If Australia is a continent then what about greenland?

Question

What exactly classifies something as a continent? Greenland is so much more massive then Australia, and what of Russia and other old soviet countries. Its a large landmass, and we really don't associate them with Asia, there just Russia. Europe and Asia are connected, yet Europe is much smaller. And what of the middle east?

Answer 1

Greenland is not bigger than Australia and is considered part of North America. Frequently when Greenland shows up on a map it is a world map centered on the equator. Displaying a spherical object (the Earth) on a flat sheet (the map) will add a lot of distortion to objects near the north and south edges. That is why Greenland frequently looks much bigger than it really is.

The division between Europe and Asia is the Ural Mountain chain and is a somewhat arbitrary line chosen by cartographers.

The Middle East is just a phrase the designates a collection of countries commonly lumped together. It is not an actual, defined continent.

For the record, Australia is geographically part of Asia although it's residents think of themselves as European.

Answer 2

Its arbitrary. Australia is no more an island than Maui or the combined continents of Africa and Eurasia. They are all surrounded by water. The only difference is size... and the turning point between island and continent is an arbitrary, invisible line. Its a man-made concept with no strict definition.

Australia is usually regarded as the smallest continent... while Greenland the largest island. The reason is size, but the size requirement is made-up.

Greenland is significantly smaller than Australia, but Australia is not significantly smaller than the next largest continent. Greenland is not significantly bigger than the next smaller island. I guess the size GAP is what geographers have focused on here.

Also, many argue this.... Australia sits on its own tectonic plate, while Greenland shares one with North America. I think that is an absurd distinction, since the largest Pac island isnt considered a continent. Pacific tectonic plate doesnt have a continent. Even though each Pac Island shares a tectonic plate, they are still considered independent islands.

Furthermore, India is its own tectonic plate, but is still considered a part of Asia. Europe and Asia are two tectonic plates (or three if you count India, or four if you count Japan and nearby Pac islands)... but Europe and Asia can be considered two continents or one (Eurasia). Africa is a separate tectonic plate and often referred to as a separate continent... but it is connected by land to Eurasia... and so Afro-Eurasia is sometimes considered one continent. You see how there is no real confidence in definition?

Same goes with water-ways. Are the oceans of the world really separate? Where does one sea end and the next begin?

The best thing to do is to stop worrying about these superficial things. Worry about human labels when discussing human geography - like cities and populations and countries. Otherwise, ignore human-made labels, as most are arbitrary and completely abstract. All you need to really do is understand the uniqueness and specifics that make each land special.

Answer 3

What classifies a continent are North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia and Antarctica.  I think Greenland is an island.   By the way, Australia is bigger than Greenland.

Answer 4

Australia is larger than Greenland.

Australia is slightly smaller than the United States, with a total area of 7,686,850 sq km (2,967,909 sq mi).

Greenland Size

Area: total: 2,166,086 sq km

land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.)  

Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of Texas  

Continent definitions:

One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, but seven areas are commonly regarded as continents – they are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Some consider Europe and Asia one continent - Eurasia

Russia is actually part of two continents, but is formally in Asia.

European Russia is the mass of Russian land west of the Ural Mountains.   It is not a separate country, but rather called European Russia because of its political and cultural blending with European countries and peoples.

St. Petersburg and Moscow, (the capital) are located in European Russia. Regardless, the entire country is (geographically) still considered a part of Asia.

The Russian Federation - spread over all climate zones (except tropical) - is the world's largest country, with land that stretches halfway around the planet.

In fact, by airplane from Moscow, it takes over 8 hours to reach Vladivostok on its far eastern coast.

Answer 5

Australia is much larger than Greenland. More than 3 times.

Australia's area  7,686,650 sq. km.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications...

Greenland's area 2,166,086 sq. km

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications...

Answer 6

Greenland is the world's largest island (Australia is not considered an island).  Greenland instead is classified as a subcontinent of North America.  Another example of a subcontinent is India, a subcontinent to Asia.

Answer 7

no