Arid Australia
Australia may be an arid continent, but the continent has preserved a unique flora and natural world. Nowhere else on the planet do platypuses and kangaroos live, nor do tree-like palms grow.
The driest continent on the globe is Australia. But his titles, which relate to “the most,” do not end there. Australia is also the smallest piece of the continent, and its discovery was only in the 7th century. Australia is also the only place on earth where unique animals have been preserved.
Australia began to be explored only at the end of the 18th century. The English government of that time began to develop the territory in a rather unique way: it sent English convicts there to settle. Sydney, a large Australian city, originated as a convict colony.
The scale of the continent
The shores of the continent are washed by two oceans: the Indian and the Pacific. The dimensions are “tiny” - compared to other continents - only 8.9 million square kilometers. For comparison, Eurasia is 6 times larger. If you look at the globe from top to bottom, Australia will be located in the south. It also occupies the eastern hemisphere.
From south to north, the length of the continent is 3200 km, from east to west - 4100. According to the latest data, Australia is inhabited by 24,000,000 people, and they all live in one state - the Commonwealth of Australia. There are no more states that can fit on the territory of the continent. The capital of the country is Canberra.
80% of the population are Anglo-American immigrants, 1% are local residents - aborigines. All the rest are immigrants from other countries. Aborigines live mainly on reservations. The population occupies the eastern and southeastern territories, places where precipitation occurs.
Summer in Australia
Like all countries in the Southern Hemisphere, summer in Australia begins when it is winter in Eurasia. Accordingly, the winter of the Southern Hemisphere is the summer of the Northern Hemisphere. If you look at average temperatures, in summer it is plus 20 degrees Celsius, and in winter 12. The lowest temperature in the mountains is recorded at about minus 12 degrees, on the plain it is down to minus 4.
Rain in Australia falls mainly in the north or east of the continent; in other places it almost never happens. The climate of the continent is determined by four zones: tropical, subtropical, subequatorial and temperate.
Australian platform
At the heart of Australia is a platform that is still in constant motion: falling and rising. Now the continent is considered one of the calmest in terms of seismic situation; its topography is quite flat and somewhat boring. In the eastern part there is the Great Dividing Range. According to geologists, Australia is “stuffed” with minerals. What is there in its depths: bauxite, iron ore, uranium, bauxite and diamonds. The diamond deposits are rich, the stones are of amazing purity. Australia is an arid continent because there are no large rivers. The largest river is the Murray, which has a tributary called the Darling. But the rivers are full only during the rainy season; during the dry summer, the water level drops significantly.
There are many underground lakes on the continent, but most of the reservoirs are drainless - such as ponds. The water in them is salty. One of the large lakes is Lake Eyre. It is located 12 meters below ocean level.
People living in Australia protect their arid continent and its unique nature. National parks have been created on the continent, where people are only guests. and the owners are animals and plants.
summary of other presentations“Sights of the Chelyabinsk Region” - Swamp. Summer pastures. Sanctuary of the Saka country. Ancient necropolis. Basic description. Why do mounds need mustaches? Historical monument. In the Kesene tract. Mounds in the Orenburg region. Stone embankments.
“Climate of South America” 7th grade - Territories with high rainfall. Climate of South America. Phenomena and conditions affecting climate. Factors influencing the climate of South America. Climatic zones. Underlying surface. Solar radiation. Climate records. Andes. Eastern territories of the mainland. Coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Long-term weather regime. An area with a special temperature regime. Atmospheric circulation.
“The smallest continent of Australia” is the poorest in rivers. The driest continent. Flowchart of the project. The lowest and flattest continent. Teacher's activities. Dates and location of the project. The most urbanized continent. The most geologically calm continent. The most protected continent. Selecting topics. The smallest and most remote continent on Earth. Results of the study presentation. The most deserted of the inhabited continents.
"City of Miass" - Ilmensky Nature Reserve. Administrative device. Education. Interesting Facts. Biryukov Ivan Alexandrovich. City `s history. Miass. City leadership. Enterprises of Miass. Enterprises. Religion. Taganay National Park. The situation in Russia. Modernity of Miass. Plastic production machines. Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity.
