We all know that the continents are large extensions of land that are distributed between seas and oceans. In this article we want to teach you and deepen what the continents are, as they are called, their geographical characteristics and also political, ethnic, as well as some curiosities and issues of general interest.
The answer to how the continents were formed is very varied, there are various theories such as continental drift, convective currents, the expansion of the ocean floor, the contraction of the earth’s crust and tectonics plates, the latter perhaps being the most accepted. He maintains that the earth’s crust is divided into plates that rest on the area located on the mantle (magma), which due to its high temperature and consequent viscous, almost liquid state, causes these plates to move. The explanation of this theory is simple: just as we know that heat rises, the molten material under the Earth’s crust rises and the cold matter above it sinks until it reaches the temperature of the bottom of the magma and rises again. This generates a continuous movement of material that sinks, melts, rises and solidifies creating new crust.
The permanent changes of continents that join and separate, seas that flow, mountains that rise, changes in relief over millions of years have caused evolution and changes in living beings, which is why this topic has been the object of study by scientists all their lives.
What do you need:
- Maps of the different continents.
- World map.
Instructions
- Like all things subject to change due to the variety of criteria or due to new studies and considerations, the number of continents has also changed: the 5 continents were always considered: America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa, without considering Antarctica. like a continent. Today it can be considered as a continent. One of the criteria to consider it or not within this list is the number of inhabitants per square kilometer, which is very low. In other words, one of the criteria is based on the fact that to be considered a continent it must have a minimum population, even if it exists geographically.
- ASIA: It is the largest continent, it has an extension of 44,500,000 km 2. It is not only the largest continent but also the most inhabited. Approximately 4,140 million inhabitants, which implies a population density of 93 inhabitants per square kilometer. More than 60% of the world’s population is found on this continent. It has a great cultural and religious diversity (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism. In the same way there is a great variety of languages, some examples are Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Persian among others.
Asia has taken on great importance worldwide due to the economic development of some of its countries such as China, Japan and India. Its geographical location on the Northern Hemisphere, in the eastern part. This continent is bounded by the Arctic Ocean (to the north), the Indian Ocean (to the south), the Ural Mountains (to the east) and the Pacific Ocean (to the west). Asia is separated from Europe only for historical reasons, although geographically they form a single block (Eurasia), also through the Suez Canal it joins Africa for what could be considered a great Eurafrasia continent. - AMERICA: Its surface is 42,900,000 km 2, with a population of 963,900,000 inhabitants, giving a population density of 22.5 inhabitants per square kilometer. In size it is the second continent. It is bounded by the Arctic Ocean (to the North), Cape Horn (to the South), the Atlantic Ocean (to the East) and the Pacific Ocean (to the West). This continent is made up of 35 countries in 4 subdivisions: North America, Central America, South America and the Antilles. The American continent is characterized by being young from the point of view of oriental culture that with the arrival of the Spaniards a new culture was formed partly fused with the native one. In North America it happened because of the colonization of the English. In Latin America, Spanish, Portuguese, and French predominate, while in North America, English, Danish, and French predominate. This is very general because between languages, dialects and autochthonous languages there are several hundred. Catholicism is predominant throughout Central and South America. But there are many religions such as those derived from Christianity, Protestantism, Judaism, etc.
- AFRICA: It has an extension of 30,220,000 km2 and a population of 1,000 million inhabitants, which gives a population density of 33 inhabitants per square kilometer. On this continent there are 4 subdivisions: North, South, East and West Africa. On the African continent there are approximately 2,000 languages, of which it can be said that about 1,700 are autochthonous and the rest are those that have been merging with those brought by the colonizers. Africa was one of the most coveted continents for its wealth and raw materials for industrialization. Something that greatly harmed the population was that by not mixing with the colonizers, the black population was taken from remote times as slaves. Until today Africa continues to remain underdeveloped.
Africa has the highest rate of both maternal and infant mortality based on disease and malnutrition. - EUROPE: Its surface area is 10,531,000 km2, its population is 739 million inhabitants, which gives a population density of 70 inhabitants per square kilometer. The European continent is divided into: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central Europe. If we consider Europe and Asia together we must say that Europe is the westernmost peninsula, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (North, West and South), with the Baltic Sea, North Mediterranean Sea, Marmara, Aegean, Adriatic, Tyrrhenian and Black. To the East it is bounded by the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, by the Ural River and the Caspian Sea.
- OCEANIA: It is the smallest, its extension is 9,010,000 km2 with a population of 34.3 million inhabitants, that is to say, with a population density of 3.8 inhabitants per square kilometer. This continent is subdivided into: Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. It is located southeast of the Asian continent. During the 19th century it was very important for the Japanese and North American empire, taking many islands as colonies which brought a lot of discord and hence the variety of languages and religions. The most developed countries in Oceania are and New Zealand and Australia.
- ANTARCTICA: Considering as the continent that contains the South Pole, we can say that Antarctica is the one with the lowest population density of all: 0.1 inhabitants per square kilometer. Its extension is 14 million km2 and we must take into account that during the summer season some 280,000 km2 remain free of ice.
Tips
- Inform yourself permanently to be updated on the demographic variations of the world.
- The treaties as well as the wars have been changing the political divisions in the different continents.