What is the continent?
The continent (or continent) refers to a large part of the land that is washed by seas and oceans. Let's take a closer look at what a continent is.
The continent comes from the Latin word"continens", meaning "continuous". Geographers define this word as follows: the continent is a large cluster of the earth's crust, most of which is located above the level of the World Ocean, that is, it is a land, and the rest is below this level.
The concepts "continent" and "continent" have a numberdifferences, despite the fact that they often act as synonyms. The mainland is also considered adjacent to the land of the islands. But the continent is a continuous section of land, not divided by water.
How many continents?
At present, 6 continents (continents) are singled out on planet Earth:
- Eurasia is the largest of them, washed by all the oceans;
- Africa;
- South America;
- North America;
- Australia;
- Antarctica.
Sometimes they talk about the division of Europe and Asia. In addition, different countries differently determine the number of continents (for example, some unite South America and North America in one continent).
More about the number of continents read in the article How many continents on Earth.
Narrow word meaning
As for the narrower definitioncontinent, it is used more in the marine environment and means land areas (unlike marine and water areas). Often we can hear from experienced something like: "At the rate of the continent (mainland)." This could mean that the ship is following the right direction to moor its ship.
