THE SEVEN CONTINENTS
By M. B. Caballero
Do you know that approximately 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water alone? And
only 30% is covered by land. This is divided into seven large land masses or continents. It is
believed that more than 225 million years ago, there existed only one continent called Pangaea.
It slowly broke apart, shifted and drifted over million of years until it assumed the shapes and
positions of the seven continents we know recognized. These continents in order from largest to
smallest are the following:
1. Asia
5. Antarctica
2. Africa
6. Europe
3. North America
7. Australia
4. South America
Here are some information about the seven continents.
Asia
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Asia is the largest continent with a land area of 44,579,000 sq. km., almost 30%
of Earth’s land area.
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It is the only continent joined to two other continents, Europe and Africa.
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It has the largest population with 3,879,000
people or 60% of the total human population
living there.
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It is composed of 47 independent countries
including the Philippines and China, the
world’s biggest nation.
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Asia is the birthplace of great religions like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and
Christianity.
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It is a continent of diversity, being a home to some of the richest and most
developed economies in the world (ex. Japan and Korea) and the poorest
countries in the world (ex. Afghanistan and Bangladesh).
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Asia has varied climates due to its wide range. Its climate is greatly affected by
monsoon winds. Rain is experienced from April to October.
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It has the widest varieties of plant and animals.
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Interesting Facts about Asia:
- It is only continent where tigers are found in the wild.
- The highest point on Earth, Mt. Everest, and the lowest point on Earth, Dead Sea
Shore, are both found in Asia.
Mt. Everest in Nepal, is the
highest point on Earth and the
highest mountain in the world
rises 29,028 feet above sea level.
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Dead Sea Shore, the lowest
place on Earth, is located
between Israel and Jordan.
Africa
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Africa is the second largest continent with a land area of 30,221,532 sq.km or
22% of the Earth’s land area.
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It ranks second among continents in population with a little over a billion people
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It is the continent with the most number of countries (53) and a number of island
groups.
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It was called Dark Continent for a long time because little was known about it due
to its difficult terrains.
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It is a vast plateau broken by some mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains.
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Its climate is dominated by a warm and hot weather
conditions. Most of Africa is desert region.
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It is home to the poorest people in the world.
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Africa is extremely rich on mineral and natural
resources.
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It is home to many exotic large mammals like
95% of the world’s
diamonds and 50% of
gold come from Africa
zebras, giraffes, elephants, antelopes and rhinoceros.
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Interesting Places in Africa:
Sahara, world’s largest desert,
occupies an area almost as large as
the entire USA.
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Nile, world’s longest river, is more
than 4,000 miles long.
North America
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The third largest continent with a land area of 24,709,000 sq.km or 16.5% of
Earth’s land area.
It is around twice the size of Europe.
North America is roughly triangular in shape and surrounded by the Arctic ,
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
It is joined to Asia by ice during winter.
It ranks fourth among continents in population with nearly 529 million people.
North America consists of 23 countries including the two world’s most developed
countries, United States of America and Canada.
It is the only continent that has every kind of climate from dry to bitter cold of the
Arctic to steamy heat of the tropics. It
has some unusual kind of climates,
which cannot be found in the other
parts of the world.
It has very rich mineral and other
natural resources.
It is the world’s largest corn and
soybean producer and the largest
wheat and sugar exporter.
It produces 25% of the world’s milk and dairy products.
It is home of Apple, Facebook, Google and many other world famous technology
companies.
Interesting Places in North America:
Mt. Kea or Mauna Kea is the
world’s tallest mountain with a
height of 33,500 feet, more than
twice of Mt. Everest. However,
much of Mt. Kea is below sea level.
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Lake Superior, world’s largest
freshwater lake, is located in the
border between U.S. and Canada.
South America
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It is the fourth largest continent with a land area of 17,840,000 sq.km. or 12% of
world’s land area.
It is almost totally surrounded by water. The Carribbean sea lies to its north,
Atlantic Ocean to the east and northeast and to the south, the Drake passage
which separates in from Antarctica.
