The entire surface of the planet Earth consists of the water spaces of the World Ocean and the land of continental continents. The continents of the total area are much inferior to the seas and oceans. Four oceans - Pacific, Arctic North, Indian and Atlantic - occupy about 71% of the planet's surface, and the area of the continents is 29%, respectively. The land consists of vast zones that form parts of the world. There are only six of them: Asia, Africa, America, Europe, Antarctica and Australia with Oceania. The first five parts of the world represent countries with a certain status, having demarcated, officially recognized borders that have received international recognition. Part of the light of Australia is supplemented by Oceania, an island state that could not be considered part of the world in its own status.
Parts of the world are divided into continents or continents. America, as part of the world, is divided into two continents - North America and South. Europe and Asia, on the contrary, united in a continental status and the continent Eurasia appeared . Africa - it is Africa and remains, whether it is even part of the world, even the mainland. The same is true of Antarctica. But Australia is called the mainland already without island Oceania. Continents often do not include the island, although if you sum up the area of all the islands, you get an impressive figure. And besides, the island, large or small, is in fact part of the mainland.
Immediately after the division of the entire land of the Earth into parts of the world, a secondary division of already parts of the world into the continents occurred. As a result, there are continents and parts of the world on the planet. The largest continent is Eurasia, the area of which is 55 million square meters. Kilometers. Then comes the African continent, 30 million. In third place is North America, which has an area of 20 million square meters. Km. In South America, the area is slightly smaller, 18 million square meters. Km. Antarctica - 14 and Australia - 8.5 million square meters. Kilometers respectively. In addition to the area, the continents differ in altitude above sea level, there is considerable variation in this indicator. The highest continent on earth is Antarctica, 2200 meters above sea level, Asia by 950 meters, Africa by 750, America by 650, Australia by 340 and Europe 300 meters above sea level.
Asia - the largest part of the world, its area is over 43 million square meters. Kilometers. With the accession of Europe, Asia lost its status as part of the world and became a continent. In Asia, there are several dozens of countries with a population of more than 4 billion people. Asia includes virtually all climatic zones, from the equatorial in the south to the Arctic in the northern zone. Together with Europe, Asia forms the continent of Eurasia. The relief of the continent is diverse, along with the vast plains in Eurasia there are huge mountain ranges, the Himalayas, Tien Shan and Pamir.
In contrast to the mountain hills, in Eurasia there are deep depressions. For example, the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel with Jordan, is located below sea level for more than 400 meters. The Eurasian continent is a kind of record holder in geographical sights. In Eurasia is the largest lake in the world - the Caspian, Lake Baikal - a natural reservoir with fresh fresh water, Everest - the highest mountain of the planet, unsurpassed in size the Arabian Peninsula, the pole of cold Oimyakon and, finally, the largest natural zone of the Earth - Siberia.