Continents include shallow coastal zones of seas (shelves) and islands located near them. Once upon a time, all parts of the world formed one continent - Pangea.
And today there are six, which are separated by oceans: Eurasia has the largest territory on the planet, its area is 55 million km. sq., South America – 18 million km. sq., Africa – 30 million km. sq., Antarctica – 14 million km. sq., North America– 20 million km. sq., Australia is the smallest continent, its area is 8.5 million km. sq.
Australia is the smallest continent on the planet
The area of Australia including the islands is about 8.9 million km. sq. Australia is washed by the Indian and Pacific oceans. The southern tropic runs almost through the middle of Australia. At the base of the relief of this continent is the Australian Plate. Its western part is raised. The Western Australian Plateau is located here, its height is 400-600 m, crystalline rocks emerge on its surface.
In the east of the continent, from the northern Cape York Peninsula to southern Tasmania, there is a folded region - the Great Dividing Range.
In the old days, Australia was called “Terra incognito”; today this land for us remains full of surprises and mysteries. Australia surprises with its diversity. There are endless ocean beaches and beautiful roads. This is the land of coral reefs and unbroken mustangs. Australia has no rivals in the number of unique animals and plants. The whole country, in fact, is a world-class reserve, while 80% of the animals are endemic, since they are found only here.
This continent, which turned out to be the smallest in the whole world, was first discovered by the Dutch. A significant amount of information was provided by the expedition led by Abel Tasman. He explored the northwestern and northern coasts of Australia in 1642-1643, and at the same time discovered the island of Tasmania. And James Cook pioneered the east coast in the 18th century. The development of Australia began at the end of the 18th century.
Country Australia
Australia is the country that ranks sixth in terms of area. This is the only state that occupies an entire continent.
The capital of Australia is Canberra. Its area is 7682 thousand km. sq. Its share of the planet's land area is 5%. Population: about 19.73 million people. Of the total world population, this share is 0.3%. The most high point– this is Mount Kosciuszko (2228 meters above sea level), the lowest point is lake. Eyre (16 meters below sea level). The southernmost point is Cape Southeast, the northernmost is Cape York. The westernmost is Cape Steep Point, the easternmost is Cape Byron. The length of the coastline is 36,700 km (including Tasmania).
Administrative division: 2 territories and 6 states. The country's national anthem: "Go Awesome Australia!" Holiday - Australia Day.
There are only six continents on earth and the smallest of them is Australia. Australia is very different in its climate, economy, and inhabitants of other continents. It is also the most peaceful territory on Earth (the First and Second World Wars practically did not touch it).
Characteristics of Australia
- The continent's area is 7,692,024 square kilometers.
- Population 24,067,700 people.
- The inhabitants are Australians, the official languages are Australian and English.
- The currency is the Australian dollar.
- The GDP amount is just over a trillion dollars.
History of Australia
Europeans first came to Australia in 1606. Until this year, little was known about this continent other than that it was ruled by natives and its people were valued as commodities. Until around the end of the 18th century, the Dutch explored Australia several times. Every traveler and navigator contributed to the creation of the map of Australia. A colony was founded here in 1788, ruled by the British. Gradually the continent was inhabited by the British, and in 1828 Great Britain declared Australia its territory and began to govern it.
On January 1, 1901, the continent became independent and called itself the Commonwealth of Australia until the present day. Throughout the twentieth century, the capital of Australia has changed periodically, and today it is Canberra.
Australia's climate and resources
More than half of the continent's territory is desert. This is due to low pressure and ocean waters that prevent precipitation.
Australia ranks among the top three countries in the world in the production of bauxite, zirconium and uranium. Interestingly, a third of the world's uranium reserves are in Australia. Mineral resources are the continent's main source of income. More than half of the population works in mining and processing plants.
But water supplies in Australia are not particularly encouraging for their residents. Fresh water is in short supply, so the authorities were forced to issue several laws regarding water consumption.
Guess which continent is the largest on Earth? The answer is very simple - this is Eurasia, which is the largest continent in the world, both in size and population. But what about the other continents: North America and South America? Here you will find out the area and population of these continents, as well as some Interesting Facts about each of them.
