Continents

Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the Turkish straits.

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers around 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100. Africa is the least wealthy inh

Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilisations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.

continent located mainly in the southwestern quadrant of the Earth

Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of . Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of .

continent in the Americas

The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America. When viewed as a single continent, the Americas are the second largest continent by area after Asia and the third largest continent by population. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and constitute the New World.

thumb|upright=1.6|Animated, colour-coded map showing four to seven continents – depending on the boundaries between the continents|convention and model, some continents may be consolidated or subdivided.

continent in the Earth's Southern Hemisphere

physiographical region in South Asia

thumb|upright=1.35|Topography of Zealandia, outlined in pink. The linear [[ridges running north-northeast (Colville to the west and Kermadec to the east, separated by the Lau Basin) and southwest (the Resolution Ridge System) away from New Zealand are not considered part of Zealandia, nor are Australia (left), Vanuatu, or Fiji (top centre).]] thumb|upright=1.35|Map of New Caledonia and [[New Zealand, the two main areas that make up Zealandia]]

thumb|upright=1.35|The supercontinent of Pangaea with the positions of the continents at the [[Permian-Triassic boundary, about 250 Ma. AR=Amuria; NC=North China; SC=South China; PA=Panthalassic Ocean; PT=Paleotethys Ocean; NT=Neotethys Ocean. Orogens shown in red. Subduction zones shown in black. Spreading centers shown in green.]] thumb|Although not a supercontinent, the current Afro-Eurasian landmass contains about 57% of Earth's land area.

thumb|400px|right|The United Nations geoscheme, created by the [[United Nations Statistics Division. For statistical consistency and convenience, each country or area is shown in one continental subregion only. For example, Russia (a transcontinental country in both Eastern Europe and Northern Asia) has been included in Eastern Europe only.]]

A paleocontinent or palaeocontinent is a distinct area of continental crust that existed as a major landmass in the geological past. There have been many different landmasses throughout Earth's time. They range in sizes since some are just a collection of small microcontinents, and others are large conglomerates of crust. As time progresses, and sea levels rise and fall more crust can be exposed, which makes way for larger landmasses. The continents of the past shaped the evolution of organisms on Earth and contributed to the climate of the globe as well. As landmasses break apart, species are

global geographic limits

contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders

continental mass, extensive in size, but mainly undersea

part of a continent broken from its main mass

16th century division of the world into four continents; Africa, America, Asia and Europe