Counting the continents

How many continents can you count on the map? The answer is not so simple: they can be counted in several ways, and depending on our choice we may list anywhere between four and seven! That is a surprising thing for a textbook to admit. Three places on the map are argued over:

• North and South America are usually counted as two continents, but as one landmass they can also be counted as one.
• Europe and Asia are usually counted as two, although the map shows they form one single landmass. Their histories and cultures developed very differently, which is why they are often seen as two. Geologists (scientists who study the Earth's rocks) often call them one continent, 'Eurasia'.
• Africa and Eurasia are usually counted as two, but sometimes as one.

So the book sets out four ways of counting:

• Four: Africa-Eurasia, America, Antarctica, Australia.
• Five: Africa, America, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia.
• Six: Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, North America, South America.
• Seven: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America.

In practice, the list of seven continents is the one most widely used. Of the seven, Asia is the largest (India is part of it), Australia is the smallest, and Antarctica is the coldest.

One of the five-counts is famous. You may have seen the five Olympic rings, a symbol of the Olympic Games. They stand for sportspeople gathering from all over the world, and were chosen to represent five inhabited continents: Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe. Antarctica is left out because nobody lives there permanently.