Distribution of the Earth's continents by area
If we take into account the area of the territory, then all the continents of the world, from largest to smallest, are located in the following order:
- Eurasia: about 55,000,000 square kilometers (21,000,000 sq mi), of which Asia accounts for approximately 44,391,162 square kilometers (17,139,445 sq mi) and Europe approximately 10,354,636 square kilometers (3,997,929 sq mi);
- Africa: 30,244,049 square kilometers (11,677,239 sq mi);
- North America: 24,247,039 square kilometers (9,361,791 sq mi);
- South America: 17,821,029 square kilometers (6,880,706 sq mi);
- Antarctica: 14,245,000 square kilometers (about 5,500,000 square miles);
- Australia: 7,686,884 square kilometers (2,967,909 sq mi).
Distribution of the Earth's continents by population
If we take into account population size, the distribution of the continents of our planet, from most to least populated, is as follows:
- Eurasia: more than 5.2 billion people, of which about 4.5 billion live in Asia and about 742 million in Europe;
- Africa: more than 1.2 billion people;
- North America: about 575 million people (including in Central America and the Caribbean);
- South America: more than 420 million people;
- Australia: about 23.2 million people;
- Antarctica: there are no permanent residents, but approximately 5,000 researchers and workers live in the summer and about 1,000 in the winter.
In addition, more than 15 million people do not live on mainland territory. Almost all of these people live in the island countries of Oceania, which is a region of the world but not a continent. Drawing a conclusion from the lists presented above, Eurasia is the leader among all the continents of the world, both in area and in population.
Some interesting facts about each continent
- Eurasia includes the largest and smallest countries in the world. Russia is the largest with an area of over 17 million square kilometers, while the Vatican City, with an area of 0.44 square kilometers, is the smallest state on the planet. Asia contains the highest and lowest points on Earth. Mount Everest is the highest point on the planet - 8,848 meters above sea level. The lowest point is the Dead Sea, which is 430 meters below sea level.
- Africa is home to the longest river in the world, the Nile. It extends approximately 6,853 km from Sudan to the Mediterranean Sea.
- North America has the largest freshwater lake in the world by area - Lake Superior. It is part of
The continent of Australia is so small that its area is even smaller than some countries in the world. Its territory is only 7.63 million square km. The smallest continent is located in and is crossed by the southern tropic. Its shores are washed by the waters of the Pacific and Due to its small size, Australia is sometimes also called the island mainland.
The continent is not connected by land to any of the other continents; it is located completely separately. The rest of the world's continents are located at a considerable distance from Australia. This contributed to the formation of a unique flora and fauna, in many ways different from others
Uniqueness of Australia
Unique is also vegetable world: 90% of the continent's plants are endemic, found only here. Eucalyptus is considered the symbol of Australian flora - the most tall tree planet, reaching the height of a fifty-story building.
The smallest continent is also the driest on the planet. Most of it is located in the tropical climate zone, as a result of which almost all central part The continent is occupied by vast deserts. Australia is also called the most low continent. 215 meters is the average absolute height, and the highest point is only 2230 meters high.
Past and modern name
“Unknown land” - that’s what Australia was called in old maps. Even today it remains a mysterious land and a country full of surprises for most people. The names of continents are most often associated with their geographical location, the same applies to Australia: translated from Latin “australis” means “southern”. And this name appeared relatively recently, only in early XIX century. And before that, its individual parts were called by the names that the discoverers gave them. The modern name was finally established after the Englishman Flinders sailed around the continent.
The smallest continent on our planet is also famous for the fact that its territory is completely occupied by one country - the Commonwealth of Australia. The largest city in the country is Sydney, famous throughout the world for its opera house, a real eighth wonder of the world. Another unusual masterpiece is the Harbor Bridge - a bridge across the beautiful Port Jackson Bay, which has a half-kilometer-long arch.
If you ask a person “Where do you live?”, he can name a house, apartment, street, or city. Perhaps a country. But it’s unlikely that anyone would think of naming the continent on which they live. Meanwhile, on the continents there are many countries in which millions, and in some cases billions of people live.
As is the case with people, among the continents there are dwarfs, and there are also giants, judging by size. And if you need an answer to a question, which continent is the smallest in the world, we are happy to help you. Let's take a brief look at all the continents and take a closer look at the smallest of them.
It is the largest and most populated continent on Earth. Consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia.
- Asia occupies about 9 percent of the earth's surface. It is also the most populated part of the world on the planet. Asia is home to approximately 4.3 billion people, making it a critical part of the global economy.
