The document provides information on the seven continents: 1) There are seven continents - Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. 2) The continents were originally joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea before breaking apart. 3) The continents are still moving today due to plate tectonics, with examples given of Europe and North America moving apart each year.

1. CONTINENTS

2. CONTINENTS
• The seven continents are the seven main land
areas on the Earth. Some are joined to each
other, and some are completely surrounded by
water. Some continents have a lot of countries,
but others only a few.

3. CONTINENTS
• It is believed that in past ,all continents were joined,
this land area was called Pangaea .This area started to
break up & got divided into 7 parts ,so today we have 7
continents .These continents are still moving away or
moving close to each other. This is called continental
drift or plate tectonics theory. For example Europe &
North America are said to be moving 7 cm apart every
year.

4. What is a continent?
• A continent is one
of several large
landmasses on
Earth.

5. What is a land mass?
• Land mass refers to the total area of a country
or geographical region (which may include
discontinuous pieces of land such as islands).
• A continent is one of several large landmasses
on Earth.

6. • There are seven continents –
they are (from largest in size to smallest):
Asia, Africa, North America, South
America, Antarctica, Europe, and
Australia

8. What continent do we live on?

9. ASIA

11. ASIA
• Asia is the continent that has one third of the
total land area of the world.

12. LOCATION
ASIA
Latitude Longitude
10°11′ South
81°12′ North
26°2′ East
169°40′ West

13. PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS
• Asia is divided into the following
physiographic divisions.
• The Northern Lowlands
• The Central Mountain Chains
• Old Plateaus of the South

15. Northern lowlands
• This is the region found to the south of the Arctic
Ocean covering the majority of Siberia. Even
though they are lowlands they are not plains.
They have mountains and plateaus.
• The Ural Mountains found on the western side of
the northern lowlands separate Asia from Europe.

16. The Central Mountain Chains
• This physiographic division is found onthe
southern side of the northern lowlands.
• The mountain ranges of Asia are extendedfrom
the Pamir Knot which is located almost at the
centre of Asia.
• The Pamir Knot is known as the 'Roof of the
World'.

17. The Central Mountain Chains
• The Hindukush and the Sulaiman are the two mountain ranges that
extend towardsthe west of the Pamir Knot. Four mountain ranges are
seen towards the east of the Pamir Knot.
• The most important among them is the Himalayas. The Kunlun and
the Altin are the mountain ranges situated on the north of the
Himalayas.
• Arakanyoma is a large mountain range that runs first towards the
southwest from the eastern tip of the Himalayas and then turns
towards the south.
• The central mountain chain contains many peaks including the
highest peak in the world the Mt. Everest.

18. Old Plateaus of the South
• This physiographic division includes three major
plateaus, Arabia, Deccan and Indo-China.
• They are formed of relatively old and hard rocks.
• Though it has some rivers, this is mostly a dry
region and lies between the Red Sea and the River
Tigris with a west to east slope.

19. THE GREAT RIVER VALLEYS
• These are fertile alluvial lowlands.
• This region comprises eight valleys namely, the Tigris-
Euphrates valleys, the Indus valley, the Ganga-
Brahmaputra valleys, the Menam valley, the Iravathi
valley, the Mekong valley, the Yangtze valley and the
Hwanho valley. This highly fertile region is one of the
most thickly populated regions of the world.

20. THE ISLAND GROUPS
• Most of the islands are the elevated portions of
mountain ranges found in the oceans which are
the continuation of mountain ranges of the
mainland. Some island groups have many
volcanoes. Japan, Philippines, Indonesia,
KurileIslands and Formosa are the major island
groups.

21. Climatic Regions and Natural
Vegetation
Following are the important factors that influence
the climate of Asia.
Location of the continent
Area
Altitude above mean sea level
Nearness to ocean
Location of mountains
The course of the monsoon

22. Asia: Resources and
Distribution of
Population

23. FOREST RESOURCES
• Tall and large trees grow densely in the equatorial
regions of Asia.
• The type of vegetation varies depending upon the
variations in rainfall.
• Evergreen and semi evergreen forests grow in
regions which have the influence of monsoons
and cactus type of vegetation grows in the desert
regions.

24. AGRICULTURE
• This continent having mountains, plateaus, deserts and
dense forests experiences water scarcity in many
regions.
• Most of the people of Asia depend on agriculture for
livelihood. China, the largest producer of rice in the
world is in the continent of Asia.
• Various crops like wheat, pulses, oil seeds, cotton, jute,
rubber, tea, coffee etc. are cultivated in different parts
of Asia.

