continental regions

Geographic

2022

We explain what continental regions are, what types exist, what they are on each continent and their characteristics.

Continents can be divided into natural or social regions.

What are continental regions?

The continents are large areas of landmass that in our planet They are distinguished from the submerged surface (that is, covered by the oceans), and of which we currently know six: Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Europe Y Oceania, although we know that in you were geological Past there were other continents that receive other names.

These continents can be divided into continental regions (or subcontinental, if we consider that each continent is in turn a region), that is, into portions of the continent that exhibit similar features and that can be studied geographically as a unit in themselves.

This is due to the fact that an entire continent is a very vast geographical space and generally encompasses a huge diversity. topographical, biological and cultural; in other words, no continent is homogeneous in itself.

The continental regions, thus, can be of two different types:

  • Continental regions natural, those that are distinguished by the characteristics of the continental terrain, that is, by its configuration in physical, climatic, topographic, vegetation and / or fauna terms.
  • Continental social regions, those that are distinguished by the cultural, social and civilizational characteristics of their human inhabitants, that is, by the configuration of the societies that occur on its surface.

Taking into account these two criteria, we can study each of the planet's continents in a more organized manner, as we will see below. However, we must take into account that these divisions generally obey historical and geographical criteria that, over time, may be subject to review by scholars and specialists.

Continental regions of Africa

Africa is located between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The third largest continent in the world (20% of the emerged surface), after Asia and America, is among the oceans Atlantic (west) and Indian (east), it is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and linked to Asia through the Isthmus of Suez.

Natural (sub) continental regions of Africa. The African continent consists of a single large continental plate, raised between 600 and 800 meters above sea level, in the upper half of which is the gigantic desert of the Sahara, which is usually used as a dividing border between:

  • North Africa, where the soils arid except in the regions of the great rivers (like the Nile, in Egypt).
  • Sub-Saharan Africa, where the large bed sheets and jungle regions of the continent.

In climatic terms, Africa is divided into three successive strips that are repeated north and south of the equator, made up of the climates:

  • Mediterranean climate
  • Desert climate
  • Subtropical and rainy intertropical climate.

It is a very homogeneous continent in orographic terms, without great elevations or depressions, and with a few islands in its northwestern region. They also have few but very large rivers and lakes.

Social (sub) continental regions of Africa. On the African continent it covers 54 nations different and 3 political dependencies, which are usually organized in five regions, according to the UN:

  • Northern Africa, encompassing the territories north of the Sahara and encompassing the countries Mediterranean countries, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, which have a long history of contact with European and Asian nations. These are some of the regions with the highest rate of human development of the continent (next to South Africa).
  • West Africa, encompassing northwestern sub-Saharan Africa, i.e. the countries of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea, Gambia and Guinea Bissau. Some of the less developed regions of Africa are found in this region.
  • Central Africa, located in the heart of the continent, bringing together the nations of Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a region of immense linguistic diversity, whose lingua franca It is French, by European colonial heritage.
  • East Africa, which encompasses the eastern region of the continent and the immense island of Madagascar, includes the states of Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the islands of Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles. It is a region with a modest economy, based on agricultural and metallurgical activity, with very low human development indices.
  • Southern or southern Africa, located at the southern tip of the continent, encompassing the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana. In it, South Africa is an important pole of development, although with a very tragic colonial past, which is why the highest percentage of people from Europe and India in the entire continent are found in the region.

Continental regions of America

The flora and fauna of America had an evolutionary course apart from the rest of the world.

The second largest continent on the planet (28.4% of the landmass), after Asia, is located in western Europe and Africa, surrounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and also by the Arctic and Antarctic.

His fauna and Flora They are particular given that they had an evolutionary course apart from the rest of the world for millions of years, until in the 15th century European explorers reached their shores and an intense process of human colonization and exchange of animal and plant species took place.

Natural (sub) continental regions of America. The American continent is usually divided into three large physical regions (or subcontinents), each with its own characteristics and divisions:

