidden-continent-zealandia-finally-recognized/ |first1=Teodora |last1=Zareva |website=Big Think |title=Earth's Hidden Continent Zealandia Finally Recognized|date=4 October 2017|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=2 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602053954/https://bigthink.com/hard-science/earths-hidden-continent-zealandia-finally-recognized/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History of the concept ==
=== Early concepts of the Old World continents ===
[[File:Strabo.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Ancient Greek geographer [[Strabo]] holding a globe showing ''Europa'' and ''Asia'']]The term "continent" translates the Greek word {{lang|grc|ἤπειρος}}, meaning "landmass, terra firma", the proper name of [[Epirus]] and later especially used for Asia (i.e. [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]]).<ref>Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' (1940), s.v. "[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=h)/peiros ἤπειρος]". The English noun was introduced in the mid-16th century, shortened from ''continent land'' (15th century), adapted from Latin {{lang|la|terra continens}} "continuous landmass".</ref>
The first distinction between continents was made by [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] mariners who gave the names Europe and Asia to the lands on either side of the waterways of the [[Aegean Sea]], the [[Dardanelles]] strait, the [[Sea of Marmara]], the [[Bosporus]] strait and the [[Black Sea]].<ref name=Toynbee>[[Arnold J. Toynbee|Toynbee, Arnold J.]] (1954). ''A Study of History''. London: Oxford University Press, v. 8, pp. 711–712.</ref> The names were first applied just to lands near the coast and only later extended to include the [[hinterland]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tozer |first=H. F. |title=A History of Ancient Geography |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog |year=1897 |publisher=University Press |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog/page/n96 69]}}</ref><ref name="Pocock2002">{{cite book |first1=J. G. A. |last1=Pocock |author1-link=J. G. A. Pocock |editor1-last=Pagden |editor1-first=Anthony |title=The Idea of Europe From Antiquity to the European Union |date=2002 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0511496813 |chapter=Some Europes in Their History |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/idea-of-europe/some-europes-in-their-history/261CF37C1E49E93280878F816D4483F1 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511496813.003 |pages=57–61 |access-date=8 December 2023 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323132907/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/idea-of-europe/some-europes-in-their-history/261CF37C1E49E93280878F816D4483F1 |url-status=live }}</ref> But the division was only carried through to the end of navigable waterways and "...&nbsp;beyond that point the Hellenic geographers never succeeded in laying their finger on any inland feature in the physical landscape that could offer any convincing line for partitioning an indivisible Eurasia ..."<ref name=Toynbee/>

Ancient Greek thinkers subsequently debated whether Africa (then called ''Libya'') should be considered part of Asia or a third part of the world. Division into three parts eventually came to predominate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tozer |first=H. F. |title=A History of Ancient Geography |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog |year=1897 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |page= [https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog/page/n94 67]}}</ref> From the Greek viewpoint, the Aegean Sea was the center of the world; Asia lay to the east, Europe to the north and west, and Africa to the south.{{sfnp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997 |pp=21–22}} The boundaries between the continents were not fixed. Early on, the Europe–Asia boundary was taken to run from the Black Sea along the [[Rioni]] River (known then as the ''Phasis'') in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. Later it was viewed as running from the Black Sea through [[Kerch Strait]], the [[Sea of Azov]] and along the [[Don (river)|Don]] River (known then as the ''Tanais'') in [[Russia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Tozer |first=H. F. |title=A History of Ancient Geography |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog |year=1897 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient00tozegoog/page/n95 68]}}</ref> The boundary between Asia and Africa was generally taken to be the [[Nile]] River. [[Herodotus]]<ref>[[Herodotus]]. Translated by George Rawlinson (2000). ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus]]''. [http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/hrdts.pdf] Ames, Iowa: Omphaloskepsis, book 2, p. 18. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819160734/http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/hrdts.pdf|date=19 August 2006}}</ref> in the 5th century BCE objected to the whole of [[Egypt]] being split between Asia and Africa ("Libya") and took the boundary to lie along the western border of Egypt, regarding Egypt as part of Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/4b*.html |title=Herodotus, Histories, Book IV, Chapters 40-41 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |quote=As far as India, Asia is an inhabited land; but thereafter all to the east is desert, nor can any man say what kind of land is there. Such is Asia, and such its extent. But Libya is on this second promontory; for Libya comes next after Egypt.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://topostext.org/work/22 |title=Herodotus, Histories, Book II, Chapter 8 |website=topostext.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/2a*.html |title=Herodotus, Histories, Book II, Chapter 17 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/4g*.html |title=Herodotus, Histories, Book IV, Chapter 197 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> He also questioned the division into three of what is really a single landmass,<ref>[[Herodotus]]. Translated by George Rawlinson (2000). ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus]]'' {{cite web|url=http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/hrdts.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=8 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819160734/http://www.omphaloskepsis.com/ebooks/pdf/hrdts.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2006}}. Ames, Iowa: Omphaloskepsis, book 4, p. 38. "I cannot conceive why three names ... should ever have been given to a tract which is in reality one,"</ref> a debate that continues nearly two and a half millennia later. Herodotus believed Europe to be larger (at least in width) than the other two continents:

