A common seven-continent model names Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Australia. A continent is not a country. Some continents contain many countries; Antarctica is not a country.
Different school traditions group continents differently. Europe and Asia share a continuous landmass, Eurasia. Oceania is a broader regional term that includes Australia and Pacific islands; check the labels used by your atlas.
Explore an atlas
- Find and name the seven continents in the model above.
- Choose two countries on different continents. Record each country, continent, and capital using the atlas.
- Find a continent crossed by the Equator. Then find one entirely south of it.
- Compare a globe with a flat map. Which shapes or sizes appear different?
Check your understanding
- Is Australia a country, a continent, or both in this model?
- Are Europe and Asia separated by an ocean everywhere?
- Why should you look at an atlas’s labels before comparing continent counts?
Show answers and reasoning
- Both. The country and the continental label refer to related but not identical concepts.
- No. They share the Eurasian landmass.
- Different conventions combine or name land regions differently.
Keep exploring in social studies: hemispheres, the five themes of geography, and time zones.
Sources & further reading
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