CONTINENTSMRS. GLADIMAR DE JESÚS

SOCIAL STUDIES

SIXTH GRADE

THE SIX CONTINENTS OF THE EARTH

• POPULATION IS ESTABLISHED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. THER ARE SIX

CONTINENTS ON THE PLANET EARTH:

• AMERICA

• ASIA

• AFRICA

• EUROPE

• OCEANIA

• ANTARTICA

AMERICA

• AMERICA IS THE SECOND LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE PLANET. IT CONSISTS OF

TWO MASSES OF LAND AND SEVERAL ISLANDS. IT IS DIVIDED IN THREE REGIONS:

• NORTH AMERICA

• CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

• SOUTH AMERICA

• IN AMERICA, THE RELIEF CONSISTS MAINLY OF PLAINS, VALLEYS, MOUNTAINS,

MOUNTAIN RENGES, AND PLATEAUS. THE COAST AND THE CLIMATE ARE

DIVERSE IN THIS CONTINENT.

ASIA• ASIA IS THE LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE WORLD.

• REGIONS;

• ASIA IS DIVIDED ON VARIOUS REGIONS:

• NORTHERN ASIA

• CENTRAL ASIA

• SOUTHERN ASIA, WHICH INCLUDES THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE SOUTH OF THE HIMALAYAS

AND VARIOUS OTHERS ADJACENT FROM THE EAST AND WEST.

• RELIEF;

• ASIA HAS A VARIED RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY LONG AND HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES.

THE HIMALAYAN RANGE (WHERE MOUNTAIN EVEREST, THE WORLD’S HIGHEST PEAK,

IS) STANDS OUT. ASIA ALSO HAS LARGE PLATEAUS AND SEVERAL PLAINS. THE

SIBERIAN PLATEAU, INTERRUPTED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS, STRETCHES ALL THE

WAY INTO EUROPE. YOU MAY ALSO FIND ARCHIPELAGOS AND PENINSULAS

SURROUNDING THE CONTINENT.

ASIA• BODIES OF WATER;

• ASIA HAS LONG AND LARGE RIVERS SUCH AS THE YANGTZE IN CHINA. AMONG THE

ASIAN LAKES, THE CASPIAN SEA, A SALT WATER LAKE, STANDS OUT. IT IS LOCATED

BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA AND IS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

• CLIMATE

• ASIA PRESENTS A DIVERSIFIED CLIMATE BECAUSE OF ITS VAST TERRITORIAL

EXTENSION. IT HAS REGIONS IN THE COLD, TEMPERATE, AND WARM ZONES.

• ON THE OTHER HAND, ASIAN WINTERS ARE COLD AND DRY BECAUSE WINDS BLOW

FROM LAND TO SEA. IN THE SUMMER, THE WIND BLOWS FROM THE OCEAN TO THE

LAND, WHICH CAUSES A LOT OF HUMIDITY AND RAIN. THIS TYPE OF CLIMATE IS

KNOWN AS MONSOON.

• MONSON IS THE TYPE OF WIND THAT BLOWS PARTICULARLY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.

AFRICA• AFRICA IS THE THIRD LARGEST CONTINENT ON EARTH. IN AFRICA THERE IS

GREAT DIVERSITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

• REGIONS;

• AFRICA IS DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN REGIONS:

• NORTHERN AFRICA

• SUB-SAHARA AFRICA, LOCATED SOUTH OF THE SAHARA DESERT.

• RELIEF;

• GRAND PLATEAUS AND MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS FROM THE AFRICAN RELIEF. THERE

ARE ALSO ABUNDANT SAVANNAHS. IT HAS SEVERAL DEPRESSIONS, SOME IN THE

KALAHARI DESERT. THE GREAT AFRICAN PLATEAU OCCUPIES MOST OF THE

CONTINENT.

• THE CONTINENT’S LARGEST ISLAND, MADAGASCAR, IS LOCATED IN THE INDIAN

OCEAN.

AFRICA

• BODIES OF WATER;

• IN SOME PARTS OF AFRICA THERE ARE MANY RIVERS. THERE ARE ALSO VARIOUS

FRESHWATER LAKES. SOME OF THE RIVERS FEED OFF THE ABUNDANT TROPICAL

RAINS. HOWEVER, MORE THAT HALF THE CONTINENT IS MADE UP OF DESERTIC LAND

WITH NO PERMANENT RIVERS.

• CLIMATE;

• THE CLIMATE IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT IS MOSTLY UNIFORM. ONLY SOME

SECTORS HAVE TEMPERATE OR COLD CLIMATES. THE HIGH MOUNTAIN REGIONS

HAVE COLD TEMPERATURES AND ABUNDANT RAIN.

• IN THE WARM ZONES OF AFRICA, EQUATORIAL, TROPICAL, AND DESERTIC WEATHERS

ARE PRESENT. THE MEDITERRANEAN AND OCEANIC ZONES HAVE TEMPERATE

CLIMATES. SUMMERS ARE HOT AND WINTERS, MILD. RAIN MAINLY FALLS IN SPRING

AND AUTUMN. ON THE OTHER HAND, AREAS WITH OCEANIC CLIMATE REGISTER

ABUNDANT RAINFALL AND FAIR TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

EUROPE• EUROPE IS THE SECOND SMALLEST CONTINENT OF ALL.

• REGIONS;

• EUROPE IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE REGIONS:

• NORTHERN EUROPE

• ATLANTIC EUROPE

• CENTRAL EUROPE

• EASTERN EUROPE

• MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE, WHICH CONSISTS OF THREE PENINSULAS: BALKAN, IBERIAN, AND

ITALIAN.

