From Arctic to Antarctica: Read interesting facts about all the seven continents here
The Earth initially had only one large landmass called Pangaea. Over millions of years, the mass separated to form the seven continents we know today
Representational image. Wikimedia Commons
Continents are large and continuous masses of land. The world’s seven continents are Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica.
The Earth initially had only one large landmass called Pangaea. Over millions of years, the mass separated to form the seven continents we know today.
Here are some interesting facts about these continents:
Asia
● The continent covers one-third of the Earth’s surface
● It has the 10 highest peaks of the world
● The world largest country (Russia) and most populated (India and China) are in Asia
● In terms of size and population, Asia is the largest continent
● The only man-made object that is visible from space is the Great Wall of China in Asia
Africa
● Africa has the world’s largest desert Sahara and the world’s longest river, Nile
● As much as 95 percent of the world’s diamonds and 50 percent of the world’s gold comes from Africa
● It is the second largest continent of the world
● 66 percent of the world’s chocolate also comes from this continent
● It is believed that Homo Sapiens originated from Africa
Europe
● This continent has the world’s smallest country, the Vatican City
● As much as three fourth of world’s potato comes from Europe
● Europe’s highest mountain is Mount Elbrus
● The continent and Asia are from the same landmass, separated by Ural mountains and the Caspian Sea
● The continent has 50 countries
North America
● It has the Mississippi river, which is the third longest river of the world
● North America is the largest producer of soybean, wheat and maize
● Elf, which is the world’s smallest owl, is found in this continent
● Lake Superior, the World’s largest freshwater lake is located in North America
● The continent has 23 countries
South America
● World’s largest coffee producer Brazil is in this continent
● The world’s largest tropical rainforest is located in South America
● Salar de Uyuni, world’s largest saltwater lake is in this continent
● South America has the Angel Falls, world’s highest waterfalls
● The Amazon River, which is the largest by volume is located in this continent
Australia
● The ‘island continent’ is the world’s smallest continent
● It has 500 varieties of the eucalyptus trees
● The continent has only three countries
● As much as two-third of Australia is desert land
● The 2,000 km long Great Barrier Reef is found in Australia
Antarctica
● The population of this continent is 1,106
● As much as 70 percent of the world’s freshwater is in Antarctica
● In Summers, the average temperature is about -35 degree celsius while in winters, Antarctica has the temperature of -70 degree celsius
● The continent has no time zones
● It is the coldest, highest and driest place on Earth
