View source for Landmass

{{Short description|Large area of land}}
{{Redirect|Land mass|a list of land surface areas of the world's political entities|List of countries and dependencies by area}}
{{For|Steve Roach's album|Landmass (album){{!}}''Landmass'' (album)}}

[[File:Earth Seen From DSCOVR.jpg|thumb|An image of [[Afro-Eurasia]], the largest landmass on Earth]]

A '''landmass''', or '''land mass''', is a large [[region]] or area of [[land]] that is in one piece and not noticeably broken up by [[ocean]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Landmass |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/landmass |website=Cambridge Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge.org Dictionary |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Landmass |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landmass |website=Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref> The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or [[sea]], such as a [[continent]] or a large [[island]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABVfvyi-8IAC&dq=continent+island+landmass&pg=PA298 |title=Continental Shelf Limits: The Scientific and Legal Interface |editor1-first=Peter J. |editor1-last=Cook |editor2-first=Chris M. |editor2-last=Carleton |page=298 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=9 November 2000 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780195117820.001.0001 |isbn=9780197561218 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nijman |first1=Jan |last2=Muller |first2=Peter O. |last3=de Blij |first3=H.J. |chapter=Introduction |title=Regions: Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |date=2017 |edition=17th |page=11 |isbn=978-1-119-30189-9}}</ref> In the field of [[geology]], a landmass is a defined section of [[continental crust]] extending above [[sea level]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Landmass |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/landmass?s=t |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |access-date=25 July 2020}}</ref>

Continents are often thought of as distinct landmasses and may include any islands that are part of the associated [[continental shelf]]. When multiple continents form a single contiguous land connection, the connected continents may be viewed as a single landmass. [[Earth]]'s largest landmasses are (starting with largest):<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}}</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 |date=23 August 2016 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-28989-5 |pages=232– |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><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=R.W. McColl |year=2005 |publisher=Facts on File, Inc. |isbn=978-0-8160-7229-3 |page=215 |access-date=25 August 2022 |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).}}</ref>

# [[Afro-Eurasia]] (main landmass of the [[geoscheme]] region of the same name and its continental parts [[Africa]] and [[Eurasia]] - or [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]; the center of Earth's [[land hemisphere]], comprising more than half of Earth's landmass)
# [[Americas]] (main landmass of the geo-region of the same name and its continental parts [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]; comprising most of the landmass of the [[Western Hemisphere]])
# [[Antarctica]] (main landmass of the geo-region and continent of the same name)
# [[Mainland Australia]] (main landmass of the geo-region [[Oceania]], its sub-region [[Australasia]], the [[Australia (continent)|continent Australia]] and the country [[Australia]])

== Continental landmasses ==
{{Excerpt|List of islands by area#Continental landmasses}}

{{Fuller projection with largest islands.svg}}

== See also ==
* [[Coastline paradox]]
* [[Continent]]
** [[Boundaries between the continents of Earth]]
* [[Island]]
** [[List of islands by area]]
* [[Landform]]
** [[Glossary of landforms]]
* [[Mainland]]
* [[Supercontinent]]
* [[Pangaea]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Geography topics}}
{{Geology}}
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[[Category:Landforms]]
[[Category:Geography terminology]]
[[Category:Geology terminology]]