25. Mineral Resources
• Asia is a storehouse of various minerals.
• Hence mining is a major occupation in Asia.
• About 90% of mica produced in the world is mined
from Asia. In addition to this, minerals such as
monazite, tin, tungsten, iron ore, manganese, bauxite,
gold, silver etc. are also mined in Asia.
• Asia also has large deposits of coal and petroleum.

26. DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION
• Asia, the largest continent in the world is also the continent with the highest
population.
• About 60% of the world's population lives in Asia. It is also a continent with
diverse distribution of population.
• The Ganga Valley, the Yangtze -Tsikiang Valley, Java Island of Indonesia,
Singapore,Japan etc. are regions with a high density of population.
• Moderate population is found in the coastal regions of Turkey, Southeast
Asia and in some Arabian countries. But population is sparse in the central
Asian deserts, southwest Asia and northern Russia.

27. EUROPE

29. EUROPE
• It is believed that Europe is named originally after ‘Europa’
who was a Phoenician Princess from Greek Mythology..
• In Europe , there are no deserts.It is the only continent without
deserts.
• Venice, the world’s smallest country is in Europe .
• Most of the countries of Europe use a single currency called
the Euro.
• Germany is the most populous country in Europe,
• Industrial revolution is said to have originated in Europe only
& from there it spread to whole world.

30. Location
• Europe is a continent located fully in the northern
hemisphere. It is situated between 34°51' N and 81°47'
N latitudes and 24°33'W and 69°03' E longitudes.
• The total area of Europe, which is surrounded by
oceans on three sides, is 10,49,8000 sq.km.
• As a common region Europe and Asia are together
known as 'Eurasia'.

31. PHYSIOGRAPHY
• Europe is a continent with many mountains
and vast plains. More than half of Europe lies
at an average height of 200m above the sea
level.

32. Europe has been divided into the
following physiographic divisions.
The North Western Mountain Region
The North European Plains
The Central Uplands
The Alpine System

34. The North Western Mountain
Region
• The region extends from Finland to Sweden, Norway, the British Isles
comprising Britain and Ireland and Iceland.
• The topography of this region asseen today is the result of the process of
weathering and erosion by glaciers over a long period of time.
• The oldest mountains of Europe are found in this region.
• The north western mountain region which is rich in mineral resources has
limited deposits of coal and petroleum.

35. The North European Plains
• This is a vast plain which covers almost half of Europe.
• It extends from the Atlantic coast in the west to Ural
Mountains in the east.
• These plains are formed by the deposits of rivers.
• Holland, Belgium, Denmark, western France, northern
Germany and Poland are the major countries situated in
the Northern European Plains.

36. The Central Uplands
• This region includes the mountains,
hills and plains lying between the
North European Plains and the Alps
Mountain ranges.
• The mountains in this region have an
average altitude of 1600 m above the
sea level.
• The Central Uplands include the Ural
Mountains and the Black Forest of
Germany.

37. The Alpine System
• The Alpine System includes mountain ranges
extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west
to the Caspian Sea in the east.
• Parallel fold mountains are the peculiarities of
this region.

38. CLIMATE
• The following are the major factors controlling
the climate of Europe.
• Physiography
• Nearness to oceans
• Planetary winds
• Ocean Currents

39. CLIMATE
• Europe has been classified into the following
five climatic divisions.
• West European Type
• Continental Type
• Mediterranean Type
• Taiga Type
• Tundra Type

40. EUROPE:
RESOURCES

41. AGRICULTURE
• Only one third of the total geographical area is used for
cultivation.
• A small portion of the people of Europe are engaged directly
or indirectly in agriculture.
• Different types of food crops, fruits and flowers are
cultivated here.
• Many crops like wheat, barley, oats, sugarcane etc. are
grown here.
• Cattle rearing is one of the main occupations of the people
in different parts of Europe.

42. FISHING
• Europe is a continent which has the most favourable geographical
conditions for fishing.
• The following are the some of them.
• A lot of bays
• Confluence of ocean currents
• Presence of planktons
• All these help in fishing. One fourth of the fish produced in the world
is from Europe.
• Fishing is done using modern machinery.
• Dogger Bank, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, Britain, Germany,
Holland etc. are the major fishing centres of Europe.

