If you ask a person “Where do you live?” He can name a house, apartment, street, or city. Perhaps a country. But hardly anyone would think to name the continent on which he lives. Meanwhile, there are many countries on the continents, in which millions, and in some cases, billions of people live.
As in the case of humans, there are dwarfs among the continents, and there are also giants, judging by their size. And if you want an answer to a question, which is the smallest continent in the world, we are happy to help you. Let's take a quick look at all the continents and dwell on the smallest of them in detail.
6. Eurasia - 53.6 million square kilometers
It is the largest and most populated continent on Earth. Consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia.
- Asia occupies about 9 percent of the earth's surface. It is also the most populated part of the world on the planet. Asia is home to about 4.3 billion people, making it a critical part of the global economy.
- Europe occupies 6.8 percent of the world's total land area. It is home to nearly 50 countries and is considered the third most populous part of the world in the world after Asia and Africa. About 10% of the world's population lives there.
5. Africa - about 30.3 million km² including islands
The second largest continent in the world and also in terms of population. Africa has 54 countries with a combined population of about one billion people.
4. North America - 24.3 million km² including islands
It is the third continent in the world in terms of area and population. It is home to about 7.5% of the world's population (about 565 million people).
3. South America - 17.84 million km²
The continent is home to the driest desert in the world - the Chilean Atacama, as well as the longest river in the world - Amazon. In terms of population, South America is in 4th place among the continents.
2. Antarctica - 14.1 million km²
The southernmost and sparsely populated continent. Antarctica is also the coldest land in the world, and much of this continent is made up of glaciers.
1. Australia - 7.6 million km²
And here is the smallest continent of the Earth. Its measurement includes both the main island and the surrounding islands, some of which belong to Oceania.
Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere and is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Due to its size and isolated location, the smallest continent in the world is also called the island continent.
That's what Australia has a lot of, it's beaches. There are more than 10 thousand of them. If you visit one Australian beach a day, it will take about 27 years to explore all 10,000 beaches. It is no surprise that surfing and other water activities are so popular on this continent.
Features of the relief of Australia
Plains are the dominant landform in Australia. It is the flattest continent, with relatively few mountain ranges given its size. But Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.
The highest mountain in Australia - Kosciuszko (or Kosciuszko) - is only 2228 meters. For comparison: the tenth highest mountain in Russia, bearing the name of Shota Rustaveli, reaches 4860 meters. Kosciuszko is located in the Australian Alps, which are larger than the Swiss ones.
Climatic features of Australia
Australia is the driest continent of the six. Almost 20 percent of its land mass is classified as desert.
- And the hot tropical sun, which is especially hot in the central regions of the country, is to blame. In summer, the temperature there varies during the day from plus 35 to plus 40 degrees Celsius.
- And the coolest part of the country is the island of Tasmania. On summer days, the air warms up to plus 20-22 degrees, and in winter it is 10 degrees colder.
- Australia's climatic zones range from tropical forests, deserts and cool forests to snow-capped mountains.
Under these conditions, unique species of plants and animals evolved that adapted to the dry climate, combined with high variability of precipitation.
Fauna of Australia
This continent boasts many of the most dangerous and exotic creatures outside the Amazon rainforest in South America. For example, in Australia you can find two the most venomous snakes in the world, about 1500 types of spiders, 4000 types of ants and 350 types of termites.
When it comes to the wildlife of Australia, the first thing that comes to mind is a kangaroo. According to some reports, the total number of these marsupials is almost 50 million individuals. This means that there are more kangaroos in Australia than people.
Although some scientists announced the death of the Great Barrier Reef back in 2016, the world's largest coral reef is still alive. However, it needs to be protected from pollution and other problems facing the world's oceans. Imagine this reef is so large that it can be seen from space.
How small is Australia by area and population?
In terms of land area, the Australian continent is unquestionably the smallest continent in the world. Even small Europe is 2.4 million km² larger than it.
- Scientists have calculated that the smallest continent on Earth can fit twice on the territory of Russia.
- When it comes to population size, Australia is technically the second smallest continent. And if we exclude Antarctica, then Australia will be considered the most sparsely populated continent.
- As of 2018, the Australian population is over 25 million.
Australia is an island as it is surrounded by water, but it is also large enough to be considered a continent. However, Australia is not officially the largest island in the world, this title is given to Greenland.
However, Australia is also the largest country without land borders. And the largest Australian city (but not the capital) - Sydney - covers an area of 12,144.6 km² and is in the top ten largest cities in the world by area.
Australia's relationship with Oceania
Quite often, when referring to the South Pacific, where Australia is located, people will use the term "Australia and Oceania" rather than separate them. However, both are true.
- Oceania is a Pacific region made up of many small islands and atolls. The conditional western border of Oceania runs along New Guinea, and the eastern border runs along Easter Island.
- Usually Australia and Oceania are united into a single part of the world if it is necessary to divide the entire land into parts of the world.
- However, sometimes Oceania is considered an independent part of the world. In regional studies, there is even an independent discipline called "ocean studies", which is engaged in the study of Oceania.
- If we talk specifically about the continents, then Oceania has no chance, it is always referred to as Australia.