continent are not the unchanging , universally recognise land masses of our elemental school discipline . They were discovered by sea - go adventurer , sometimes with multiple mass claiming the initial find . They were demarcated and named by man for political , often self - serving reasons . And they have shift and changed shape over fourth dimension . Our satellite reckon dramatically different than it did millions of years ago . But the continents as we know them now are an inherent part of our geographic understanding of our earthly concern .
As crucial as geographical boundaries are for national and cultural identicalness , so do name count in our conception of who we are and where we fare from . Imagine the confusion when the nation you live in is actually positioned on two different continent , as is the case in more than one representative . This is one of the time when the terminus " Eurasia " come in handy .
Even the number of continents is a subject of contravention . dissimilar places in the populace pick out different Continent ; the seven continent as taught in most of the West are only one way of take care at the continental geography ofEarth . In this article , we ’ll ascertain about how the continents we bang now – Africa , Antarctica , Asia , Australia , Europe , North America and South America – come about as distinct entities , find out dissimilar theories concerning where their names occur from , see how our panorama of them has vary over the years , and learn why some of the Continent do n’t even really check the definition of " continent . "
To begin , lease ’s take a look at the world before there were any distinct continents at all . Scientists now believe that 200 million year ago , all of the dry land on Earth was connected in a single , unploughed mass surrounded by water – a supercontinent . They call that ancient supercontinentPangaea . The name is a legitimate choice . retrieve out why in the next incision .
Before There Were Continents
Until the close of the Jurassic period , we could have walked from North America to Europe . Of course , there were no humans onEarthduring the Jurassic period , and neither " North America " nor " Europe " be yet . There was no ocean divide dissimilar ground mint . The theory currently accepted by the scientific community is that a single land sight forebode Pangaea tardily separate by way of continental drift . This " supercontinent " was a true continent – a single dry land quite a little surrounded bywater .
Most of us now understand that there are plates shifting under the land we stand on . We see this shifting on the surface in the mannikin of volcanoes and earthquakes . The bailiwick of these tectonic plates , though , is a comparatively late development . It set about in earnest in 1915 , when a Germangeologistnamed Alfred Wegener first print his theory that Earth ’s terra firma plenty are essentially floating on a molten stratum ofmagma(seeHow Earthquakes Work ) .
Wegener was the first to employ the term Pangaea . His work set forth the idea that 200 million years ago , there was a individual kingdom heap on Earth . " Pangaea " is Grecian for " all lands " or " all - land . " Pangaea was surround by a undivided ocean that covered the rest of the Earth . Over time , as the magma heated up the Earth ’s crust and caused fissures , the crust and the land above it drift aside . It did n’t immediately break up into the small-arm that show up on today ’s maps . What we see now is the result of million of years of drifting . Wegener think that the first break resulted in just two continent , and successive pause over meter ultimately left us with the current geographics of Earth .
If the theory of continental drift is true , then our current continents are temporary organization . The makeup of the Earth will continue to change as magma continues to strike the crust on which our continents posture .
The Continent we see on our globes will be around for a while , though , and many of us still chant " North America , South America , Europe and Asia , Africa Australia , Antarctica " when we need to recall their public figure . So , how did those well - ingrained names get along about ? Who decided to honor explorer Amerigo Vespucci with a continent , and is America even appoint after him ? Find out in the next incision .
Continents by Discovery
When it comes to the etymology of continent name , it seems logical that they would be named after the people who discovered them . In fact , the exact origins of the figure are difficult to prove . In most case , experts have only conjecture to go by , often draw in from early piece of writing andmaps . One notable exception is Antarctica .
It ’s surprising to have a modernnewspaperarticle report the naming of a fresh continent ; but in the case of Antarctica , we do . A New York Times article go out March 13 , 1904 , describes the naming of the frigid land at the South Pole [ source : New York Times ] . First described as a continent by Sir John Murray in the tardy 1800s , explorers support the appointment in 1904 and set about nominate the latest addition to the map . geographer take their cue from Murray , who had suggest " Antarctica , " a combination of " ant " ( opposite ) and " Arctic Zone " ( of theNorth Pole ) .
The origins of " America " are hazier . Most of us learned that the Americas were named after European explorer Amerigo Vespucci , who was the first to recognize the sphere as a previously unknown land quite a little . Christopher Columbus , until his end , believed he had come ashore at the East Indies . Vespucci , who come afterwards , rightly believed Columbus had stumble upon a different country all in all .
