Continent is a part of Earth’s surface that forms one of the great dry-land masses of the world. It usually has extensive plains or plateaus and one or more mountain ranges, and is surrounded or nearly surrounded by water. The continents of the world are Asia (17,029,000 square miles, or 44,104,000 square kilometers); Africa (11,688,000 square miles, or 30,272,000 square kilometers); North America (9,354,000 square miles, or 24,226,000 square kilometers); South America (6,874,000 square miles, or 17,805,000 square kilometers); Antarctica (5,405,000 square miles, or 14,000,000 square kilometers); Europe (4,032,000 square miles, or 10,443,000 square kilometers); and Australia (2,970,000 square miles, or 7,692,000 square kilometers). Technically, Europe is not a continent, but a peninsula of Asia. It is part of what may be called the Eurasian continent, which has a total area of 21,061,000 square miles (54,547,000 square kilometers). The islands that make up the Pacific Islands, or Oceania, are not part of any continent. They have an area of about 489,000 square miles (1,266,000 square kilometers).
Drifting continents
See also Pangaea.