It is the fifth most populous continent with
nearly 386 million people or 6% of world’s
total population.
It is often refered as Latin America.
The major languages spoken are Spanish and
Portuguese.
It has a wet tropical climate and have a heavy
cover of rain forest. However, the climate of the continent varies from places to
places.
South America has abundant mineral resources like gold, iron and silver which
have not been thoroughly exploited.
It is home to Brazil, the world’s largest coffee
producer.
Interesting Facts:
Amazon River Basin is the world’s largest
river system.
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Angel Falls is the highest
waterfalls in the world.
Antarctica
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Antarctica is the sixth largest continent with a land
area of 14 million sq.km. But, if it did not have its ice
cap it would be the smallest continent.
Stormy waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific
Oceans isolate it from other continents.
It looks all white with ice and snow covering 98% of
the continent. It is sometimes refered as the “White Continent”.
It is a true desert due to its extreme cold climate making it the coldest, windiest
and driest place on Earth.
It is the only continent with no permanent human
residents. Although some scientists live there for a
short period of time.
Only cold-adapted floras and faunas, like penguins
and seals, can survive there. But it has a rich marine
life.
Interesting Facts about Antarctica:
- It contains 75% of the ice in the world.
- Its deepest ice is more than 10 times the height of Sears Tower, one of the
world’s tallest buildings.
- The world’s lowest temperature have been recorded there at -89.2°C (-129°F).
Europe
Do you know that?
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Because Europe and Asia
Europe is the second smallest continent in the
occupy the same landmass,
world with an area of 10,180,000 sq.km.
It ranks third in population 731 million people
they are sometimes
(12.5% of the world’s total population).
collectively called Eurasia.
The continent is surrounded by the Black and
Mediterranean Seas and the Arctic and
Atlantic Ocean.
It has 50 countries including Russia, the world’s
largest country.
Most of Europe experiences mild weather caused
by the winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
It has come to represent a unique civilization and
ethical values which had greatly influenced the
rest of the world.
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
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It has wide variety of mineral resources like coal, copper, lead and natural gas.
Interesting Facts:
- Through colonization, at one time ruled almost the whole world.
- It has been the starting point of World War I and World War II.
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the
world’s smallest city.
Australia
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Australia is the smallest of the 7 continents with a land area of 8,468,300 sq.km.
It is completely surrouned by water.
It is the only country that is also a continent.
Australia is predominantly plains.
It ranks 6th in population with 31,260,000 people living there.
Being located in the tropics, it sees a warm and hot climate
throughout the year.
Australia is famous for its vast wildlife and rare species. It is
home to three unique animals: the platypus, kangaroos and
emu, a large bird that does not fly .
It is also known for its various type of Eucalyptus trees.
Interesting Facts about Australia:
The sheep population is 14 times more than
than its human population.
Great coral reef, the world’s largest coral
reef, is made up of coral deposits which is
2000 km long.
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The table below summarizes some of the geographical and demograpical data of the seven
continents.
Continent
Asia
Africa
North America
South America
Antarctica
Europe
Australia
Land Area
(km²)
44,579,000
30,221,532
24,709,000
17,840,000
14,000,000
10,180,000
8,468,300
Population
(people)
3,879,000,000
1,000,010,000
528,720,588
385,742,554
0
731,000,000
31,260,000
Population Density
(People per km²)
89
30.51
22.9
21.4
0
70
3.7
Countries
47
53
23
13
50
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Rank the continents from largest to smallest based on population density.
1. _____________________________
5. ______________________________
2. _____________________________
6. ______________________________
3. _____________________________
7. ______________________________
4. _____________________________
Sources:
http://www2.aes.ac.in/mswebsite_07/teachersites/mtabor/1_Geography/Geo_skills/Land_Water/
Continents.pdf
http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/continents.htm
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-continent-map.htm
http://www.gfmag.com/tools/global-database/economic-data/12147-the-poorest-countries-in-theworld.html#axzz2J2kdJMvB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://www.britannica.com
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