Why is it that people can't understand that Australia is a continent in itself.?

Question

Here on Y!A there are people saying Australia is in the continent of Oceania, Australia is on the continent of Australia, the Australian continent consists of new guinea, etc etc. This is all wrong. Australia is the only continent which is a country and only one country lies on the continent of Australia.

I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks.

Answer 1

That's how they taught the geography 15 years ago and before that.  They have officially changed it, first that Australia the continent included New Zealand, New Guinea, and other small islands.  Now, the official name of the continent which includes Australia and other said islands is, in fact, called Oceania.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Have you considered that it is AND isnt?  Have you considered that it doesnt matter?  Have you considered that it is completely arbitrary and irrelevant... a superficial human-made label that has no true, inherent, objective meaning.

Its a land mass... thats it.  No different than an island. No different than a continent.

Have you considered that bigotry is why you are making this point?  Are you from Australia?  Id be willing to be that you are blinded by pride for Australia.  And even if youre not, you are still blinded by obsessive yet ignorant faith in meaningless English words.

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

nope sir

The continents are asia, europe, africa, oceania and america.

as a matter of fact Oceania includes more than one country... for example. australia and new zealand!

It is called the australasian region , containing countries new zealand, new guinea, Australia and small islands.

The region obtained its name before tasmanian tigers were endangered..... so these facts aint too recent...

good luck!

Answer 4

Rather than simply dismissing other people as being wrong, wouldn't it be better to try to understand their reasoning, if possible?

If you look at recent  geological history, meaning the last 11,000 years, the separation of New Guinea and Australia is an unusual event caused by the rise in sea levels following lots of melted ice.  Prior to that, the two places were joined.  They also happen to be on the same tectonic plate, and there are strong overlaps in the wildlife.  If you happen to study stuff like that, it can make sense to think in terms of a continent called Australasia involving Australia, New Guinea and a number of other Indonesian islands.

Update

<<KTDykes argument is totally flawed. Using his argument then why isn't the Americas part of Europe because they are joined to each other under the sea.>>

They're on completely different tectonic plates and, therefore, not directly connected with one another, and that's in contrast to the situation of Australia and New Guinea.  It appears you didn't understand what was written and haven't used my argumentation in the above sentence.

Answer 5

KTDykes argument is totally flawed. Using his argument then why isn't the Americas part of Europe because they are joined to each other under the sea.

I agree with you. It is the poor standard of geography taught in schools and particularly in the USA where my son teaches.

Get over it people. Australia is a CONTINENT and a COUNTRY all in one and the only one. Thank goodness there is a ditch between them and us!!!!!