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The division between Europe and Asia as two continents is a historical social construct, as neither fits the usual definition; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is recognized as the largest of the six, five, or four continents on Earth.
The boundary between Asia and Europe is unusual among continental boundaries because of its largely mountain-and-river-based characteristics north and east of the Black Sea. Asia and Europe are considered separate continents for historical reasons; the division between the two goes back to the early Greek geographers.
Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or the larger Afro-Eurasia); Asia occupies the centre and east of this continuous landmass. Europe's eastern frontier is usually delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia , which is the largest country by land area in the continent.
The four continents, plus Australia, added later.. Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. [1] Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, and Europe in the north.
Afro-Eurasia (also Afroeurasia and Eurafrasia) is a landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The terms are compound words of the names of its constituent parts. Afro-Eurasia has also been called the " Old World ", in contrast to the " New World " referring to the Americas .
The more common school follows historical convention and treats Europe and Asia as different continents, categorizing East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East as specific regions for more detailed analysis. Other schools equate the word "continent" to geographical "region" when referring to Europe and Asia in terms of physical geography.
Asia (/ ˈ eɪ ʒ ə / ⓘ AY-zhə, UK also / ˈ eɪ ʃ ə / AY-shə) is the largest continent [note 1] [10] [11] in the world by both land area and population. [11] It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, [note 2] about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area.
Eurasia is a continent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia. It is divided from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez. Some states such as Malta are traditionally part of Eurasia, however they lie on the African tectonic plate.