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one of the seven large land masses on the Earth's surface, surrounded, or mainly surrounded, by sea and usually consisting of various countries: ---- 2. One of the grand divisions of land on the globe; the main land; specifically (Phys. Geog.), a large body of land differing from an island, not merely in its size, but in its structure, which is that of a large basin bordered by mountain chains; as, the continent of North America. ; The continents are now usually regarded as six in number: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. But other large bodies of land are also reffered to as continents; as, the Antarctic continent; the continent of Greenland. Europe, Asia, and Africa are often grouped together as the Eastern Continent, and North and South America as the Western Continent. The Continent, the main land of Europe, as distinguished from the islands, especially from England. ----- A continent (from the Latin "continere" for "to hold together") is a large continuous mass of land.
There is no single standard for what defines a continent, and therefore various cultures and sciences have different lists of what are considered to be continents. In general, a continent must be large in area, consist of non-submerged land, and have geologically significant borders. While some consider that there are as few as four or five continents, the most commonly used counts are six or seven.
Two of the largest disagreements in listing continents are whether Europe and Asia should be considered separately or combined into Eurasia, and whether North America and South America should be considered separately or combined into America. A few geographers have also suggested grouping Europe, Asia, and Africa into a continent of Eurafrasia (see Africa-Eurasia).
The seven continent model is commonly taught in Western Europe and North America, while the six continent (combined Eurasia) model is also taught in North America and is the primary continent model used in scientific contexts. The six continent (combined America) model is commonly taught in Eastern Europe and South America.
Seven Continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Six Continents: Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, North America, and South America. Six Continents: Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and Europe Five Continents: Eurasia, Africa, America, Australia, Antarctica Four Continents: Eurafrasia, America, Australia, Antarctica
i think i am done with this debate on africa: who is or who isn't. i know what i look like, i know what my neighbours looked like when i was back in africa (for the 20something odd years that i was there). and calling myself african had nothing to do with how looks were defined. i agree with what you say when you talk about social, cultural factors and beliefs. i just wish those that dont think we should be called africans could give me some distinct reasons why.... instead of one line statements....
or at least let those that want to discuss "african" issues be... its a bit tiring to see every post being hijacked by the usual, "what do you mean africa" question and "there's nothing like africa etc. come on. at least drop some science...
. http://perspectivesudans.blogspot.com/ i myself would never want to be god,or even like god.Because god got all these human beings on this planet and i most certainly would not want to be responsible for them, or even have the disgrace that i made them.
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