Continents of Planet Earth
Continents are large portions of land that shelter different forms of life, vegetation, climate, geography, being surrounded by water. There are two ways to define a continent. The first is to say that a continent is a set of countries.
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The second is to consider the continent as any piece of land larger than the largest island in the world: Greenland.
In the case of Oceania, the first definition is better accepted, since this continent is also formed by islands and archipelagos. There are five political continents and four physical continents. The difference between the two is in the act of the politician having political divisions of countries (such as Brazil, France, Belgium and others). The physical division is based on the physical structure in area territories, territory.
The continents in the physical division are: America, Eurafrásia, Australia and Antarctica. The political division has America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Antarctica.
The American continent has around 42 million km2 and a population of more than 900 million people. This continent has the differential of having two large continental masses, connected by an isthmus (a quantity of land surrounded by water on two sides and connecting two areas of land). The two continental masses are South America and North America. This isthmus is called Central America. See Countryaah.com.
North America is made up of three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. Of the three, the largest in extension is Canada, with 9,984,670 km2. Central America has the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
Its largest country, by extension, is Nicaragua.
South America is made up of 12 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Of these, the largest area is that of Brazil, with 8,514,877 km2.
Because it is present in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, it has a good variety of climates and vegetation. The predominant climates, mainly in northern South America, Central America and Mexico are tropical and temperate climates. North America has areas of icy arctic climate (as in Alaska and Greenland). Other areas, such as the United States and Canada, have well-defined seasons and a harsh winter. With varying climates, vegetation variance is inevitable. While in North America, Canada and the United States pines and trees more resistant to low temperatures are characteristic, in Mexico, vegetation is required in order to withstand high temperatures.
In South America, the largest forest and ecosystem in the world is located: the Amazon Forest, dominated by large trees, with humid climate and high temperatures.
The relief of the continent began to be formed in the Paleozoic Era (especially in North America). The Mesozoic Era was one of great changes for the South American continent, being the date of separation from the landmass that would become North America.
The Europe is the second smallest continent in the world, higher only than Oceania. Its extension is approximately 10,180,000 km2, less than 7% of the dry part of the planet. It has 50 countries, of which, the largest, in territory, is Russia, with 75,075,200 km2.
The countries that make up this continent are: Albania, Germany, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands (Poland), Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and San Marino.
Its climate is linked to the fact that it is in the temperate band of the planet. It has the Gulf Stream to make its climate “less cold”, as the current warms Europe even in its cold winter. Although small, the European continent presents a great variety of reliefs. Alps, Switzerland, Plains of Germany, peninsulas… The terrain is really varied. Generally speaking, southern Europe tends to be more mountainous, and in the north, the terrain is decreasing. Like soils, European vegetation is also varied. Some of those found on the continent are steppes, temperate forest, tundra, coniferous forests and others.
The Asia is the largest continent in area, in the world, occupying 30% of the dry land on the planet and 9% of the surface of the whole earth. There are 49 countries, only one country less than Europe, and some of them participate simultaneously in Asia and Europe. This explains the fact that Russia is the largest country, by extension, of these two continents.
The countries that make up the continent are: Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, China, Cyprus, North Korea, South Korea, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Georgia, Yemen, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Singapore, Syria, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The relief of this continent is marked by its extremes: it houses the highest point on earth (Mount Everest) and the largest absolute depression on earth (Dead Sea).
The high points are due to the mountain ranges, the largest of which is the Himalayas. The beginning of the formation of that continent was in the Precambrian Era, having in the Paleozoic Era new changes that resulted in large sedimentary basins. In the following ages, such as Mesozoic, in which there was an increase in sedimentation, and in Cenozoic, there were also changes that resulted in the current Asian relief.
The climate varies according to the extensive Asian territory it extends: in the extreme north, the polar climate is predominant; in the center, without the maritime influence, the temperate continental climate is the characteristic. To the extreme south, due to the mountain ranges preventing the passage of moisture from the ocean, the arid and semi-arid climate remains.
The Africa has 30 million km2, representing 20% of the firm on the planet earth. It is the third largest continent in extension and the second most populous. It has 54 countries, the largest being Sudan, with 2,505,813 km2. Its relief, in its majority, is formed of plateau, with average altitude of 750 meters, and the coast presents plains. In the east, however, there is a sequence of mountains and depressions that result in large lakes. The continent’s climate is marked, at least in the south and north, by arid, semi-arid and desert climates. An example of this is the Sahara desert, located in the north of the continent. The rains are concentrated in the ?? central region ?? of the continent, where the imaginary line of Ecuador passes. Its relief is one of the oldest in the world, still forming in the Precambrian era.
The countries that make up that continent are: South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Chad, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Congo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda.
The smallest continent on the planet, Oceania is composed of 14 countries and 14 areas dominated by other countries, including islands and archipelagos. It is basically formed by Australia and the Pacific Islands.
The independent countries that make up the continent are: Australia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Western Samo, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Of these the largest area is Australia.
Its climate is based on intertropical and temperate zones. Because they are not physically connected, each region of that continent has its own characteristics of geological and vegetation formation.
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in Africa |
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in Asia |
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in Europe |
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in Oceania |
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in North America |
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Alphabetical List of All Countries in South America |
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