So, How many continents are there really?

Question

In Holland ( where i was born and grew up) I learned that there are 5 continents; America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. But when I moved to Canada I found out that you learn that there are 7; Asia, Europe, Antarctica, Australia, North America, South America and Africa. So what how many are there really? Or it doesn't really matter just stick to whatever the country you are in believes in?:P

Great answers but i am also wondering whats with the differences? IMO it makes a lot more sense to have America as one continent and Antarctica as not being one, no one lives there anyways... ( so im talking about the way it makes sense, not how it geographically is )

Answer 1

There are only 5 big land masses in the world, Greenland, Antarctica, America, Eurasia+Africa (they're connected) and Australia. It's men that created the continents as we know them today. So the number of continents that exist will vary from country to country. In lots of countries America is considered a single continent (like my country). In others they divide it in too.

Answer 2

A continent is one of several large areas of land on Earth, which are identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. The specific areas of land vary, but seven areas are commonly reckoned as continents - they are, in order of size, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia.
I have heard of the Eurasian continent and heard India called the Indian subcontinent.

Answer 3

The concept of continent is an artificial construct and can be interpreted different ways. Certainly Antarctica is a continent. Australia is a stretch, but since it belongs to no other, I guess it needs to be one.

Separating continents along a mountain range is peculiar to Europe and Asia. Why shouldn't it be one continent Eurasia. It's certainly a remnant of eurocentric condescension much like biologists many years ago put humans in their very own genus separate from the other great apes.

Answer 4

It depends whether you define a continent on geological grounds or simply in terms of areas of landmass.

North and South America are joined and are therefore one landmass. But geologically they consist of two separate cratonic ( ancient stable geological areas ) separated by a much younger and narrow area of volcanic rocks which make up Central America.

India is called a subcontinent as in the past it was a separate, cratonic landmass which over time moved north and crashed into Asia.


Australia is certainly a continent as is Antarctica.

Answer 5

In the US it is not unusual to adopt their own rules , even if they are different that the rest of the World.

For example, in US a Billion is written as a 1 followed by 9 zeros. In the rest of the World the Billion is a 1 followed by 12 zeros.

I always ask people: How many Rings are in the Olympic Games banner ?

The answer is 5, yes, one for each Continent.

They usually does it.

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