North and South America may indeed have been name for Vespucci ; that ’s the most wide accepted hypothesis . It makes sensory faculty : Amerigo Vespucci was the first to recognize that the land Columbus discovered was an entirely different continent . Also , the creator of the first known map to label the continent " America , " German map maker Martin Waldseemuller , in reality excuse that he was using the name in honor of Vespucci . This function is dated 1507 .
Still , there are other theories . One res publica that the term comes from the Ameriqque mountains in Nicaragua . Experts believe that both Columbus and Vespucci visited these mountains after American native clued them in that there was amber there . And atomic number 79 is a substantial driving force out behind the discovery of newfangled body politic . A less convincing but more diverting theory ties the name to a British royal representative distinguish Richard Amerike . Legend has it that the explorer John Cabot ( who in 1497 was the first to voyage to the New World under the English flagstone ) have a very prominent reward upon his return to England , and it was Amerike who put it in his hand . The story travel that Cabot was so happy with the size of the reward that he named the continent for the human being who have it to him .
The name " Australia , " for more concrete reasons , has likewise evolve into a bit of a mystery . Until recently , experts believed pretty definitively that the continent was named " Australia " by Matthew Flinders in 1802 . Flinders was the first to compass the ground great deal , and he later create a mathematical function that named the continent Australia . The Latin " Australis " meanspirited " southern . " But now , expert are n’t so certain it was Flinders who named the southerly land good deal . In the belated twentieth century , the National Library of Australia came upon a dissimilar written document label the continent " Australia . " This one was make by the German astronomer Cyriaco Jacob zum Barth in 1545 .
Etymology is an inexact science , and the rest of the continent epithet have even hazier chronicle . The theory are very logical , though . Who can argue that Africa is n’t " sunny " – or , in Latin , " aprica " ?
Continents by Oral Tradition
The respite of the Continent – Africa , Asia and Europe – were most likely named by the sailor who frequented their interface on naval and merchant voyages , but no one bonk for sure . Asia may have initially been named for the Trojan rule Asios . The name " Asia " ( in its Greek form ) is discover in writing dating back to 440 B.C.
Some believe the epithet " Europe " and " Asia " come from Phoenician sailor who designated between the two destination by the movement of thesun . " Asia " may mull over the Christian Bible " acu , " for " daybreak " or " eastward . " Europe , which lie to the west of Asia , may be drawn from the Phoenician word " ereb , " which means " sunset " or " west . " Others propose that Europe was named for the theatrical role Europa from Greek mythology , who has connections to both the sunshine and themoonand is best cognize for being abducted and raped by Zeus .
" Africa " may have its roots in the Afarak people , a Berber tribe in the northern part of the continent ; it may also stem from the Greek " aprike , " which means " gratuitous from inhuman , " or the Latin " aprica " – " sunny . "
no matter of their exact origins , the names most belike came from simple oral use ; Panama had to call the place something , so they made something up . After a while , the names stuck , eventually show up in writings and onmaps .
The inception of the continent ' name calling are not written in pit , and neither are the boundary . at long last , margin between Continent are nearly as politically determined as borders between nations . For instance , neither Europe nor Asia is by definition a continent ; neither is completely surrounded by water . They ’re connected , with the boundary between the two run through both Turkey and Russia , defined by mount reach . They were likely designated separate continents for reasons link up to patriotism and racial , ethnical and trade eminence . Likewise , North and South America are connected .
For these reasons , in sure parts of the world , the great unwashed recognize only five continents : The Americas , Africa , Eurasia , Antarctica and Australia . In other parting , there are six continents , and in yet other area there are seven . geographics , it seems , can be a very political discipline .
For more entropy on Continent , plate plate tectonic theory and geographical politics , search the link on the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
When I learned about the continents in school , the naming seemed so permanent , the land mass such a staple factor of geography they were almost on the level of hemisphere . You memorise them . You blab about them . You identify them on tests .
That the continental designations are , in fact , so politically and culturally motivate as to be practically random – four of the seven recognise in the West do n’t even meet the definition of " continent " – was attention - grabbing . Did I even learn that in primary school ? What will my daughter acquire in geography course ?
I would have loved to include a single-valued function from the day before seven ( or six or five ) named continent , but it turns out it ’s baffling to learn them at just 400 pixels wide . If you do a Google lookup for " historical mapping , " though , you ’ll find countless example . The ones evince routes of exploration are especially worth a look , since many of those explorers had hardly a clue where they ’d come ashore .
