Why are countries that are in two continents usually mentioned as if there in one.?

Question

Russia is in Europe and Asia, everytime you hear someone talking about Russia and where is it you always hear Europe

Egypt is in Africa and Asia everytime you hear someone talking about Egypt and where is it you near here Africa

Iceland is in North America & Europe everytime you hear someone talking about Iceland and where is it you near here Europe

Malta is on the african plate

All the islands in the Mediterranean sea south of Sicily are on the african plate but there always called European countries, islands, territories.

Italy and Yeman have islands that are on the African Plate

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure Russia is just Eastern European. And to answer your question... I think people do this because they associate that countries culture to be more like the type of the continent.

Answer 2

The problem is, how to decide in what continent a country is when its geographical location, geological location and political/cultural/historical bonds don't perfectly agree about it?

The geographical borders of the continents, as marked on maps, are not the same as the tectonic plates. For example, the geographical border between Europe and North America is between Iceland and Greenland, which explains why Iceland is said to be in Europe. However, the tectonic plates meet under Iceland, so geologically speaking it's in both continents.

I'm afraid geography and cultural bonds get to be dominant over geology in this matter.

Countries that are geographically in two (or more) continents are actually said to be in both, but people often just mention one, depending on what is being discussed. For example, I hear about Russia being in Europe when people are discussing European matters, but I hear about it being in Asia when the subject has to do with Asia.

Answer 3

Your only real point is about Russia, a Eurasian state. The Urals really are a geological boundary between the cratons (proto continents more or less) of Baltica to the west and Siberia to the East. Eurasia was clumped together from many pieces. Those were just two of them.

Iceland straddles the mid ocean ridge so is not properly part of either continent. The other examples are machts nichts (de minimis to you lawyers out there.)

All of the Arabian peninsula including Yemen split off Africa umpteen million years ago eventually colliding with Asia along a suture line marked by mountains like the Zagros in Iran.

Answer 4

I'm from Malta and all 100% maltese are considered European.We have similar culture to Italy and have strong ties with Britain & Italy.Besides I can't see the Maltese people called 'Africans'.

Also we are part of the EU so we are considered Europeans by all Europe.And you got it all wrong by saying we are on the african plate.

We are European and that's final.

Answer 5

Geography is not the only link between countries.

Often countries will be linked by culture or politics.

Russia is lumped in with Europe because the bulk of its population is in Europe (west of the Urals).

Egypt is lumped with Africa because the vast portion of its landmass is there (and population).  However Egypt (and other north African nations) are often considered part of the Middle East because of their religious and political affiliations.

Iceland is geographically closer to the North American Region, but historically its population is related to the Scandinavian countries.  It is also economically linked to the European Union, so is commonly included with Europe.

Malta is closer to Africa than Europe, but is considered part of Europe because of its British historical connections (It was once part of the British Empire).  The island also has cultural and political ties to the European Union, to Britain and Italy.

The other islands of the meditteranean are in much the same boat as Malta.  They historically have been heavily influenced by or are a part of other European countries.   Crete is part of Greece.  Cyprus has long had both Greek and Turkish connections and even today is divided by them.

Often geography is just a small part of what make a country belong in particular region.  For instance  Indonesia is most definitely included in Asia.   However half of the island of New Guinea belongs to Indonesia.  The other half forms the country of Papua New Guinea,  which is considered part of Oceania or the South Pacific region.   This despite the same culture and ethinic groups living on both sides of the island.

It goes to show, you can't label a country and put it in a little box.  Like people they have diverse and wide interests that make classifying them quite a challenge.

Answer 6

Tectonic plates themselves do not define the boundaries of continents.  India and Australia are on the same tectonic plate, yet you probably cannot find anyone who would argue they're the same continent.  Russia, for example, is in Europe and Asia, but tectonically, it's on the Eurasian and North American plates (the boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates is ill-defined and is somewhere in eastern Siberia northwest of Japan)!

Continents are basically defined as large landmasses separated from one another by oceans (or extensions of oceans).  Islands, then, are not considered parts of continents unless (1) they're an exposed part of the continental shelf of a continent, or (2) they're very close to a continent (proximity).  In some instances, mid-oceanic islands are grouped with continents either by proximity or culture (as is the case with Iceland... it is part of the Scandinavian cultural region even if it isn't part of the Scandinavia geophysical region).

For the most part, bi-continental nations are usually referenced to that continent where the majority of the country's area or population are located:

Panama—North America

Egypt—Africa

Turkey—Asia

Spain—Europe

Georgia—Asia

Azerbaijan—Asia

Kazakhstan—Asia

Russia, however, has a majority of its population in Europe (center of culture, economics, history), but a majority of its area in Asia.  This is why Russia is most often listed as part of Europe.  Despite its location, as a whole it is more European than Asian.

Ultimately, the definition of a continent is a construct of the human mind and less of a construct of the physical world.  After all, we have seven continents [because in western culture we have historically wanted things to come in groups of seven (c.f. the seven seas, the seven days of creation, the  seven days of the week, the seven historical/astrological planets, etc)...], despite the fact that there are only two large landmasses (Afro-Eurasia, and America) and two smaller landmasses (Australia and Antarctica).  So, a country is part of whatever continent we want it to be a part of, usually for political, historical, or cultural reasons.

Answer 7

it usually goes with either where the majority of the country's territory is (as Turkey and Egypt), or where cultural and political ties are strongest (as with Malta and Russia).

Answer 8

people are reffering to the first continet cause the bulk of the country is on it

Answer 9

The country's political persuasion usually determines their perceived location.  Turkey is part of the EU but is mostly in Asia.