"Obruchev" - Asian Studies. Books by V.A.Obruchev. Goals of the most important expeditions. Results of the expeditions. Expeditions of V.A. Obruchev in Asia. Outstanding Russian scientist. Research of Siberia. Portrait of V.A.Obruchev. Study of gold-bearing deposits in Siberia. Biography of a traveler. Obruchev V.A. - Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Outstanding Russian traveler. Researcher's contribution to geography. Explorer's name on a modern map.
“Geography of the Atlantic Ocean” - Do currents form a circulation in the Atlantic Ocean? At what latitudes is the widest part of the Atlantic located? Main characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean. Ecological problems. These two currents of the Atlantic Ocean are warm. History of ocean exploration. Atlantic Ocean. The purpose of the lesson. Ocean temperature and salinity. Icebergs can be found even at forties latitudes. Interaction between the ocean, atmosphere and land.
>> Eurasia - a continent of contrasts
Chapter 7
Continents are the largest natural
land complexes
§ 1. Eurasia - a continent of contrasts
Geographical position. Size and outline. Oceans and seas washing the continent.
Eurasia is the largest continent on Earth. Together with the islands, its area is 54 million km2 - this is one third of the land. The continent consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. The border between them is drawn conditionally: along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, along the Emba River, the northern coast of the Caspian Sea and the Kuma-Manych depression. Further, Europe and Asia are separated by the Black and Azov Seas and the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. Eurasia is separated from Africa by the Suez Canal, and from North America by the Bering Strait.
Names of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia - come from the Assyrian words “ereb” - west and “asu” - east.
Occupying 1/3 of the entire landmass, Eurasia concentrates the 3D population of the planet, and the peoples inhabiting the continent are so numerous and diverse that just listing them could take several pages. Our state is also located in Eurasia - Russia.
Eurasia is located in the Northern Hemisphere. The prime meridian crosses its territory in the west. Coordinates of the extreme points of the mainland:
northern - Cape Chelyuskin - 78° N. latitude, 105° east. d.
southern - Cape Piai - 1° N. latitude, 104° east. d.
western - Cape Roca - 39° N. latitude, 9°w. d.
eastern - Cape Dezhnev - 67° N. latitude, 170°w. d.
Eurasia is washed by the waters of all four oceans, which form marginal and inland seas along its shores: the Baltic, Black, Azov, Mediterranean, North and Norwegian seas; The Straits of Gibraltar and the English Channel, as well as the Bay of Biscay, belong to the Atlantic Ocean. There are large islands here: Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, as well as peninsulas: Scandinavian, Iberian, Apennine. The northern shores of Eurasia are washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean: Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukotka. The largest islands are Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen; peninsulas - Taimyr, Yamal. The Bering Strait connects the Arctic Ocean with Quiet, which forms the marginal seas off the coast of Eurasia: Bering, Okhotsk, Japan, Yellow, East China, South China. The largest islands: Sakhalin, Hokkaido, Honshu, Philippine, Greater Sunda; peninsulas: Kamchatka, Korea, Indochina.
The seas of the Indian Ocean (Red, Arabian) and bays (Persian, Bengal) extend deep into the land. They wash large peninsulas - Arabian, Hindustan, Malacca.
Eurasia is a continent of contrasts. Due to the enormous size of the continent, the nature of Eurasia is diverse and complex. Here is the greatest peak of the world - Mount Chomolungma (Everest) with a height of 8848 m and the deepest depression of land (relative to sea level) - the Dead Sea (-402 m); the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere in Oymyakon, where a temperature of -70° is recorded, and the sultry regions of Mesopotamia; the arid regions of the Arabian Peninsula, where only 44 mm of precipitation falls annually, and the humid regions of North-Eastern India (Cherrapunji) with a precipitation of 12,000 mm or more per year; in the north of the continent there are arctic deserts, and in the south there are humid equatorial forests.