<blockquote>I wonder, then, at those who have mapped out and divided the world into Libya, Asia, and Europe; for the difference between them is great, seeing that in length Europe stretches along both the others together, and it appears to me to be wider beyond all comparison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D42%3Asection%3D1 |title=Herodotus, the Histories, Book 4, chapter 42, section 1 }}</ref></blockquote>

[[Eratosthenes]], in the 3rd century BCE, noted that some geographers divided the continents by rivers (the Nile and the Don), thus considering them "islands". Others divided the continents by [[isthmus]]es, calling the continents "peninsulas". These latter geographers set the border between Europe and Asia at the isthmus between the Black Sea and the [[Caspian Sea]], and the border between Asia and Africa at the isthmus between the [[Red Sea]] and the mouth of [[Lake Bardawil]] on the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>[[Strabo]]. Translated by Horace Leonard Jones (1917). ''[[Geographica|Geography]]''.[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/] Harvard University Press, book 1, ch. 4.[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/1D*.html]</ref>

The Roman author [[Pliny the Elder]], writing in the 1st century CE, stated that "The whole globe is divided into three parts, Europe, Asia, and Africa", adding:

<blockquote>I shall first then speak of Europe, the foster-mother of that people which has conquered all other nations, and itself by far the most beauteous portion of the earth. Indeed, many persons have, not without reason, considered it, not as a third part only of the earth, but as equal to all the rest, looking upon the whole of our globe as divided into two parts only, by a line drawn from the river Tanais to the Straits of Gades.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D1 |title=Pliny the Elder, ''The Natural History'' (Plin. Nat. 3.1) |website=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|thumb|Medieval [[T and O map]] showing the three continents as domains of the sons of [[Noah]]—Asia to Sem ([[Shem]]), Europe to Iafeth ([[Japheth]]), and Africa to Cham ([[Ham, son of Noah|Ham]]).]]

Following the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the [[Western culture|culture that developed in its place]], linked to Latin and the Catholic church, began to associate itself with the concept of Europe.<ref name="Pocock2002"/> Through the Roman period and the [[Middle Ages]], a few writers took the [[Isthmus of Suez]] as the boundary between Asia and Africa, but most writers continued to consider it the Nile or the western border of Egypt (Gibbon).{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} In the Middle Ages, the world was usually portrayed on [[T and O map]]s, with the T representing the waters dividing the three continents. By the middle of the 18th century, "the fashion of dividing Asia and Africa at the Nile, or at the [[Great Catabathmus]] [the boundary between Egypt and [[Libya]]] farther west, had even then scarcely passed away".<ref>Goddard, Farley Brewer (1884). "Researches in the Cyrenaica". ''The American Journal of Philology'', 5 (1) p. 38.</ref>

=== European arrival in the Americas ===
[[Christopher Columbus]] sailed across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[Caribbean]] in 1492, sparking a period of European exploration of the [[Americas]]. But despite four voyages to the Americas, Columbus never believed he had reached a new continent—he always thought it was part of Asia.

