2. Definition:
– A large, continuous, discrete mass
of land, ideally separated by an
expanse of water
• There are currently seven
continents on the Earth
3.
4. • By size (smallest to largest):
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Australia
Europe
Antarctica
South America
North America
Africa
Asia
5. • By population (as of 2008):
– Antarctica
• 4,000 during the summer
• 1,000 during the winter
–
–
–
–
–
–
Australia = 20 million approx
South America = 370 million
North America = 520 million
Europe = 700 million
Africa = 900 million
Asia = 3.9 billion
• The total world population is
over 6.7 billion
6. • By the number of countries
–
–
–
–
–
–
Africa
Europe
Asia
North America
Oceania
South America
-
(53)
(46)
(44)
(23)
(14)
(12)
7.
8. • Today’s Earth was quite different
millions of years ago
• It is postulated that the separate
continents joined together to form
one super-continent
• Over the years, the map of the Earth
has always been changing; not only
has the underlying plates been
moving, but the plates have changed
in size
9. • In 1915, Alfred Wegener's
postulated:
– All the continents had at one
time formed a single
supercontinent called the
"Urkontinent", before later
breaking up and drifting to their
present locations.
10. Name of Continent
Years Ago
Urkontinent
about 3 bn
Kenorland
2.7 to 2.1 bn
Columbia
1.8 to 1.5 bn
Rodinia
about 1.1 bn to 750 m
Pannotia
about 600 m
Pangaea
about 300 m
15. Oceania
• Oceania is NOT a continent, but a word
for a large region in Pacific Ocean that
includes:
–
–
–
–
Australia
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand
The islands of
• Melanesia directly north of Australia
• Micronesia directly north of Melanesia
• Polynesia which is to the east
16. • There are about 19 countries
• Spanning an area of ocean
about the size of South America
• The population of Oceania is
about 36 million
– With all but 11 million living in
Australia or New Zealand
17.
18.
19. Middle East
• The Middle East (or the Near East, in
opposition to Far East) is a region that
encompasses southwestern Asia and Egypt
20.
21.
22. • In some contexts, the term has
recently been expanded in
usage to sometimes include
–
–
–
–
Afghanistan
Pakistan
The Caucasus and Central Asia
North Africa
• This region is known as the
Greater Middle East
24. Scandinavian Countries
• Scandinavia is a region in northern Europe
that includes at
– a minimum Denmark
– Norway
– Sweden
• Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands are
sometimes also included
28. Eurasia
• A term used to describe the combined
continental landmass of Europe and Asia
– Geographically it is a single continent,
comprising the traditional continents of
Europe and Asia
• It is located primarily in the eastern and
northern hemispheres
29.
30. Afro-Eurasia
• Also known as Afrasia or Eurafrasia
• Term used to describe the largest
landmass on earth
• Defined as a super continent, consisting
of the continents of
– Africa
– Eurasia
• Asia
• Europe
31. • It has roughly 85% of the world
population
• It is also known as the Old
World
– As opposed to the Americas,
which are known as the New
World
32.
33. Central America
• It is the central geographic region of the
Americas
• The southernmost part of North America that
links the continent to South America
• It consists of the countries of:
–
–
–
–
Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
El Salvador
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Panama
34.
35.
36. Latin America
• Latin America is a region of the Americas
where Romance languages particularly
Spanish and Portuguese, and variably
French – are primarily spoken
– Romance languages - The group of languages
derived from Latin
37.
38.
39. Central Asia
• It is core region of the Asian continent
• Sometimes referred to as Middle Asia
• Include these five republics of the former
Soviet Union:
–
–
–
–
–
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
40.
41.
42. South Asia
• It is the southern region of the Asian continent
• Also known as Southern Asia or the Indian
Subcontinent
• It includes:
–
–
–
–
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
Nepal
- Bhutan
- Maldives
- Sri Lanka
43.
44. South-East Asia
• This region is located at
–
–
–
–
South of China,
East of India,
West of New Guinea and
North of Australia
- Bhutan
- Maldives
- Sri Lanka
45.
46. • It consists of the following
countries:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
East Timor
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Maldives
- Sri Lanka
48. • There are also artificial islands
– They are also known as man-made
island
– Islands that have been constructed
by people rather than formed by
natural means
– Examples
• Jumeirah Palm Beach, Dubai
• Kansai International Airport, Japan
• Flevopolder, Netherlands
53. Peninsula
• It is a Latin word
– Pene Almost
– Insula Island
• A piece of land that is a look-alike of an
island but actually isn't considered as an
island
54. Definition
– In other words, Peninsula is a land
mass, surrounded by water on
three sides
• Examples
– Arabian Peninsula
– Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, USA
– Baja Peninsula in Mexico
Notes de l'éditeur
Polynesia stretches across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the southwest and also includes the countries of Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu, along with the French territory of French Polynesia
Melanesia is a region of the South Pacific Ocean and includes the countries of Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, as well as the French colony New Caledonia.
The over 2000 Pacific Ocean islands that comprise the countries of the The Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Palau along with the Mariana Islands (including Guam) composes the region known as Micronesia.
