# Europe: continent or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 1999, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383 "1999-10-28T20:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Froze-uh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b3f665/32.png) [@Froze-uh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Froze-uh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/1 "1999-10-28T20:52:00Z")
Hi all, Perhaps this has been asked previously but I could not find it in the archives… Why is Europe considered a continent? My wife says that only Americans consider North and South America to be two seperate continents. Using that logic I asked why europe is considered a continent at all, its just bolted on to Asia as an afterthought. IMHO, europeans were just practicing a form of cultural imperialism and did not wish to be included among asians. Does this just all boil down to definitions of “continent”? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/2 "1999-10-28T20:55:00Z")
OTB:IF [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/meurasia.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/meurasia.html) ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/3 "1999-10-28T21:11:00Z")
I think pretty much everyone considers North and South America to be separate continents. Isthmuses don’t count, especially when they have been breached by canals. Otherwise, Africa and Asia would be the same Continent. * * * Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group. - Boris Badenov ---
**Author:** ![dlv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dlv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlv)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/4 "1999-10-28T23:31:00Z")
Europe is just a large peninsula on Eurasia’s western end. No one even knows for sure where the boundary is between Europe and Asia. Similarly, is there a logical reason to place the Sinai peninsula in Africa or in Asia? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/5 "1999-10-29T05:02:00Z")
A penninsula is defined as a long narrow body of land surrounded by water on 3 sides. Like Italy or Scandanavia or Malaya. Europe is not a true penninsula. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/6 "1999-10-29T13:36:00Z")
Perhaps it would be better to refer to Europe as the “European Appendage of the Eurasian Continent”. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/7 "1999-10-29T13:42:00Z")
\*Markxxx: A penninsula is defined as a long narrow body of land surrounded by water on 3 sides. Like Italy or Scandanavia or Malaya. Europe is not a true penninsula. \* It looks like it’s surrounded on three sides to me: The Baltic & North Seas to the north, the Atlantic to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. There are several penninsulas that are about the same size as Europe: Arabian, Scandinavia, Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Froze-uh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b3f665/32.png) [@Froze-uh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Froze-uh)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/8 "1999-10-29T14:34:00Z")
I’ve heard folks define the Ural mountains as the boundary between Europe and Asia. Anyway, thanks for all the input, it seems that “continent-ness” is a state of mine (see link in first reply). Could it be that Europe is “incontinent”? groans all around… ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/9 "1999-10-29T18:26:00Z")
And here I thought this was going to be a snide thread about a group of countries that all wore extremely big adult diapers… * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/10 "1999-10-29T18:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyway, thanks for all the input, it seems that “continent-ness” is a state of mine. Since when is “continent-ness” a state of _yours_? I thought June Allyson had claim to the state of continence. * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/11 "1999-10-31T17:50:00Z")
The _reason_ is that the ancient Greeks were unaware that you could get from Europe to the Anatolian peninsula (which is what they meant by “Asia”) by going around the Black Sea. * * * John W. Kennedy “Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.” – Charles Williams ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/12 "1999-11-01T00:32:00Z")
OK, I live in England / Great Britain (and N. Ireland) / United Kingdom / Europe. Why does Israel get into the Eurovision Song Contest? ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 1999, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/europe-continent-or-not/4383/13 "1999-11-02T00:25:00Z")
Because Israel is, culturally, part of the European (small-_c_) community. * * * John W. Kennedy “Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.” – Charles Williams