In 1501, [[Amerigo Vespucci]] and [[Gonçalo Coelho]] attempted to sail around what they considered the southern end of the Asian mainland into the [[Indian Ocean]], passing through [[Fernando de Noronha]]. After reaching the coast of [[Brazil]], they sailed along the coast of [[South America]] much farther south than Asia was known to extend, confirming that this was a land of continental proportions.<ref name=OGorman>{{cite book | last = O'Gorman | first = Edmundo | author-link = Edmundo O'Gorman | title = The Invention of America | publisher = Indiana University Press | year= 1961 | pages = 106–112}}</ref> On return to Europe, an account of the voyage, called ''Mundus Novus'' ("New World"), was published under Vespucci's name in 1502 or 1503,<ref name=formisano1>Formisano, Luciano (Ed.) (1992). ''Letters from a New World: Amerigo Vespucci's Discovery of America''. New York: Marsilio, pp. xx–xxi. {{ISBN|0-941419-62-2}}.</ref> although it seems that it had additions or alterations by another writer.<ref name=Zerubavel1>Zerubavel, Eviatar (2003). ''Terra Cognita: The Mental Discovery of America''. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 77–79. {{ISBN|0-7658-0987-7}}.</ref> Regardless of who penned the words, ''Mundus Novus'' credited Vespucci with saying, "I have discovered a continent in those southern regions that is inhabited by more numerous people and animals than our Europe, or Asia or Africa",<ref name=formisano2>Formisano, Luciano (Ed.) (1992). ''Letters from a New World: Amerigo Vespucci's Discovery of America''. New York: Marsilio, p. 45. {{ISBN|0-941419-62-2}}.</ref> the first known explicit identification of part of the Americas as a continent like the other three.

Within a few years, the name "New World" began appearing as a name for South America on world maps, such as the Oliveriana (Pesaro) map of around 1504–1505. Maps of this time, though, still showed [[North America]] connected to Asia and showed South America as a separate land.<ref name=Zerubavel1/>

[[File:Waldseemuller map 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|''Universalis Cosmographia'', Waldseemüller's 1507 world map—the first to show the Americas separate from Asia]]

In 1507 [[Martin Waldseemüller]] published a world map, ''[[Waldseemüller map|Universalis Cosmographia]]'', which was the first to show North and South America as separate from Asia and surrounded by water. A small inset map above the main map explicitly showed for the first time the Americas being east of Asia and separated from Asia by an ocean, as opposed to just placing the Americas on the left end of the map and Asia on the right end. In the accompanying book ''[[Cosmographiae Introductio]]'', Waldseemüller noted that the earth is divided into four parts, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the fourth part, which he named "America" after Amerigo Vespucci's first name.<ref name=Zerubavel2>Zerubavel, Eviatar (2003). ''Terra Cognita: The Mental Discovery of America''. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 80–82. {{ISBN|0-7658-0987-7}}.</ref> On the map, the word "America" was placed on part of South America.

=== Beyond four continents ===

The Sanskrit text [[Rig Veda]] often dated 1500 BCE{{refn|group=note|name="dating"|It is certain that the hymns of the Rig Veda post-date [[Proto-Indo-Iranian|Indo-Iranian]] separation of {{Circa|2000&nbsp;BCE}} and probably that of the relevant Mitanni documents of {{circa}} 1400&nbsp;BCE.  Philological estimates tend to date the bulk of the text to the second half of the second millennium:
* [[Max Müller]]: "the hymns of the Rig-Veda are said to date from 1500 B.C."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Müller |first=F. Max |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DLQIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA202 |title=India: What Can It Teach Us? |date=1883 |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |location=London |page=202 |access-date=7 September 2023 |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707163253/https://books.google.com/books?id=DLQIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA202 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The [[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|EIEC]] (s.v. [[Indo-Iranian languages]], p. 306) gives 1500{{ndash}}1000&nbsp;BCE.
* Flood and Witzel both mention {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1200&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=37}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=4}}
* Anthony mentions {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1300&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=454}}
* Thomas Oberlies (''Die Religion des Rgveda'', 1998, p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets a wide range of 1700{{ndash}}1100&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Oberlies|1998|p=158}} {{harvnb|Oberlies|1998|p=155}} gives an estimate of 1100&nbsp;BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10.{{sfn|Oberlies|1998|p=155}}
* {{harvnb|Witzel|1995|p=4}} mentions {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1200&nbsp;BCE. According to {{harvnb|Witzel|1997|p=263}}, the whole Rig Vedic period may have lasted from c. 1900&nbsp;BCE to c. 1200&nbsp;BCE: "the bulk of the RV represents only 5 or 6 generations of kings (and of the contemporary poets) of the Pūru and Bharata tribes. It contains little else before and after this "snapshot" view of contemporary Rgvedic history, as reported by these contemporary "tape recordings." On the other hand, the whole Rgvedic period may have lasted even up to 700 years, from the infiltration of the Indo-Aryans into the subcontinent, c. 1900&nbsp;B.C. (at the utmost, the time of collapse of the Indus civilization), up to c. 1200&nbsp;B.C., the time of the introduction of iron which is first mentioned in the clearly post-gvedic hymns of the Atharvaveda."}} has the earliest mention of seven continents in the Earth, the text claims that the Earth has seven continents and [[Lord Vishnu]] Measured the entire universe from his first foot from the land of Earth which has 7 continents.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Glucklich|first=Ariel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC&q=vishnu+seven+strides+seven+continents&pg=PA153|title=The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective|date=2008-05-09|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-971825-2|pages=4, 153|language=en}}</ref>
{{Verse translation|ato devā avantu no yato viṣṇurvicakrame {{!}}
pṛthivyāḥ saptadhāmabhiḥ {{!}}{{!}}

