Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic A (somewhat random) geographical pet peeve

There's something that's bothered me in a very slight but persistent way over the years. For lack of anything better to do, and because I'm interested in the response, I've decided to post it here.

My thesis is, quite simply, this:

Europe is not a real continent.

To prove this, I will be using information from this site. Its information is very basic, but my thesis hardly requires more than the bare facts.

A continent is a major landmass. It has a whole and distinct shape. Looking at this map of the world, one can pick out six such shapes.



North and South America are large, distinct shapes connected only by a narrow isthmus (and, with the Panama Canal, they're not even technically connected anymore). Similarly, Africa is a distinct shape connected to Asia by an even narrower isthmus (which has also been cut by a canal). Australia, while smaller than the others, is obviously a discrete entity. (It's fairly large and far enough away that you can't claim it's attached to anything else.) Antarctica is even more distinct.

That leaves one more shape. Eurasia.



This distinct and complete landmass has a total area of approximately 21,049,000 square miles, or 54,517,000 square kilometers. The peninsula known as Europe, which is made distinct only by the Ural Mountains, comprises just over 18% of that area.

Its total area is approximately equal to that of the United States. (Europe is 9,938,000 Sq. Km and, according to the CIA World Factbook , the US is 9,631,418 Sq Km.) As far as I know, no one ever claimed that the US (which comprises nearly 40% of North America) was a continent.

While it is true that Europe has had a disproportionate geopolitical significance over the course of recorded history, that fact alone should not grant it special status in what is, in reality, a purely geographical determination.

Europe is, quite clearly, no more a continent than Florida is an island.

Thoughts?

Paul