  • North America or North America. It extends into the territory of the countries of Canada, the United States and Mexico, along 24,323,000 km2 of surface. It encompasses a very diverse set of climates, among which the temperate ones predominate, but the polar climates of the north and the tropical ones of the south, close to the Caribbean Sea, also have a presence. Similarly, it possesses tundras arctic, great variety of woods, deserts, jungles, plains and mangroves.
  • Central or Centromeric America. It is a narrow strip of land between North and South America, covering the territory of seven countries: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. Traveled through a mountainous system (the Mountain range Central), is a region of great volcanic activity, being on the western edge of the Caribbean tectonic plate. The tropical climate predominates, with little thermal variation and a marked difference in rainfall that favors its Caribbean region, and its abundant jungle regions host a high percentage of the biodiversity of the planet.
  • South America or South America. The southernmost portion of America, which includes the territory of thirteen countries: Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and five dependencies of other States. His geography It is divided into three distinct regions: the Andes mountain range, the longest and youngest mountain range on the planet; the interior lowlands, which include the plains of the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the Chacopampean or Plata plains; and finally the continental shield, where there are some of the oldest massifs in the world, such as the Guayanés massif, the Brasilia massif and the Patagonian massif. All this crossed by an important climatic diversity, which ranges from the warm in the Amazonian tropical region, to the dry coldness of Patagonia. It is a very diverse region in terms of fauna and flora, in which the Amazon rainforest stands out, a huge reserve of biodiversity that has not yet been fully explored.

Social (sub) continental regions of America. Culturally, the American continent has a unique history, since its current configuration is the result of the tragic encounter between modern Europe, African slaves, and Native American peoples. Currently, it is usually divided into two large social regions:

  • Anglo American, fruit of the British colonization and culture mostly Protestant, in which the speaks of English. It is a region in which little has occurred of mixed race and in which different dynamics of racial and ethnic stratification or segregation have taken place over the centuries. It is, at the same time, the region with the highest human development index on the continent, being the most industrialized.
  • Latin America or Latin America, fruit of spanish colonization and to a lesser extent Portuguese and French, it is one of the most culturally diverse of the world, given that there was a true melting pot of cultures and traditions, fruit of the intense miscegenation that characterized its colonial era. In it the speech of Spanish (or Portuguese) and the religion Catholic, but living standards are very varied according to the country, with important agricultural and industrial poles, and important fringes of poverty Y inequality.

Continental regions of Antarctica or Antarctica

Antarctica is the least inhabited and most homogeneous continent on the planet.

This is the least inhabited and most homogeneous continent on the planet, located at the South pole of the planet. It is also the coldest and driest place in the world, basically an ice desert with a surface area of ​​14,000,000 km2, the fourth largest continent in the world and the one with the highest average altitude. There is 90% of the world's ice and, consequently, 70% of the fresh water available.

Natural (sub) continental regions of Antarctica. The climate of Antarctica is icy, colder in its eastern region than in the western one, due to its higher altitude. The trans-Antarctic mountains traverse the continent from side to side, separating:

  • East Antarctica or greater, which covers two-thirds of the continent.
  • West or lesser Antarctica and the west coast of the Ross Sea. North of the latter is the Antarctic Peninsula.

In the border region between the two is the highest point on the continent: the Vinson Massif, 21 km high.

Social (sub) continental regions of Antarctica. As it does not have its own population, but only a few military and scientific bases in various countries, it has no social regions at all.

Continental regions of Asia

Asia is the largest and most populous continent, with 4.6 billion inhabitants.

Asia is the largest (30% of the landmass) and most populous (4.6 billion inhabitants) continent on Earth. Its almost 45 million km2 of surface are surrounded by the Arctic (north), Indian (south) and Pacific (west) oceans, and its border with Europe is the Ural Mountains. The latter due to a cultural and historical division, because it actually forms with it a single supercontinent known as Eurasia.

Natural (sub) continental regions of Asia. Asia is too vast a continent to have precise and simple limits, so there is not always consensus on where it starts and where it ends. However, it is usually attributed:

  • A central nucleus, which is the plateau of Pamir, which together with the Tibetan plateau (located further southeast) constitute the so-called “roof of the world”. From there, numerous mountain ranges stand out, among which are the highest on the planet, forming a central mountainous area. These plateaus are desert, as they are confined between the peaks.
  • Huge archipelago of very diverse islands, located towards the southeast of the continent. There the tropical or subtropical climate predominates; while to the north extends the imposing Siberian plain, an icy tundra that stretches towards the arctic polar zone, with a cold and dry climate.

Asia also has huge rivers and lakes, such as the Caspian Sea, the largest in the world; or the Aral Sea, both salty lakes. In addition, it is important to note that Asia is also home to the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, geographic entities with their own identity.