idaṃ viṣṇurvi cakrame tredhā ni dadhe padam {{!}}
samūḷhamasya pāṃsure {{!}}{{!}}

trīṇi padā vi cakrame viṣṇurghopā '''adābhyaḥ''' {{!}}
ato dharmāṇi dhārayan {{!}}{{!}}|The Gods be gracious unto us even from the place whence [[Vishnu]] strode
Through the seven regions of the earth!

Through all this world strode Vishnu; thrice his foot he planted, and the whole
Was gathered in his footstep's dust.

Vishnu, the Guardian, he whom '''none deceiveth''', made three steps; thenceforth
Establishing his high decrees.|lang=en|attr1=RigVeda [[transliteration]] of Book 1, Hymn 22, Verses 16-18<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rvsan/rv01022.htm|title=RigVeda Book I XXI 'Aśvins and Others' (Sanskrit and Transliteration)|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref>|attr2=RigVeda [[translation]] by Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896) of Book 1, Hymn 22, Verses 16–18<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv01022.htm|title=RigVeda Book I XXI 'Aśvins and Others'|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref>}}
[[File:1500-1200 BCE Rigveda, manuscript page sample ii, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg|left|thumb|330x330px|[[Rigveda]] page in [[Sanskrit]]]]

In regard to the above-quoted verses, it is commonly accepted that there are Seven Continents or 'regions of the earth'. A. Glucklich adds that 'In the [[Matsya Purana]], for instance, there is a seven-part map of the world ... [it has] one centre, where an immense mountain – [[Mount Meru]] (or Maha Meru, Great Meru) – stands ... The continents encircle the mountain in seven concentric circles ... It seems clear that the Himalayas were the approximate location of Mt. Meru and the text is clear that the earth has seven continents.<ref name=":9"/>

[[File:Thevenot - Hollandia Nova detecta 1644.png|thumb|upright=1.15|''Hollandia Nova'', 1659 map prepared by [[Joan Blaeu]] based on voyages by [[Abel Tasman]] and [[Willem Jansz]], this image shows a French edition of 1663]]From the late 18th century, some geographers started to regard North America and South America as two parts of the world, making five parts in total. Overall though, the fourfold division prevailed well into the 19th century.<ref name=lewis30>{{harvp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|p=30}}</ref>
Europeans discovered [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] in 1606, but for some time it was taken as part of Asia. By the late 18th century, some geographers considered it a continent in its own right, making it the sixth (or fifth for those still taking America as a single continent).<ref name=lewis30/> In 1813, [[Samuel Butler (schoolmaster)|Samuel Butler]] wrote of Australia as "[[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]], an immense island, which some geographers dignify with the appellation of another continent" and the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' was just as equivocal some decades later.<ref>"continent n. 5. a." (1989) ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. [[Oxford University Press]]. "the great island of Australia is sometimes reckoned as another [continent]"</ref> It was in the 1950s that the concept of Oceania as a "great division" of the world was replaced by the concept of Australia as a continent.<ref name=lewis32b>{{harvp|Lewis & Wigen, The Myth of Continents|1997|p=32}}: "...the 1950s... was also the period when... Oceania as a "great division" was replaced by Australia as a continent along with a series of isolated and continentally attached islands. [Footnote 78: When Southeast Asia was conceptualized as a world region during World War II..., Indonesia and the Philippines were perforce added to Asia, which reduced the extent of Oceania, leading to a reconceptualization of Australia as a continent in its own right. This maneuver is apparent in postwar atlases]"</ref>

