# How many continents are there, and what are they? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865 "2012-07-30T15:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/41 "2012-07-30T23:15:23Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Maybe we could let Pluto be a continent. What plate is it on? ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/42 "2012-07-30T23:27:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > :: smacks **Satchmo** with wet trout :: > > I said _comfortbots_, not _hookerbots_. Hookerbots have sex with you; comfortbots do not. Comfortbots bring you meals when you’re hungry, massage your back and feet when you’re achy, sing sweet songs to you to cheer you up when you’re sad, and brutally murder your enemies with their bare hands when you need your enemies brutally murdered by hand. Well, at least it’s not a trout made of white chocolate! 😃 So who says i can’t have a comfortbot in my bunk? Massaging my back and my feet, singing sweetly, bringing me REAL chocolate to cheer me up, then going out to brutally murder any enemies on my list? Besides, unless I missed something, I’m the only one who has even addressed the Kerguelen option, though 7 other people voted for it. What about **TriPolar** ’s heart? And **RTFirefly** ’s courage? And where’s **Eve** , the good witch of New York? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/43 "2012-07-31T00:26:47Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > What plate is it on? Yo’ mama’s. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/44 "2012-08-01T15:57:48Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > You guys are all arguing past the point. What does it matter, honestly, that water happens to arbitrarily cover some land and not other? The real continent count should be the tectonic plates! There are 15 major tecnotic plates, and I say each one should be called a continent. What’s your boundary for distinguishing major and major tectonic plates? > [@Satchmo](#): > > 😃 > > So who says i can’t have a comfortbot in my bunk? Massaging my back and my feet, singing sweetly, bringing me REAL chocolate to cheer me up, then going out to brutally murder any enemies on my list? Comfortbots don’t murder people you _want_ murdered. They murder people you _need_ murdered. As for why you can’t have one in your bunk: it’s a credit issue. No one cares which sort of chocolate you prefer, though. > [@](#): > > [ > Besides, unless I missed something, I’m the only one who has even addressed the Kerguelen option, though 7 other people voted for it. > What about **TriPolar** ’s heart? And **RTFirefly** ’s courage? And where’s **Eve** , the good witch of New York? I have **TriPolar’s** heart, though he may not have realized it yet. **RTFirefly** ’s courage is another issue entirely. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/45 "2012-08-01T16:03:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I have **TriPolar’s** heart, though he may not have realized it yet. **RTFirefly** ’s courage is another issue entirely. You can keep it. Never did me much good. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/46 "2012-08-01T16:14:06Z")
I went with what I’ve been taught : 6. South and North America are one and the same. (objectively Europe and Asia should be one, though) On the other hand, Pluto definitely isn’t a planet. I was fed crap when I was young, but I since came to my sense. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/47 "2012-08-01T16:15:11Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There is a new one. How can you justify America being one but Europe, Asia, and Africa being three separate ones? That’s not a new one. That’s what is generally taught in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/48 "2012-08-01T16:24:05Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I went with what I’ve been taught : 6. South and North America are one and the same.. If I may ask, where were you taught that? ETA: I understand the rationale, though I don’t agree with it. I’m just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/49 "2012-08-01T17:06:01Z")
My preferred option for most contexts isn’t in your list – SIX: N America, S America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica. If the context is about humans, it’s usually FIVE (same list, without Antarctica). I was taught to include “Oceania” (for Australia and Pacific islands), but that’s usually silly, IMHO. I know the Europe-Asia boundary is rather arbitrary, but it’s still a useful distinction in most situations. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/50 "2012-08-01T17:16:24Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > My preferred option for most contexts isn’t in your list – > SIX: N America, S America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica. > > If the context is about humans, it’s usually FIVE (same list, without Antarctica). Why omit Australia? > [@](#): > > I know the Europe-Asia boundary is \*\*rather \*\*arbitrary, but it’s still a useful distinction in most situations. (bolding mine) You misspelled “completely.” Can you explain how chopping Eurasia in half – which involves asserting that the mainlands of Turkey & Russia are both in two continents – is “useful”? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/51 "2012-08-01T17:19:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > If I may ask, where were you taught that? I’ve of heard of it as being common among South Americans. But, I mean come on. Fuck Panama. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/52 "2012-08-01T17:20:49Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I’ve of heard of it as being common among South Americans. > > But, I mean come on. Fuck Panama. I don’t have time to fuck everyone in Panama today. Plus I insist on only fucking adult women. Silly of me, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/53 "2012-08-01T17:29:39Z")
I went with Eurasia. But I think that any system that calls Europe a separate continent has to do the same for India. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/54 "2012-08-01T19:46:39Z")
Well, looking at the [map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg), I count eight geophysical continents:1. North America 2. South America 3. Africa 4. Eurasia 5. Arabia 6. India 7. Australia 8. Antartica I ignore continental plates that are mostly submerged. In terms of cultural “continents”, this [map](http://www.maps.com/ref_map.aspx?pid=12873) is grossly reasonable:1. North America 2. Latin America 3. Sub-Saharan Africa 4. Middle East 5. Europe 6. Central Asia 7. South Asia 8. East Asia 9. Southeast Asia 10. Oceania ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/55 "2012-08-01T19:56:37Z")
Continents are OK, but less important than navigable trade/culture areas, which in a seafaring culture can easily cross waters and be stopped by mountains or deserts. And for ecologists, biogeographical regions are where it’s at. But if you’re all that hung up on connected landmasses, the answer is both six (two Americas, Eurasia, Africa, Oz, Antarctica) and four (Americas, the “Old World,” Oz, Antarctica). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/56 "2012-08-01T19:58:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why omit Australia? > > (bolding mine) > > You misspelled “completely.” Can you explain how chopping Eurasia in half – which involves asserting that the mainlands of Turkey & Russia are both in two continents – is “useful”? YMMV, but Australia barely feels more like a really big island to me, than a continent. Maybe it’s partly because, in my mind, “continent” is a bigger category than “country,” so any continent should not be coterminous with any single country. As for dividing Eurasia, in most contexts it’s useful to use a definition of “continent” which represents a compromise between a purely physical sense and a more human-history-and-current-reality sense. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/57 "2012-08-01T20:09:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > YMMV, but Australia barely feels more like a really big island to me, than a continent. Maybe it’s partly because, in my mind, “continent” is a bigger category than “country,” so any continent should not be coterminous with any single country. > > As for dividing Eurasia, in most contexts it’s useful to use a definition of “continent” which represents a compromise between a purely physical sense and a more human-history-and-current-reality sense. I agree Australia is too small, but not for any really good reason. I don’t know where the size cutoff should be, but it does seem like just an island to me also. As for Eurasia, it’s either Africa too, or the meaning of continent is just arbitrary. It’s fine with me if it’s just another arbitrary classification, but then there are just 7 continents because it’s the most common arbitrary set. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/58 "2012-08-01T20:20:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Can you explain how chopping Eurasia in half – which involves asserting that the mainlands of Turkey & Russia are both in two continents – is “useful”? By ignoring the great middle of the “Eurasian” continent, & in fact confusing definitions such that by definition it doesn’t exist, Western Europeans pretend that the dozens of nations conquered by Russia don’t count because they aren’t really there. Sort of like how many Europeans don’t count South America as even existing, so their Americas policy is entirely through engagement with\* el Norte,\* and they don’t have to think about oppressed South American nations. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/59 "2012-08-01T20:21:47Z")
[Fuck if I know](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBcq1x7P34). I don’t even know whether to count Antarctica anymore. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865/60 "2012-08-02T04:23:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > If I may ask, where were you taught that? > > . In France. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-continents-are-there-and-what-are-they/629865.md?page=4)