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After reaching the coast of Brazil, they sailed along the coast of South America much farther south than Asia was known to extend, confirming that this was a land of continental proportions. [98] On return to Europe, an account of the voyage, called Mundus Novus ("New World"), was published under Vespucci's name in 1502 or 1503, [ 99 ] although ...
The continental boundaries are considered to be within the very narrow land connections joining the continents. The remaining boundaries concern the association of islands and archipelagos with specific continents, notably: the delineation between Africa, Asia, and Europe in the Mediterranean Sea;
Land is often defined as the solid, dry surface of Earth. [1] The word land may also collectively refer the collective natural resources of Earth, [2] including its land cover, rivers, shallow lakes, its biosphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere (troposphere), groundwater reserves, and the physical results of human activity on land, such as architecture and agriculture. [3]
The continental shelf is the relatively shallow water area found in proximity to continents; it is the portion of the continental margin that transitions from the shore out towards to ocean. Continental shelves are believed to make up 7% of the sea floor. [3] The width of continental shelves worldwide varies in the range of 0.03–1500 km. [4]
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land that is in one piece and not noticeably broken up by oceans. [1] [2] The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or a large island. [3] [4] In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental crust extending above sea ...
This is a list of continental landmasses, continents, and continental subregions by population. For statistical convenience, the population of continental landmasses also include the population of their associated islands .
The thickness of Earth's crust (km). The continental crust consists of various layers, with a bulk composition that is intermediate (SiO 2 wt% = 60.6). [5] The average density of the continental crust is about, 2.83 g/cm 3 (0.102 lb/cu in), [6] less dense than the ultramafic material that makes up the mantle, which has a density of around 3.3 g/cm 3 (0.12 lb/cu in).
The remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is land, most of which is located in the form of continental landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere. Most of Earth's land is at least somewhat humid and covered by vegetation , while large sheets of ice at Earth's polar deserts retain more water than Earth's groundwater , lakes, rivers and atmospheric ...