[[Antarctica]] was sighted in 1820 during the [[First Russian Antarctic Expedition]] and described as a continent by [[Charles Wilkes]] on the [[United States Exploring Expedition]] in 1838, the last continent identified, although a great "Antarctic" ([[Antipodes|antipodean]]) landmass had been [[Terra Australis|anticipated]] for millennia. An 1849 atlas labelled Antarctica as a continent but few atlases did so until after [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Martin W. |first2=Kären E. |last2=Wigen |title=The Myth of Continents: a Critique of Metageography |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-20743-1}}</ref>

Over time, the western concept of dividing the world into continents spread globally, replacing conceptions in other areas of the world. The idea of continents continued to become imbued with cultural and political meaning. In the 19th century during the [[Meiji period]], Japanese leaders began to self-identify with the concept of being Asian, and renew relations with other "Asian" countries while conceiving of the idea of Asian solidarity against western countries. This conception of an Asian identity, as well as the idea of Asian solidarity, was later taken up by others in the region, such as Republican China and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mitani |first1=Hiroshi |title=The Concept of Asia: From Geography to Ideology |journal=New Perspectives on Turkey |date=Fall 2006 |volume=35 |pages=21–34 |doi=10.1017/S0896634600004465 |s2cid=130570425 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-perspectives-on-turkey/article/abs/concept-of-asia-from-geography-to-ideology/F113FC86351408C6135361056818C72F |access-date=21 November 2021 |archive-date=21 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121052423/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-perspectives-on-turkey/article/abs/concept-of-asia-from-geography-to-ideology/F113FC86351408C6135361056818C72F |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

From the mid-19th century, atlases published in the United States more commonly treated North and South America as separate continents, while atlases published in Europe usually considered them one continent. However, it was still not uncommon for American atlases to treat them as one continent up until World War II.<ref name=lewis32>{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Martin W. |first2=Kären E. |last2=Wigen |title=The Myth of Continents: a Critique of Metageography |url=https://archive.org/details/mythcontinentscr00lewi |url-access=limited |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |page=[https://archive.org/details/mythcontinentscr00lewi/page/n24 32] |isbn=978-0-520-20742-4}}</ref> From the 1950s, most U.S. geographers divided the Americas into two continents.<ref name=lewis32/> With the addition of Antarctica, this made the seven-continent model. However, this division of the Americas did not appeal to [[Latin America]]ns, who saw their region spanning an {{lang|es|América}} as a single landmass, and there the conception of six continents remains popular.

Some geographers regard Europe and Asia together as a single continent, dubbed ''[[Eurasia]]''.<ref>{{cite web |quote=Some geographers list only six continents, combining Europe and Asia into Eurasia. In parts of the world, students learn that there are just five continents: Eurasia, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, and the Americas. |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/faq/geography.html#continents|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306225011/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/faq/geography.html#continents|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2008|title=Frequently Asked Questions - General Geography Information - How many continents are there?|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]|access-date=26 September 2010}}</ref> In this model, the world is divided into six continents, with North America and South America considered separate continents.