Asia's (sub) continental social regions. The history of the continent and the great and many cultural differences that exist between its populations have led to the subdivision of Asia into six large geographic-cultural regions:

  • Russian or Siberian Asia, also called North Asia, includes the Siberian plains and the eastern region of Russia, which is home to only 10% of the total population of this country. It is a region of little population density, but high cultural diversity, which has undergone a kind of progressive “Russification” over the centuries.
  • Central-Western Asia and the Caucasus, also called Central Asia, is made up of the territory of five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After North Asia, it is the least populated region of the continent (around 64 million inhabitants), the least extensive (4 million km2) and the least densely populated (16.1 inhabitants / km2). Historically, it was the region of the great peoples nomads Asians and the Silk Road.
  • East Asia, the easternmost region of the continent, comprises five countries: China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, two dependent territories of China (Hong Kong and Macao), and one unrecognized state (Taiwan). In its territory are 26 of the 100 largest cities on the planet, and it is the second most populated region on the continent (with more than 1.620 million inhabitants) and the second largest (12 million km2). It is also the region with the highest level of economic, human and industrial development.
  • Southeast Asia, also called Southeast Asia, is the peninsular and insular region of the continent that lies east of the Pacific Ocean, and includes eleven countries: Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines and East Timor. It is a region of great economic, commercial and cultural importance, in whose development the European colonial presence was important, as well as the development of the East Asian giants.
  • South Asia, also called South Asia, encompasses the countries of the Iranian plateau and the Indian subcontinent, it is the most densely populated region in the whole of Asia (more than 1,831 million inhabitants). It encompasses eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, many of which are important industrial poles or traditional reservoirs of local cultures and religions. The region is culturally divided between the Islamic countries and the countries of the Dharmic religions.
  • The Middle East, Middle East or Near East, also called Southwest Asia, is the border region between the rest of Asia, Africa and Europe, whose boundaries are not always clearly and universally established, but usually involve the territories of Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Israel, Kuwait, and Jordan. Egypt and Cyprus are also sometimes considered part of it. This is a fundamental region in the history of the world, in which some of the early agricultural civilizations, and which is currently a source of serious religious, cultural and political tensions.

Continental regions of Europe

Europe is the cradle of Western civilization.

The western end of the supercontinent of Eurasia is what we commonly call the European continent, the cradle of Western civilization. Its borders and the fundamental features of its population are in continuous dispute, but in general it is surrounded by the Arctic (north) and Atlantic (west) oceans, and separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea, as well as from Asia by the mountains. Urals.

It is the second smallest continent that exists (barely 6.8% of the emerged lands), but the fourth most populated, (with around 10% of the world population).

Natural (sub) continental regions of Europe. The European continent is geographically organized into four well-defined regions:

  • Eastern Europe, where the great Russian plain ends, which rises at the foot of the Ural Mountains, and where the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea meet, as well as the plateaus of the Volga, Valdai and the central Russian plateau.
  • Central Europe, which ranges from the Baltic Sea to the Alps, where the bulk of the North European plain is found. The continental climate predominates, with important extensions of forests and large rivers, such as the Rhine.
  • Western Europe, generally flat except for the Iberian plateau and the mountains at the end of the Alpine range, presents a hot and dry climate in summer and cold and humid in winter in its Mediterranean region, varying towards an oceanic climate and a continental climate as it moves. the geography.
  • Northern Europe, which encompasses the coasts of the Baltic Sea and nearby islands and peninsulas, is bordered to the north by the Arctic and therefore has a cold climate dominated by fjords and boreal forests.

Social (sub) continental regions of Europe. Europe includes not only the territories of its 47 sovereign states: Albania, Germany, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Vatican City, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia , Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania , Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine; but also the territories that these nations have annexed throughout history in the other continents.

These nations are organized into four major cultural regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Scandinavian region, and the Mediterranean Region. Being the cradle of Industrial Revolution, the countries of Western Europe have been a historical pole of economic and technological development, and the northern region of the continent is home to the best life rates in the entire region.

From a linguistic point of view, Europe can be broadly classified into countries with Germanic and Anglo-Saxon languages, and countries with Romance and Latin languages.

Continental regions of Oceania

Oceania is the only island continent on the planet.

The only island continent on the planet, made up of the Continental platform Australian and the thousands of nearby islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is the smallest continent of all, with just 9,800,458 km2 of surface, and its contribution to world production is around 1%.

Natural (sub) continental regions of Oceania. Oceania is made up of:

  • Continental region
  • Island region

The general climate of the continent is mostly desert or semi-arid, and it is the flattest, oldest and least fertile of all the continents. In fact almost half of Australia is covered by sand dunes, and the highest mountain in the region, Mount Jaya (4884 m) is located in the island region.

Oceania (sub) continental social regions. This continent encompasses the territory of fourteen independent nations, which are Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia, along with a set of 14 territorial dependencies of other nations.

Culturally, the continent encompasses four major regions, each endowed with its own ethnic and linguistic features:

  • Mainland Australia, dominated by the descendants of European settlers.
  • Archipelagos of Melanesia.
  • Archipelagos of Micronesia.
  • Archipelagos of Polynesia.
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