Search results
In Portuguese, América is a single continent composed of América do Sul (South America), América Central (Central America) and América do Norte (North America). It can be ambiguous, as América can be used to refer to the United States of America, but is avoided in print and formal environments.
- 42,549,000 km², (16,428,000 sq mi)
- 22.67/km² (58.74/sq mi)
- 1.02 billion
- 35
Learn about the seven continents of the world, their sovereign countries, areas, populations, densities, GDPs and more. Find out how they are delineated by landmarks, rivers, oceans and political factors. Compare the continents by size, population and GDP.
- Building the Continents. Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago from a great, swirling cloud of dustand gas. The continuous smashing of space debrisand the pull of gravitymade Earth's coreheat up.
- Wandering Continents. If you could visit Earth as it was millions of years ago, it would look very different. The continents have not always been where they are today.
- Continental Features. The surface of the continents has changed many times because of mountain building, weathering, erosion, and build-up of sediment. Continuous, slow movement of tectonic plates also changes surface features.
- North America. North America, the third-largest continent, extends from the tiny Aleutian Islands in the northwest to the Isthmusof Panama in the south.
A continent is a large landmass, such as Asia, Africa, North America, and others. Learn about the seven continents, their sizes, shapes, coastlines, and geological features from Britannica.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What is the largest continent?Asia is the largest continent on Earth by size. It is approximately 44,614,000 square kilometres (17,226,200 square miles).
- Do continents move?Geologists theorize that continents move. This theory is called plate tectonics, which holds that the lithosphere, the outermost layer of Earth (wh...
- What is the Pangea supercontinent?Pangea is a landmass of the Early Permian to Early Jurassic Periods that incorporated almost all modern landmasses and is thus considered a superco...
4 days ago · Americas, the two continents, North and South America, of the Western Hemisphere. The climatic zones of the two continents are quite different. In North America, subarctic climate prevails in the north, gradually warming southward and finally becoming tropical near the southern isthmus.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
People also ask
Is the United States a country or a continent?
What is a continent in geography?
How many continents are there in the United States?
Is north and South America a single continent?
Sep 23, 2020 · The answer is both "yes" and "no". It depends on where you live and who teaches you. Some people feel there are just 5 continents on Earth, while others advocate for a 7-continent model. The division between North and South America is based on the location of the countries and the continental plates.
Sep 26, 2018 · The US is a country, not a continent, and one of the 193 UN member countries. It is a federal republic with 50 states and five territories, and the third largest country in the world by area. It has a rich history, diverse culture, and a representative democracy.