== Geology ==
{{Further|Continental crust|Plate tectonics}}

Geologists use the term ''continent'' in a different manner from geographers. In geology, a continent is defined by continental crust, which is a platform of [[metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] and [[igneous rock|igneous]] rocks, largely of [[granite|granitic]] composition. Continental crust is less dense and much thicker than oceanic crust, which causes it to "float" higher than oceanic crust on the dense underlying [[Earth's mantle|mantle]]. This explains why the continents form high platforms surrounded by deep ocean basins.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Harold L. |title=The earth through time |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0yl7Cqsu78C&pg=PA173 |date=2010 |publisher=J. Wiley |location=Hoboken, N.J. |isbn=978-0470387740 |pages=173–174 |edition=9th}}</ref><ref name="Glossary2005"/>

Some geologists restrict the term ''continent'' to portions of the crust built around stable regions called ''[[craton]]s''. Cratons have largely been unaffected by mountain-building events ([[orogeny|orogenies]]) since the [[Precambrian]]. A craton typically consists of a ''[[shield (geology)|continental shield]]'' surrounded by a ''[[platform (geology)|continental platform]]''. The shield is a region where ancient crystalline [[basement (geology)|basement rock]] (typically 1.5 to 3.8 billion years old) is widely exposed at the surface. The platform surrounding the shield is also composed of ancient basement rock, but with a cover of younger [[sedimentary rock]].{{sfn|Levin|2010|p=83}} The continents are accretionary crustal "rafts" that, unlike the denser basaltic crust of the ocean basins, are not subjected to destruction through the plate tectonic process of subduction. This accounts for the great age of the rocks comprising the continental cratons.{{sfn|Levin|2010|p=194}}

The margins of geologic continents are either [[convergent boundary|active]] or [[passive margin|passive]]. An active margin is characterised by mountain building, either through a continent-on continent collision or a subduction zone. Continents grow by [[accretion (geology)|accreting]] lighter volcanic island chains and microcontinents along these active margins, forming [[Orogenic belt|orogens]]. At a passive margin, the continental crust is stretched thin by extension to form a [[continental shelf]], which tapers off with a gradual slope covered in sediment, connecting it directly to the oceanic crust beyond. Most passive margins eventually transition into active margins: where the oceanic plate becomes too heavy due to cooling, it disconnects from the continental crust, and starts subducting below it, forming a new subduction zone.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Grotzinger|first1=John P.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/884299180|title=Understanding Earth|date=2014|first2=Thomas H. |last2=Jordan |publisher=W.H. Freeman|isbn=978-1-4641-3874-4|edition=7t|location=New York|pages=|chapter=10|oclc=884299180}}</ref>

[[File:Tectonic plates (2022).svg|thumb|left|upright=1.75|Sixteen principal tectonic plates of the continents and the floor of the oceans]]

There are many microcontinents, or [[continental fragment]]s, that are built of continental crust but do not contain a craton. Some of these are fragments of [[Gondwana]] or other ancient cratonic continents: [[Zealandia (continent)|Zealandia]],<ref name="Mortimer_et_al_2017">{{cite journal | url=https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/27/3/article/GSATG321A.1.htm | title=Zealandia: Earth's Hidden Continent | first1=N. | last1=Mortimer | first2=H.J. | last2=Campbell | first3=A.J. | last3=Tulloch | first4=P.R. | last4=King | first5=V.M. | last5=Stagpoole | first6=R.A. | last6=Wood | first7=M.S. | last7=Rattenbury | first8=R. | last8=Sutherland | first9=C.J. | last9=Adams | first10=J. | last10=Collot | first11=M. | last11=Seton | journal=GSA Today | year=2017 | volume=27 | issue=3 | pages=27–35 | doi=10.1130/GSATG321A.1 |doi-access=free | access-date=20 February 2020 | archive-date=17 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217064642/https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/27/3/article/GSATG321A.1.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> which includes [[Geography of New Zealand|New Zealand]] and [[Geography of New Caledonia|New Caledonia]]; [[Geography of Madagascar|Madagascar]]; the northern [[Mascarene Plateau]], which includes the [[Seychelles]]. Other islands, such as several in the [[Caribbean Sea]], are composed largely of granitic rock as well, but all continents contain both granitic and basaltic crust, and there is no clear boundary as to which islands would be considered microcontinents under such a definition. The [[Kerguelen Plateau]], for example, is largely volcanic, but is associated with the breakup of Gondwanaland and is considered a microcontinent,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/99newsreleases/nr_199905/nr_continent990528.html |title=UT Austin scientist plays major rule in study of underwater "micro-continent" |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin |website=Office of Public Affairs |date= May 28, 1999 |access-date=26 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103165732/http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/99newsreleases/nr_199905/nr_continent990528.html |archive-date= 3 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/353277.stm |first1=David |last1=Whitehouse |title=Sci/Tech &#124; 'Lost continent' discovered |work=BBC News |date=27 May 1999 |access-date=26 August 2012 |archive-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310133459/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/353277.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> whereas volcanic [[Geography of Iceland|Iceland]] and [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaii]] are not. The [[British Isles]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Borneo]], and [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] were on the margins of the [[Laurasia]]n continent—only separated from the main continental landmass by inland seas flooding its margins.

