What is a continent?

The 7 or 6 large bodies of land surrounded by water.

By third grade, students should know what the seven continents of the world are. A continent is a very large land mass. If we look deep down in the Earth, we discover  the continent lands are connected to their own tectonic plate. That is why Greenland is part of the North American continent and not its own continent.

A continent has 2 main characteristics

1. One of the seven

2. Largest bodies of land

The Seven Continents Are:

North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Antarctica
Africa
Australia

What are the Seven Continents?

The seven continents of  planet Earth are North America, South America, Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and Antarctica.

What are the Six Continents?

We just explained that the Earth has seven continents. Some scientists believe we only have six because Europe and Asia are connected but separated by mountains. The six are Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, North America, and South America. Eurasia is Europe and Asia combined.

What is the Largest Continent?

The largest continent in the world is Asia or Eurasia. Asia is over 17 million square miles.

Continents in Square Miles

• Asia – 17,139,445 square miles
• Africa – 11,677,239 square miles
• North America – 9,361,791 square miles
• South America – 6,880,706 square miles
• Antarctica – About 5,500,000 square miles
• Europe – 3,997,929 square miles
• Australia – 2,967,909 square miles

How is a Continent Formed?

This is a long story. In simple terms, the continents were formed when the Earth was created and water came into our world.   The oceans filled in between the big land masses better known as our continents.

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