- Europe occupies 6.8 percent of the world's total land area. It is home to almost 50 countries and is considered the third most populous part of the world in the world after Asia and Africa. About 10% of the world's population lives there.
5. Africa - about 30.3 million km², including islands
The second largest continent in the world, as well as by population. There are 54 countries in Africa, with a total population of about one billion people.
4. North America - 24.3 million km² including islands
It is the third continent in the world in terms of area and population. About 7.5% of the world's population (about 565 million people) lives here.
3. South America - 17.84 million km²
On the territory of this continent is the driest desert in the world - the Chilean Atacama, as well as the Amazon. In terms of population, South America is in 4th place among the continents.
2. Antarctica - 14.1 million km²
The southernmost and sparsely populated continent. Antarctica is also the coldest land in the world and most of this continent is made up of glaciers.
1. Australia - 7.6 million km²
And here is the smallest continent on Earth. Its dimension includes both the main island and the surrounding islands, some of which belong to Oceania.
Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere and is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Due to its size and isolated location, the most small continent in the world it is also called an island continent.
What Australia has a lot of is beaches. There are more than 10 thousand of them. If you visit one Australian beach a day, it would take about 27 years to explore all 10,000 beaches. It's no wonder that surfing and other water activities are so popular on this continent.
Relief features of Australia
Plains are the dominant landform in Australia. It is the flattest continent, with relatively few mountain ranges given its size. But Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.
The most high mountain in Australia - Kosciuszko (or Kosciuszko) - only 2228 meters. For comparison: bearing the name Shota Rustaveli, reaches 4860 meters. Kosciuszko is located in the Australian Alps, which are larger in size than the Swiss Alps.
Climatic features of Australia
Australia is the driest continent of the six. Almost 20 percent of its landmass is classified as desert.
- And this is all due to the hot tropical sun, which particularly heats the central regions of the country. In summer, the temperature there varies during the day from plus 35 to plus 40 degrees Celsius.
- And the coolest part of the country is the island of Tasmania. On summer days the air warms up to plus 20-22 degrees, and in winter it is 10 degrees colder.
- Australia's climate zones range from rainforests, deserts and cool forests to snow-capped mountains.
Under these conditions, unique species of plants and animals have evolved that have adapted to the dry climate, coupled with high variability in precipitation.
Australian fauna
This continent boasts many of the most dangerous and exotic creatures living outside the Amazon rainforest in South America. For example, in Australia you can find two, about 1500 types of spiders, 4000 types of ants and 350 types of termites.
When it comes to the animal world of Australia, the first thing that comes to mind is the kangaroo. According to some reports, the total number of these marsupials is almost 50 million individuals. This means that there are more kangaroos in Australia than people.
Although some scientists declared the Great Barrier Reef dead back in 2016, the world's largest coral reef is still alive. However, it must be protected from pollution and other problems facing the world's oceans. Imagine that this reef is so large that it can be seen from space.
How small is Australia in terms of area and population?
In terms of land area, the Australian continent is undoubtedly the smallest continent in the world. Even small Europe is 2.4 million km² larger than it.
- Scientists have calculated that the smallest continent on Earth can fit twice the size of Russia.
- When it comes to population, Australia is technically the second smallest continent. And if we exclude Antarctica, then Australia will be considered the most sparsely populated continent.
- As of 2018, the Australian population is over 25 million.
Australia is an island because it is surrounded by water, but it is also large enough to be considered a continent. However, Australia is not officially a country; this title is given to Greenland.
However, Australia is also the most big country without land borders. And the largest Australian city (but not the capital) - Sydney - spreads over an area of 12,144.6 km² and is in the top ten.
Australia's relationship with Oceania
Quite often, referring to the southern region Pacific Ocean, where Australia is located, people will use the term "Australia and Oceania" rather than separate them. However, both are true.
- Oceania is a Pacific region consisting of many small islands and atolls. The conditional western border of Oceania runs through New Guinea, and the eastern border runs through Easter Island.
- Usually Australia and Oceania are combined into a single part of the world if it is necessary to divide all the land into parts of the world.
- However, Oceania is sometimes considered independent part Sveta. In regional studies, there is even an independent discipline called “ocean studies”, which deals with the study of Oceania.
- If we talk specifically about the continents, then Oceania has no chance; it is always classified as Australia.
