Continent

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A continent is a large area of the land on Earth that is joined together. People do not agree about how many continents there are. Some say there are seven continents.

Oceania is a region which includes Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Some say that Oceania is not a continent but it is often treated like one. Other groups[1][2] believe that it is a continent and that Australia is just a part of this continent and not its own continent.

Some say that North America and South America are one continent. Some say that Europe and Asia are only parts of a continent called Eurasia. Some even say that Eurasia and Africa are one continent called Eurafrasia.

When British people talk about "the Continent" (or "Continental") they mean the European mainland. This meaning is not used as much as it used to be, but is still seen in phrases like "Continental breakfast" (rolls with cheese, jam etc as distinct from an "English breakfast" which is a cooked breakfast).

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[edit] References

  1. Worldatlas.com - Australia
  2. World fact book - Australia