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We often overlook the continents of our planet more than we should. How many continents are there? Seven? Well, the answer varies depending on your education. The term “continent” doesn’t have a single definition, and nations recognize anywhere from four to seven continents.
Many countries will soon need to revise their textbooks, as there’s an additional continent hidden beneath the island nation of New Zealand. They’ll also have to account for another continent when Africa splits in two. If North America had separated into two continents and remained that way, they would have had to add another one too.
10. Africa Is Dividing Into Two
Africa lies across two tectonic plates. Most African countries are situated on the African Plate, sometimes referred to as the Nubian Plate to avoid confusion. Meanwhile, several nations in East Africa rest on the Somali Plate. Both plates are in motion, gradually pulling the continent apart.
The evidence of this tectonic split is visible in Kenya, where it has formed a deep, long valley known as Kenya’s Rift Valley. This valley is part of the larger East African Rift system, which consists of multiple valleys appearing sporadically along a 2,900-kilometer-long (1,800 mi) stretch where the two plates meet.
East Africa will eventually separate to form a new continent once the plates fully split. For now, the rifting has triggered earthquakes and volcanic activity as the plates move further apart.
On March 19, 2018, the movement of the tectonic plates resulted in a massive crack in Kenya, 15 meters wide (50 ft) and several miles long. However, some sources suggest that the valley might actually be the result of soil erosion rather than tectonic activity.
There’s no need to worry, though. This process is happening slowly, and it will take millions of years before Africa finally splits into separate landmasses.
9. Antarctica Was Once Meant To Be Called Australia
For centuries, scientists, explorers, and geographers speculated about the existence of a southern continent. They referred to it as terra australis incognita (“unknown southern land”). The word Australis means “southern.” While no one was certain of its existence, they believed it was real, much like the Arctic in the north.
In 1627, Dutch explorers landed on the land we now know as Australia. They navigated its northern, western, and southern coasts, naming it New Holland. Later, the British would claim the eastern coast, calling it New South Wales.
Interestingly, early explorers failed to recognize they were dealing with the same landmass. They assumed that New Holland and New South Wales were two separate continents, separated by a strait. It wasn’t until 1803 that Matthew Flinders sailed around both regions and confirmed they were parts of a single continent.
In 1814, Flinders published his map of the continent, calling it “Terra Australis.” However, he proposed that “Terra Australis” be shortened to the more appealing “Australia.” The name ultimately stuck.
Antarctica was first discovered by Charles Wilkes from the US on January 19, 1840. It was named Antarctica because its original name, Terra Australis, had already been claimed. The term Antarctica comes from the Roman adaptation of the Greek word antarktike, which means “anti-Arctic” or “opposite of the Arctic.”
8. The Number of Continents Varies Depending on Who You Ask
There is no universally agreed-upon definition of what constitutes a continent. Ideally, distinct landmasses on the same tectonic plate should be regarded as continents. However, this definition is not universally applied because regions like India and the Arabian Peninsula sit on their own tectonic plates, separate from other parts of Asia, even though they are considered part of Asia.
A more widely accepted approach to defining continents is based on geopolitics. Because of this, Europe and Asia are regarded as separate continents despite being on the same tectonic plate and not being divided by an ocean. These complexities in defining continents explain why some people recognize anywhere from four to seven continents today.
The seven-continent model—commonly taught in China, Pakistan, India, and English-speaking nations—lists the continents as Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (sometimes referred to as Oceania), Europe, North America, and South America. In contrast, the six-continent model, taught in countries like France, Spain, and other parts of Europe, combines North and South America into a single continent called America.
Schools in Japan and Eastern Europe also teach a six-continent model. However, they treat North and South America as distinct continents. Meanwhile, Europe and Asia are considered one continent called Eurasia.
The United Nations adopts a five-continent model that recognizes Africa, America, Antarctica, Australia, and Eurasia. There's also a four-continent model, which combines Africa, Europe, and Asia into a single landmass called Afro-Eurasia, with the remaining continents being America, Antarctica, and Australia.
7. New Zealand Resides On Its Own Separate Continent
New Zealand is commonly grouped with Australia as part of Oceania, which also includes many other Pacific islands. However, it has been established that New Zealand lies on a separate continent known as Zealandia. The reason we don’t see it is that 94 percent of it is submerged underwater. The remaining 6 percent consists of islands and territories such as New Zealand and New Caledonia.
Zealandia spans approximately 4.9 million square kilometers (1.9 million mi), making it about two-thirds the size of Australia. Researchers believe Zealandia sank beneath the ocean around 80 million years ago after it broke away from the supercontinent Gondwana.
Despite this, Zealandia could not remain above water and soon submerged. However, it is unlikely that most geological models will recognize this new continent anytime soon. Since there is no global body to officially declare continents, individual countries will decide what to teach in their educational systems.
6. Greenland Is Part Of North America
Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. While Denmark, located in Europe, is part of this kingdom, Greenland is geographically positioned in North America, even though it is often associated with Europe.
Some sources even classify Greenland as a transcontinental country—meaning it straddles two continents. Greenland is part of North America because it lies on the North American tectonic plate, which it shares with several other North American countries, including the US and Canada.
