What Are Continents and Oceans?
Seven massive landmasses and five great bodies of water — the biggest features on our planet.
A Planet of Land and Water
If you could look at Earth from space, the first thing you'd notice is how blue it is. About 71% of Earth's surface is covered by water, and the remaining 29% is land. That land is clustered into seven large masses called continents, and the water fills five vast basins called oceans. Together, they form the basic geography of our planet.
The Seven Continents
Asia is the largest continent — both in area and population. It stretches from Turkey in the west to Japan in the east and includes everything from the Himalayan mountains (the world's tallest) to vast deserts and dense tropical forests. More than 4.7 billion people live in Asia — roughly 60% of everyone on Earth.
Africa is the second-largest continent and home to the Sahara Desert (the world's largest hot desert), the Nile River (often considered the longest river), and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife. It's also where the earliest humans lived — making Africa the birthplace of our entire species.
North America spans from the frozen Arctic of Canada and Greenland down through the United States and Mexico to the tropical countries of Central America and the Caribbean. South America is connected to it by the narrow Isthmus of Panama and features the Amazon Rainforest (the world's largest tropical forest) and the Andes Mountains (the longest continental mountain range).
Europe is the second-smallest continent but has been enormously influential in world history, science, and culture. It's home to over 40 countries packed into a relatively small area. Australia (sometimes called Oceania when including the Pacific Islands) is the smallest continent and the only one that is also a single country. Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent — a vast ice sheet with no permanent human residents, only research scientists.
The Five Oceans
The Pacific Ocean is by far the largest — it covers more area than all of the land on Earth combined. It stretches from the Americas in the east to Asia and Australia in the west. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest and separates the Americas from Europe and Africa. The Indian Ocean lies between Africa, Asia, and Australia and is the warmest of the five.
The Southern Ocean (also called the Antarctic Ocean) encircles Antarctica, and the Arctic Ocean sits at the top of the world around the North Pole. The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest ocean, and much of it is covered by sea ice — though that ice has been shrinking due to rising global temperatures.
They Haven't Always Been Where They Are Now
About 200 million years ago, all of today's continents were joined together in one supercontinent called Pangaea. Over millions of years, tectonic plates slowly pulled them apart. South America and Africa fit together like puzzle pieces — because they once were one piece. The continents are still moving today, drifting a few centimeters per year. In about 250 million years, scientists predict they'll collide again to form a new supercontinent.
The deepest point in any ocean is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (Pacific Ocean), which plunges about 11,034 meters (36,200 feet) below the surface. If you placed Mount Everest at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, its peak would still be more than a mile underwater. Fewer people have visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench than have walked on the Moon.
Last reviewed: April 2026