• RELIEF;

• EUROPE IS A CONTINENT WITH VARIOUS PENINSULAS. IT ALSO HAS PLAINS IN THE CENTER.

IN THE NORTH AND EAST, IT HAS ANCIENT MOUNTAINS. THE ALPINE RANGE FORMS AN

ARCH ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN. ITS COAST ARE VARIED BECAUSE OF THE LARGE

NUMBER OF PENINSULAS AND ISTHMI.

• ISTHMUS IS A LONG AND NARROW STRETCH OF LAND WITH SEA ON BOTH SIDES THAT LINKS

TWO LARGES AREAS OF LAND.

EUROPE• BODIES OF WATER;

• IN EUROPE THERE ARE MANY SHORT RIVERS. SOME ARE USED FOR NAVIGATION AND

OTHERS ARE IMPORTANT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

• CLIMATE;

• MOST OF EUROPE IS LOCATED IN THE TEMPERATE ZONE. CLIMATE IS MODERATE AND

DOES NOT CHANGE MUCH FROM ONE REGION TO THE OTHER. NORTHERN EUROPE IS

IN THE PLANET’S COLD ZONE.

•EURASIA• MANY SCHOLARS JOIN THE CONTINENTS OF EUROPE AND ASIA

BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF A SINGLE CONTINENTAL MASS. THEY

CALL IT EURASIA. OTHERWISE, THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS TWO

DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, SEPARATED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND

THEIR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

OCEANIA• OCEANIA IS THE SMALLEST CONTINENT AND HAS A VERY CHARACTERISTIC

RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY NEARLY TWENTY THOUSAND ISLANDS OF DIFFERENT

SIZES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. AUSTRALIA IS THE EARTH’S LARGEST ISLAND AND

PART OD THIS CONTINENT.

• REGIONS;

• OCEANIA IS COMPOSED OF FOUR REGIONS:

• AUSTRALIA

• MELANESIA

• MICRONESIA

• POLYNESIA

• RELIEF;

• THE AUSTRALIAN RELIEF IS MADE UP OF PLATEAUS AND PLAINS. IT HAS SEVERAL

DESERTS, A CENTRAL DEPRESSION, AND THE GREAT DIVIDED RANGE. THE ISLANDS

OD OCEANIA ARE OF VOLCANIC AND CORAL ORIGIN AND HAVE VERY FERTILE SOIL.

OCEANIA• CLIMATE;

• A WARM CLIMATE PREVAILS IN OCEANIA. THE ISLANDS CLOSE TO THE EQUATOR ARE

HUMID, WITH ABUNDANT PRECIPITATION. THERE ARE OTHER ZONES IN THE TROPIC,

WHICH HAVE A DRY AND A RAINY SEASON. AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR IS ARID AND DRY

BECAUSE IT HARDLY RAINS. THE COAST RECEIVES PLENTY OF RAIN WITH SOME

FREQUENCY.

• BODY OF WATER;

• THE DRY CLIMATE IN AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR PREVENTS THE EXISTENCE OF

IMPORTANT, LARGE RIVERS. THE ISLANDS ARE SO SMALL THEY DO NOT HAVE

SIGNIFICANT BODIES OF WATER.

ANTARCTICA• YOU ALREADY KNOW THE EARTH’S POLES ARE LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN AND

SOUTHERN ENDS OF THE PLANET. BECAUSE OF THEIR LOCATION, THESE AREAS

RECEIVE LESS SUNLIGHT. THEREFORE, THEY ARE VERY COLD PLACES COVERED

WITH ICE ALL YEAR LONG. THE ARTIC OCEAN IS LOCATED IN THE NORTH POLE,

INSIDE THE ARTIC CIRCLE. IT OCCUPIES GREAT PART OF THIS REGION, WHICH

CONTAINS MANY PENINSULAS.

• ANTARCTICA IS LOCATED IN THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE, IN THE SOUTH POLE. IT’S

LARGER THAN EUROPE AND THE LEAST ACCESSIBLE CONTINENT, BECAUSE IT’S

ALWAYS COVERED WITH ICE.

• IT WAS THE LAST REGION ON EARTH TO BE EXPLORED BY HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS

FREQUENTLY EXCLUDED FROM THE GROUP OF CONTINENTS BECAUSE IT DOES

NOT HAVE A PERMANENT POPULATION. NEITHER DOES IT HAVE A HISTORICAL

OR CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD. THERE ARE ONLY

SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS THAT WORK IN RESEARCH STATIONS. THESE RESEARCH

PROJECTS MAY ONLY HAVE PEACEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES.

ANTARCTICA• AT LEAST 95% OF THE RELIEF IS COVERED WITH A GREAT MASS OF ICE,

SURROUNDED BY THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN. CLOSE TO 90% OF THE EARTH’S

FRESHWATER IS IN ANTARCTICA, FROZEN INTO HUGE GLACIERS.

• THIS CONTINENT’S TEMPERATURES IS THE COLDEST IN THE WORLD. IT HARDLY

EVER RAINS AND IT ALWAYS RECEIVES FREEZING WINDS. IN THE CONTINENT,

FAUNA IS SCARCE, BUT IN THE SURROUNDING OCEAN, IT IS ABUNDANT. DURING

SUMMER, THERE IS DAYLIGHT 24 HOURS, WHILE IN THE WINTER IT IS ALWAYS

NIGHT.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• OBTAINED OF:

• SANTILLANA; SOCIAL STUDIES 6, TEXT BOOK, PART OF THE YASIBÍ PROJECT, P. 18-23