Greenland's connection to North America goes beyond just tectonic plates. The earliest settlers in Greenland were North American migrants, including the Paleo-Eskimo tribes who arrived in the 26th century BC and the Saqqaq people, who inhabited Greenland from the 25th century BC until the 9th century BC.
Subsequent settlers, such as the Dorset, Independence I, and Independence II cultures, also migrated from Canada. The present-day native population of Greenland, the Kalaallit people, are descendants of North American migrants who arrived in the 13th century.
However, the name Greenland was given by the first Europeans to arrive in AD 986. These settlers, fleeing persecution in Iceland by the King of Norway, named the island “Groenland” as a tactic to entice more settlers to the area.
5. Antarctica Is The Largest Desert On Earth
Although we often think of Antarctica as an icy wasteland, it is actually classified as a desert. This is because deserts aren’t defined by scorching heat or endless sand, but by their lack of precipitation—the amount of water an area receives from the atmosphere.
An area qualifies as a desert if it loses more water than it gains from the atmosphere. Precipitation can take the form of rain, snow, mist, or fog, but the region must receive less than 250 millimeters (9.8 inches) of water annually. Antarctica, especially in its central regions, gets less than 51 millimeters (2 inches) of water each year.
Not only is Antarctica the world’s largest desert, but it is also home to the driest place on Earth. The 4,800-square-kilometer (1,900 mi) Dry Valleys haven’t seen rain, snow, or ice for over two million years. The winds from nearby mountains, heavy with moisture, bypass the valleys, pulling water away and keeping them dry.
4. No One Knows Where The Exact Border Lies Between Europe And Asia
As mentioned earlier, Europe and Asia are actually part of the same physical landmass, even though they are considered distinct continents from a geopolitical perspective. There's no sea separating them, and most countries in both continents share the same tectonic plates. However, India sits on the Indian Plate, several Arab nations are on the Arabian Plate, and some regions of Russia rest on the North American Plate.
At present, no one can definitively pinpoint where Europe ends and Asia begins. The border, as proposed by Swedish explorer and officer Philip Johan Von Strahlenberg, runs through the Aegean Sea, follows the Caspian Sea, passes through the Turkish Strait and Black Sea, and continues down the Greater Caucasus, before ending at the Ural River and Ural Mountains.
However, this border—and others like it—remains a topic of debate. Different nations often straddle the line between continents, and Strahlenberg’s division places 75 percent of Russian citizens in Europe, even though Russia is typically regarded as an Asian country.
Other proposed borders have led to confusion for countries like Cyprus, which has been classified as part of Asia despite being regarded as a European nation. Similarly, Georgia has been listed as a European country and, at times, as sitting on the boundary between Europe and Asia, even though it is technically an Asian nation. This is why many geographers group both Europe and Asia together as Eurasia.
3. North America Was Once Divided Into Two Separate Continents
In the Late Cretaceous Period, which spanned from about 100.5 million to 66 million years ago, North America actually split into two distinct continents. To clarify, the Cretaceous Period as a whole began roughly 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago.
This division wasn't due to any rift valley, but rather, it occurred when rising sea levels allowed the ocean to flood low-lying areas within the continent. This submerged region was known as the “Western Interior Seaway,” stretching from the Arctic Ocean all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Researchers refer to the two separate landmasses as “Laramidia” to describe the western part and “Appalachia” for the eastern region. Laramidia stretched from Alaska down to Mexico and was about one-third the size of today’s North America, roughly the same size as Australia.
Laramidia and Appalachia remained separate for millions of years until about 70 million years ago, when the sea began to recede. Scientists believe the sea dried up due to the movement of the North American tectonic plate and the planet cooling down.
2. North America Nearly Split Into Two Separate Landmasses
Africa isn't the only continent with a rift valley. North America also had the Midcontinental Rift System, which almost divided the U.S. into two landmasses roughly 1.1 billion years ago. This rift began in Michigan and extended down through the Midwest before mysteriously halting.
Researchers are unsure why the rift stopped. However, it's believed that if it had continued, it would have connected with the ocean, creating a new body of water that would have separated North America into two continents. Today, evidence of the rift system can still be seen in the 3,200-kilometer-long (2,000 mi) valley below the Great Lakes in the northern Midwest.
1. Every Map You Have Been Looking At Is Incorrect
Maps can never be perfectly accurate. Every map you’ve been reading is wrong because they are typically drawn in 2-D, while the world is in 3-D. The Earth isn't a perfect sphere, making it nearly impossible to create a map of our planet on a flat sheet of paper.
As a result, 2-D maps cannot accurately represent the true size of continents while keeping the longitude and latitude lines correct. Cartographers prioritize maintaining these lines, which leads them to distort the sizes of continents. This is especially noticeable in the Mercator map, one of the most commonly used maps.
The Mercator map makes North America appear much larger than Africa. Greenland looks almost as large as Africa, and Alaska is bigger than Brazil. India is depicted as much smaller than it really is, while Antarctica appears far larger than its actual size.
In reality, Africa is three times the size of North America and 14 times bigger than Greenland. Africa's vastness is such that the United States, India, China, Japan, and all of Europe could fit inside with room to spare. Brazil is five times larger than Alaska, and India is three times bigger than Scandinavia.