From the history of research. Long before the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and the founding of the First Geographical Institute by the Portuguese Prince Henry, the inhabitants of Europe were actively exploring the lands around them and making geographical discoveries. One of the first were the Phoenicians, who in the 2nd century BC. e. explored the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, then the ancient Greeks completed the discovery of Southern Europe. And during the reign of the Romans, who conquered the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the name of the third part of the world appeared - Africa. During the Age of Great Geographical Discovery, the famous journey of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama to India took place, as well as the circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan, who, having sailed across the Pacific Ocean, approached the islands of Indonesia. The nature of Central Asia, Siberia and the Far East has long remained a mystery to European geographers.
The famous expeditions of our compatriots - Semyon Dezhnev to Siberia and the Far East, Vladimir Atlasov to Kamchatka, Pyotr Chikhachev to Altai, Pyotr Semyonov-Tien-Shansky to the Tien Shan mountains, Nikolai Przhevalsky to Central Asia - filled the gaps on the geographical maps of Asia.
Relief and minerals. Diversity relief Eurasia is explained by the structural features of the earth's crust in different parts of the continent. The ancient platforms: East European, Siberian, Sino-Korean, Indian, African-Arabian correspond to vast stable plains: East European Plain, Central Siberian Plateau, Great Chinese Plain, Deccan Plateau, Arabian Plateau. The areas of new folding correspond to mountain belts: Alpine-Himalayan, including the Pyrenees, Apennines, Alps, Carpathians, Caucasus, Pamir, Himalayas; as well as the Pacific belt of folded mountains (part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”), stretching along the eastern shores of Eurasia from Kamchatka to the Malay Archipelago. Here, in the Pacific Ocean, there are deep-sea trenches. These are seismically active areas with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the most famous of which are: Vesuvius (Apennine Peninsula), Etna (Sicily), Hecla (Iceland). The highest active volcano in Eurasia is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m) on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Fuji (Honshu Island), Krakatoa, located on a small island in the Malay Archipelago.
The Ural, Altai, and Tien Shan mountains appeared in the era of ancient folding. However, Altai and Tien Shan have undergone new uplifts - rejuvenation of the relief, in contrast to the Ural Mountains, which are heavily destroyed and smoothed.
In the vicinity of folded mountains in foothill troughs layer of the earth's crust Lowlands were formed, for example, the Indo-Gangetic (Hindustan Peninsula) and Mesopotamian (Arabian Peninsula).
Minerals of Eurasia extremely diverse, and their reserves are large. Iron ore deposits in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula, on the Hindustan Peninsula and northeast China are associated with igneous rocks. A strip of deposits of such rare metals as tungsten and tin stretches across southern China, the Indochina and Malacca peninsulas, forming the so-called tin-tungsten belt. The mountains of the Alpine-Himalayan belt and the Deccan plateau abound in ores of non-ferrous metals.
The West Siberian Lowland, the coast of the Persian Gulf, the North Sea shelf, the Arabian Peninsula and the Mesopotamian Lowland are exceptionally rich in oil and gas. Coal deposits are also associated with sedimentary rocks, the largest of which are located in the Ruhr and Upper Silesian basins in Western Europe, in the Donets basin in southern Russia, as well as on the Great Chinese Plain and the Indo-Gangetic Lowland.
Iron ore deposits are associated with metamorphic rocks, such as the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly in Russia, as well as with sedimentary rocks (the Lorraine deposit in Western Europe). Bauxite is of sedimentary origin. Their deposits are located along the Alps, south of the Carpathians and on the Indochina Peninsula.
Eurasia is the only continent of the Earth that is located in all climatic zones and in all natural zones (Fig. 26). Its nature is extremely diverse, therefore, several large natural complexes are distinguished on its territory: Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe; South-West, Central, East and South Asia. The patterns of development of the population and political map are also very different, so we will consider them separately for Europe and Asia.