43. Mineral Resources
• Europe has a diverse collection of mineral and energy resources. The
major resources found in Europe are iron ore, zinc, lead, platinum,
copper, bauxite etc.
• In addition to conventional energy sources like coal, petroleum and
natural gas, nonconventional energy sources like atomic and hydel
energy are also used here.
• Europe is far ahead in terms of the production of non-conventional
energy.

44. Industries
• Europe has many industries. Iron and steel
industry, wool industry, technological industries
like automobile manufacturing, ship building,
chemical industries, paper manufacturing etc. are
widespread in Europe.
• Ruhr Basin in Germany, which has the fifth
position in the world in the production of iron and
steel, is in Europe.

45. Human Life
• Europe has the third position in the world in terms
of total population and the first position in terms of
population density.
• Rhine Valley, Holland, Belgium, Britain etc. are
densely populated regions.
• Norway, Sweden etc. are countries with very low
density of population.

46. AFRICA

48. AFRICA
• Africa has the second position in the world in terms of its
area. Almost all the sides of Africa are covered with oceans
and seas.
• Africa is the continent having the largest number of
countries, with about 59 countries including the Madagascar
Island.
• Till the end of last century the interior of the African
continent was a mystery to the outside world.
• Hence Africa is known as the 'Dark Continent'.

49. Location
• Africa spreads on both the hemispheres. It is
located between 34°52' S to 37°31' N latitude
and 25°11 W to 51°24' E longitude.
• The equator divides this continent into two
equal halves. The area of African continent is
3033500 sq. km.

50. PHYSIOGRAPHY
• The physiography of Africa is classified as
follows.
• Plateaus
• Mountains
• Deserts
• Rift Valleys

52. PLATEAUS
• Generally Africa consists of plateaus made up of
hard rocks and narrow coastal plains.
• The average height of the plateaus is over 600 m
above the sea level.
• It can be seen that the altitude of the plateaus
decreases from south to north.

53. MOUNTAINS
• Mountains are relatively few in the continent of Africa.
• Some importantmountains are found in the plateaus and
deserts. The highest peak in Africa is Mt. Kilimanjaro.
This is situated in Tanzania of East Africa.
• In addition to this, Atlas, Kenya, Ruwanzari etc. are
other major mountain ranges of Africa.
• Ruwanzari is also the source of the Nile River.

54. DESERTS
• Deserts are seen on the
northern and southern sides
of Africa. One third of
Africa is covered with
deserts.

55. RIFT VALLEYS
• Another major landform in Africa is theRift
Valleys.
• Rift valleys are formed when the region in
between two fault zones subsides.
• The Great Rift Valley is a major rift valley in
Africa.

56. RIVERS
• The longest river in the world, River Nile
originates from the tropical rainforests of
Africa.
• In addition to the River Nile, the River Congo
which has many tributaries flows through the
middle of Africa.

57. CLIMATE AND NATURAL VEGETATION
• Hot climate is generaly experienced in the continent
except in its north and south ends.
• When the countries in the northern hemisphere of the
African continent experience a cold climate, most of
the countries of Africa in the southern hemisphere
experience a hot climate.

58. Africa is divided into the following
climatic regions.
• Equatorial Climate
• Savanna Climate
• Desert Climate
• Midlatitude Temperate Grassland Climate
• Mediterranean Climate
• Mountain or Highland Climate
• China Type Climate

59. RESOURCES

60. FOREST RESOURCES
• One fourth area of the African continent is
dense forest.
• Dense forests containing many types of trees
and wild animals are the peculiarity of Africa.

61. Agriculture
• Since most of the places in Africa are deserts or dense forests, areas
suitable for agriculture are very less here.
• But available agricultural land is utilized to the maximum.
• Old agricultural practices are followed mostly.
• Agriculture using modern machinery is practiced in SouthAfrica, the
Nile Delta of Egypt and in the coastal areas.
• Africa produces many crops like rice, wheat, cotton, coffee, tea etc.
• Fruits like pineapple, lemon, orange, grapes and olive are cultivated in
the regions where Mediterranean type of climate is experienced.

62. MINERALS
• Africa is blessed with many types of minerals. The major
minerals mined in
• Africa are copper, gold, platinum, iron ore, lead and
manganese. About 25% of the uranium and copper produced in
the world is from African countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Zaire.
• The African continent is the leading mining centre of diamonds
in the world.
• The Kimberly region of Africa has the first position in diamond
mining.

63. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
• Even though Africa has one fifth of the total
geographical area of the world, its population is
comparatively less.
• One tenth of the world's population live in Africa.
• Since most of the places in Africa are deserts or thick
forests, the population here is less.
• Population is more in the coastal areas, river valleys,
mining centres and the elevated regions of east Africa

64. ANTARCTICA

66. ANTARCTICA
• Antarctica known as the 'White Continent‘ is the only
continent in the world where there are no permanent
inhabitants.
• The area of Antarctica, which has the fifth position in
terms of its size, is about 14000000 km.
• The highest peak in this continent is the 'Vinson
Massif'.

67. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Most of Antarctica lies 2100-2400 m above the sea level.
Antarctica is divided into two East Antarctica and West
Antarctica.
• East Antarctica is a snow covered plateau. But the
comparatively small West Antarctica is seen as broken up into
thousands of snow covered islands. East and West parts of
Antarctica are covered with ice slabs of about 2000 m
thickness.
• Even though they are snow covered, active volcanoes are
found in the Scotia Islands of Antarctica.

68. CLIMATE
• Temperature in Antarctica falls as low as
-85°C during winter seasons.
• This has given Antarctica the, title, 'the coldest continent of the earth'.
• The temperature of -89.2°C, recorded at the Russian observation centre
Vostok on 21st July 1983, remains the lowest ever recorded temperature
on the surface of the earth.
• Only the observation centres of various countries working in Antarctica
record temperature continuously on all seasons.
• Antarctica experiences long days and nights.
• The average temperature of Antarctica is -49°C

69. RESOURCES
• The presence of abundant ocean resources is the reason for
drawing human attention to Antarctica.
• Seals were hunted for leather and whales for oil.
• Now whale hunting has been banned in all the oceans south of
Australia.
• Fishing has been increasing in the oceans around Antarctica for
the past thirty years.
• Besides marine resources mineral deposits are also found in
Antarctica.
• Deposits of iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, coal etc.
are found here.

70. AUSTRALIA

72. AUSTRALIA
• Australia as a continent includes the mainland
of Australia along with Tasmania and many of
the Islands throughout the Pacific Ocean.

73. AUSTRALIA
• Australia is the largest island (island is a place which is surrounded
by water from all sides).It is also the smallest continent in the world.
It is also known as “island continent”.
• Australia continent has only one country ,which is Australia itself.It
lies entirely south of the equator and is called land down under.
• Australia is home of three unique animals: platypus ,mammal that
lays eggs, the kangaroo,which carries its young in a pouch,the emu
,a large bird that does not fly.

74. AUSTRALIA
• Australia is also known for its various type of
Eucalyptus trees. There are over 500 varieties.
• Australia ‘s sheep population is more than its human
population. Its sheep population is 14 times more than
its human population. This is why Australia stands first
in the production & export of wool in the world.

75. NORTHAMERICA

77. NORTHAMERICA
• North America was named after the explorer Americo
Vespucci.
• North America is the only continent that has every kind of
climate
• The population density is approximately 22.9 per square
kilometer, which is the largest for any continent in the
world.
• North America is around twice the size of Europe.
• Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world. It
is located on the border between the United States and
Canada.

78. NORTHAMERICA
• North America is made up of four countries:
Canada is the furthest North, The United States is
in the middle, and Mexico is the furthest south.
Greenland is an Island of North America, lying
Northeast of Canada.
• There are three Oceans that touch North America,
The Arctic to the North, The Pacific to the West,
and the Atlantic to the East.

79. SOUTH AMERICA

81. SOUTH AMERICA
• Andes form the Second Highest Mountain System in the World next
to the Himalayas. They are Young Fold Mountains. Mt. Aconcagua
is the Highest Peak (7,021 m) of The Andes.
• The Angel Falls is the Highest Waterfall in the World
• It also has the world’s largest river –Amazon (by volume of water)
• Predominant languages spoken in South America are Spanish and
Portuguese
• Largest salt lake in the world: Salar de Uyuni(Uyuni salt flats)
• Soccer is the dominant game in this continent

82. SOUTH AMERICA
• South America is made up of twelve countries.
• The Pacific Ocean borders South America to the West,
and the Atlantic to the East.
• South America is a warm continent
• People there speak mostly Spanish
• The biggest country is Brazil, where people love to play
soccer
• The Amazon rainforest is in South America

83. Can you name the continents on this map?

84. THANK YOU…..
SUBMITTED BY
Athira.M.R
Dept.of SoialScience
St.Xaviers Training College,Thottakkattukara,Aluva-
683108