The movement of plates has caused the continual formation and breakup of continents, and occasionally supercontinents, in a process called the [[Wilson Cycle]]. The supercontinent [[Columbia (supercontinent)|Columbia]] or Nuna formed during a period of 2.0–1.8 billion years ago and broke up about 1.5–1.3 billion years ago.<ref name="Zhao1">{{Cite journal |last1=Zhao |first1=Guochun |last2=Cawood |first2=Peter A. |last3=Wilde |first3=Simon A. |last4=Sun |first4=M. |date=November 2002 |title=Review of global 2.1–1.8 Ga orogens: implications for a pre-Rodinia supercontinent |journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]] |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=125–162 |doi=10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00073-9 |bibcode=2002ESRv...59..125Z}}</ref><ref name="Zhao2">{{Cite journal |first1=Guochun |last1=Zhao |last2=Sun |first2=M. |last3=Wilde |first3=Simon A. |last4=Li |first4=S.Z. |date=November 2004 |title=A Paleo-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent: assembly, growth and breakup |journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]] |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=91–123 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2004.02.003 |bibcode=2004ESRv...67...91Z |url=http://www.gt-crust.ru/jour/article/view/518 |access-date=24 July 2019 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409162821/https://www.gt-crust.ru/jour/article/view/518 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The supercontinent [[Rodinia]] is thought to have formed about 1 billion years ago and to have embodied most or all of Earth's continents, and broken up into eight continents around 600 million years ago. The eight continents later reassembled into another supercontinent called [[Pangaea]]; Pangaea broke up into Laurasia (which became North America and Eurasia) and [[Gondwana]] (which became the remaining continents).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Grotzinger|first1=John P.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/884299180|title=Understanding Earth|date=2014|first2=Thomas H. |last2=Jordan |publisher=W.H. Freeman|isbn=978-1-4641-3874-4|edition=7|location=New York|oclc=884299180|access-date=5 January 2022|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208135313/https://search.worldcat.org/title/884299180|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
Some academics, such as the historical geographer [[Martin W. Lewis]], argue that the systems we understand today are more rooted in social, political, and cultural history than in geological fact, a view particularly outlined in his book ''The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Lewis | first=Martin W. | last2=Wigen | first2=Kären | title=The Myth of Continents | publisher=Univ of California Press | publication-place=Berkeley | date=1997-08-11 | isbn=978-0-520-20743-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Myth_of_Continents.html?id=fLT8X5E3bZIC&source=kp_book_description}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Geography|Ecology|Environment|World}}
* [[Boundaries between the continents]]
* [[Dvipa]]
* [[Forgotten continent (disambiguation)|Forgotten continent]]
* [[List of continent name etymologies]]
* [[List of continents and continental subregions by population]]
* [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by continent]]
* [[List of transcontinental countries]]
* [[Subregion]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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* {{citation |last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1997 |chapter=The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu |editor-last=Witzel |editor-first=Michael |title=Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas |series=Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora; vol. 2 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |author-link=Michael Witzel |chapter-url=https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/canon.pdf |access-date=8 December 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208133810/https://sites.harvard.edu/witzel/ |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons and category|Continents|Continents}}
* {{Britannica|134805|Continent}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Continent |short=x}}
* {{YouTube|3uBcq1x7P34|"What Are Continents?"}} by [[CGP Grey]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190913003250/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/09/lost-continent-revealed-by-plate-tectonics-model-greater-adria-mediterranean/ Lost continent revealed in new reconstruction of geologic history]

{{Continents of the world}}
{{Earth}}
{{Regions of the world}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Continents| ]]