What is our planet? How many continents on earth? This is best seen when viewed from space. However, not everyone has such an opportunity, so we restrict ourselves to the model of the planet - the globe. If you look at it carefully, you can see that only a third of the Earth is covered by land, and everything else is water. The land space is divided into several territories, which are called continents, or continents. Previously, it was believed that there were only five of them: America, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia.
But today, scientists have a different opinion. Firstly, during the construction of the Panama Canal, America was divided into two continents - the Northern and Southern parts. Secondly, Antarctica. Previously, it was believed that the territories around the South Pole are simply huge blocks of ice, but now it is known for certain that this is another continent. True, only penguins live on it, but from this it does not cease to be land. So we got the answer to the question of how many continents on Earth. It turns out there are seven of them.
What are they?
Looking at a map or globe, we can see all the continents that exist on our planet. Let's talk about what they are. Having learned how many continents on Earth, we will clarify - what is it? The continents are vast tracts of land washed by oceans and seas.
If scientifically, then the continent is a large mass of the earth’s crust, most of which is above sea level and is called land, and the smaller is below the designated level and is called peripheral. This concept includes islands located on the shelf zone of the mainland.
About how many continents on Earth, opinions differ to date. Their number in different interpretations is their own. For example, Europe and Asia - sometimes they are combined into one mainland and are called Eurasia. As for America, the opposite is true: many consider it one continent in spite of the fact that it is divided by the channel into the North and South. Based on this, it turns out that everyone has their own approach. Therefore, scientists have not yet decided how many continents on Earth - six or seven.
Now consider what each of them represents. Asia is the largest continent on Earth. It has an area of 43 million square kilometers. The vast tracts of land following it are America and Africa. Their area - respectively - 42 and 30 million square meters. km
But the continent of Australia is the smallest on our planet. It occupies only 8 million km square.
Antarctica is also very difficult to call land, since it is under ice armor. However, in spite of everything, it is the highest continent on the planet, its height is 2040 meters above sea level. And although there is no permanent population in Antarctica, on the other hand, more than 40 research stations of various states that are engaged in its study are constantly present.
According to legend, in antiquity there was another continent - Atlantis. However, scientists failed to prove this. It is believed that it was between America and Europe, but sank as a result of a powerful earthquake. There are so many continents on the planet, and each of them has its own climatic conditions, flora and fauna, and, of course, population.
