• Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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    12 hours ago

    There’s anywhere between 2 and 7:

    • Afroeurasia (inc australia , antartica counts as an ocean)
    • Americas

    or

    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Oceania
    • Antartic
    • Quilotoa@lemmy.caOP
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      11 hours ago

      Why is antarctica considered an ocean? It’s a land mass. Granted, the vast majority of it is covered in ice, but it is still above sea level.

    • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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      10 hours ago

      There’s no way Australia counts as the same continent as Afroeurasia, and Antarctica is a landmass (unlike the Arctic ice). 4 continents minimum.

      • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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        14 hours ago

        “Australia and Oceania” here, in the first of two models I’ll elaborate on.

        We were taught two different models

        First one translates basically as “divisions of the world”

        • Europe
        • Asia
        • Africa
        • Antarctica
        • Australia and Oceania
        • Americas

        The other one translates more directly as “continents”

        • Eurasia
        • Africa
        • Antarctica
        • Australia
        • North America
        • South America

        But those are of course not the only models, just the ones taught in school where I’m from.

  • stupidcasey@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    In the great words of Atlas Pro after going into excruciating detail on why no answer is more correct He said:

    So gow many continents are there?

    “Obviously six”

    No further clarification was given.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    23 hours ago

    Europe isn’t a continent, it’s a political entity. A continent is geographic. EurAsia is a continent.

    • Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      22 hours ago

      Lol no. The european union is the political entity. Europe is a continent. Asia is a continent. If you want to talk about both of them together you can say eurasia but they are not one continent.

      • invertedspear@lemmy.zip
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        20 hours ago

        What delineates Europe from Asia that shouldn’t also delineate India from Asia?

        Not trying to be argumentative, curious. I’ve always heard of India as a subcontinent, and when explained why it seems like Europe fits the same description.

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        20 hours ago

        They are one continuous landmass. A continent is one continuous landmass. You can’t split a single landmass and call it two separate continents.

          • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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            17 hours ago

            There are going to be little isthmuses connecting landmasses, but that doesn’t make them combined. Africa is technically connected to both Europe and Asia, but nobody is suggesting that they be combined with Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia are literally the same landmass, with just a border between them.

            Even the Middle East probably has a better claim on being a Continent than Europe.

            Besides, the Panama Canal essentially makes North And South America separated by water.

            • fenrasulfr@lemmy.world
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              17 hours ago

              Aren’t Europe and Asia on the same techtonic plate? Isn’t that also the reason India is considered a subcontinent because it is on a different techtonic plate?

              • mrlemmyhimself@lemmy.world
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                16 hours ago

                Iceland is between two tectonic plates, and that rule would separate the Somali plate from the rest of Africa, make the Caribbean its own continent, etc

          • homura1650@lemmy.world
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            17 hours ago

            North and South America are joined by a thin strip of land that serves as the continent border. Africa and Eurasia are joined by a thin strip that serves as a continent barrier. Europe and Asia have no natural border between them.

  • Etterra@discuss.online
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    1 day ago

    There’s between 3 and 500. Since it’s statistically unlikely that the correct number would be at either extreme, the most likely correct number of continents would be somewhere around 250, with a margin of error of approximately 245.

  • Meldrik@lemmy.wtf
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    13 hours ago

    I always thought it had something to do with continental drift.