Continent facts
Asia | largest continent , covering almost third of the world’s land area highest place on the earth :Mount Everest (8848mtrs above sea level lowest place on the earth: Dead Sea shore (399mtrs below sea level) | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Asia has more mountain than any other continent. Himalaya, Karakoram, Altai, Elbruz, Zagros, Urals. Kunlun , Tein Shan Pamir Knot(Roof of the world):large group of rugged peaks and deep valleys(lies where Afghanistan, china , Pakistan and Central Asian Republics meet) Tarim Basin : Between the Kunlun and the Tein Shan | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Euphrates, Tigris, Ganga, Hwang Ho, Amur, Sikiang, the Yangtze is Asia’s longest river. | ||||||||||||||
deserts | Arabian Desert, Gobi Desert, Thar Desert | ||||||||||||||
lakes | Baikal (Siberia ): deepest lake in world ; Caspian Sea, Aral Sea | ||||||||||||||
straits | Strait of Malacca, Bering Strait | ||||||||||||||
Coastline | 129077km | ||||||||||||||
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Africa | Second largest continent, one-fifth of the land area: separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from Asia by the Red Sea. In the north-west: Gibraltar, northeast: Suez Canal; strait of Bab-el Mandeb connect Africa to Eurasia: Africa has largest tropical area in the world. | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Atlas( extending from Morocco to Tunisia ,non –volcanic), Drakensberg, Mt. Kilimanjaro(in Tanzania) and Mt. Kenye (in Kenya) are volcanic activity | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Nile(longest river in the world, drains into the Mediterranean sea ) , Zaire(Congo: carries the greatest volume of water among all the rivers of Africa)), Niger(discharge into the Atlantic), Limpopo and Zambezi(drain into Indian ocean) , Orange, ,Nyasa, Turkana | ||||||||||||||
deserts | cover two-fifths of Africa Sahara(world’s largest desert; stretches across northern Africa from the Atlantic sea to the red sea), Kalahari, Namib | ||||||||||||||
lakes | Victoria: largest lake in Africa and source of river Tanganyika, Rudolf, Albert ,Nyasa, Turkana | ||||||||||||||
straits | strait of Babel-Mandeb, strait of Gibraltar | ||||||||||||||
Coastline | ---- | ||||||||||||||
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north America | Third largest continent, extending from the Arctic Ocean in the north to south America in the south. | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Rockies(north America’s largest mountain range), Alaska(north America’s highest mountain range), Cascade, Sierra Madre Mt McKinley(6194m): north America’s highest mountain | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Mississippi, Missouri, Rio Grande, Mackenzie. Columbia Mississippi- Missouri-Ohio: continent’s largest river system Grand Canyon of river Colorado- largest in world | ||||||||||||||
deserts | Mojave, Sonoran | ||||||||||||||
lakes | Superior(largest freshwater lake in world), Huron, Erie, Ontario, Great Bear , Great Slave , Great Salt Lake in Utah ( saltier than sea) | ||||||||||||||
straits | Bering strait | ||||||||||||||
Coastline | About 300000km (longer than any other continent ) | ||||||||||||||
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South America | fourth largest continent , surrounded by water – the Caribbean Sea (north), the Atlantic Ocean (northeast and east) , the Pacific ocean (west) and the Dark Passage (south) the Isthmus of Panama : connected to central America by narrow strip of land | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Andes : called western mountains, from Venezuela in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south , young fold mountain second highest mountain system in the world ,next to Himalaya , world’s largest mountain ranges above sea level Mt Aconcagua(6959m)in Argentina : tallest mountain in western hemisphere Cotopaxi in Ecuador: highest active volcano in the world. | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Amazon: world’s second longest river but has the largest drainage basin , Orinoco, Parana, Paraguay , The Rio de le Plata, the Magdalena-Cauca, the San Francisco the Angel Falls in southern-eastern Venezuela- highest water fall in the world | ||||||||||||||
deserts | Atacama, Patagonia | ||||||||||||||
lakes | lake Maracaibo, Lake Titicaca | ||||||||||||||
straits | Strait of Magellan | ||||||||||||||
coastline | 32000km , Tierra del Fuego( largest islands ), the Juan Fernandez the Falkland and the Galapagos | ||||||||||||||
Europe | sixth in terms of area of continents ; extends from the arctic Ocean (North) to the Mediterranean Sea , the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains (south) and from the Atlantic Ocean (west) | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Alps(covering part of south –eastern France, north Italy, most of Switzerland ,parts of southern Germany, Austria and Northern Yugoslavia), the Apennines, the Alpines Pyrenees, Carpathians, Urals, Balkans The highest mountain peak of Europe is Mount Elbrus (5633m) in the Caucasus. | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Volga: longest river of Europe (flowing thru Russia – Caspian Sea), Danube( 2nd longest river of Europe , drains into Black Sea) , Rhine(flows thru Alps –western Germany – Netherlands- North Sea) ,Po, Dnieper, Don, Vistula, Elbe, Oder | ||||||||||||||
deserts | No desert | ||||||||||||||
lakes | Lake Ladoga (Europe’s largest freshwater lake in Russia). The salt water Caspian sea: which lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia, is the world’s largest lake (Europe’s lowest point). Finland : country of 60000 lakes, known as ‘land of thousand lakes’ | ||||||||||||||
straits | Strait of Gibraltar | ||||||||||||||
coastline | 60957km | ||||||||||||||
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Australia | lies entirely in Southern Hemisphere | ||||||||||||||
physical division |
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mountains | Great Dividing Range , Mount Kosciusky(2228m)- highest peak in Australia | ||||||||||||||
rivers | Murray: originating from the Snowy mountains in Alps , continents’ longest permanently flowing river, fed by Darling in dry season ;Darling | ||||||||||||||
deserts | Gibson Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Simpson Desert ; cover third of Australia | ||||||||||||||
lakes | Lake Eyre (lowest point in Australia) | ||||||||||||||
straits Author---- | Bass Strait ; world largest coral reef: Barrier Reef Nisha Dolas |