Foreign Europe
The coasts of Europe are characterized by a maritime climate. Most of it lies in the temperate zone and is influenced by westerly winds carrying moisture from the Atlantic. Western transport contributes to the formation of cyclones on fronts of air masses with different properties (Arctic, temperate and tropical), which often causes cloudy and rainy weather: cool in summer, mild in winter, with temperatures above 0°C. The climate of Scandinavia is strongly influenced by the warm North Atlantic Current: thanks to it, coniferous and broad-leaved forests grow in the south of the peninsula, while most of the island of Greenland, which lies at approximately the same latitudes as the Scandinavian Peninsula, is covered with ice all year round.
Foreign Europe has a dense river network belonging to the Atlantic Ocean basin (with rare exceptions). The longest river is the Danube (2850 km), other large rivers are the Rhine, Elbe, Odra, Vistula, Tagus, Duero. There are many lakes in Northern Europe, especially in Finland.
Northern Europe includes the islands: Spitsbergen, Iceland and Fennoscandia (the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Finland). The main attraction of the southwestern coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula are narrow, deep bays with steep banks - fjords. The depth of the largest of them - Sognefjord - is 1200 m, and the length is 220 km. The fjords were formed as a result of faults in the Scandinavian mountains. During glaciation, these faults were deepened and widened. Fennoscandia is a land of lakes and forests (mostly coniferous).
Central Europe occupies the Central European plains, the largest of which are the North German and Polish lowlands; the coasts of the North and Baltic seas; the region of medium-high mountains of Central Europe (French and Czech massifs, Ore Mountains), the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the Alpine and Carpathian mountain ranges with adjacent plains. The southern coast of the North Sea is characterized by so-called secular fluctuations of the earth's crust, as a result of which the coastal lowlands gradually sink (by 1 mm per year). Many areas (in the Netherlands, for example) are already below sea level, so their populations have to fight the advancing sea and build dams.
Central Europe is located in a zone of deciduous forests of beech and oak, which are favored by a humid, warm climate and brown forest soils. However, the forests have been heavily cut down, and in their place are industrial areas, the largest of which - the Ruhr - is located in Germany.
Southern Europe is located in the subtropical zone in the Mediterranean climate area. It includes the Iberian, Apennine and Balkan peninsulas and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. This is the most unstable section of the earth's crust in Europe, part of the Alpine-Himalayan belt. Despite this, Southern Europe is famous for its resorts. Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, and Bulgaria are visited by millions of tourists every year. The comfortable Mediterranean climate is formed under the influence of two different types of air masses that change with the seasons. In winter, westerly winds bring moist ocean air from temperate latitudes from the Atlantic. Summers here are hot and dry under the influence of tropical air masses. Evergreen hard-leaved forests and shrubs grow in the Mediterranean. The imported plants also do well here - various palm trees and citrus fruits.
Population and political map. Over 500 million people live in Foreign Europe. This is a region of ancient settlement, the “cradle” of several ancient civilizations (ancient and Christian). Over the course of several millennia, the most important events in world history took place on the territory of Europe, associated with conquests, wars, and mass migrations of people, which determined the very complex ethnic composition of its population. The majority of the current European population belongs to the Indo-European language family, which includes three language groups: Germanic, Romance and Slavic. In terms of the number of speakers, the Germanic group predominates (see atlas map).
Compared to other continents, the region of Foreign Europe is characterized by uniform settlement of territories, although there are differences in population density: higher population density is observed in Southern and Central Europe, the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland are sparsely populated. 3/5 of the total population live in cities, the largest of which are London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Rome.
The political map of Foreign Europe began to take shape a long time ago and has undergone many changes. On the modern political map of the region, there are 42 states, among which the most economically developed are Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. A special feature of the political map of Europe is the presence of a number of dwarf states: the Vatican, Monaco, Andorra and others.
Foreign Asia
The relief of Foreign Asia has significantly higher average heights than Europe. There are many highlands, the highest of which - Tibet - rises to 4.5 km. The climate of Asia is much hotter than Europe. The abundance of precipitation on the eastern and southeastern coasts gives way to an arid climate in Central and Southwestern Asia. There is a desert zone here. The climate of Asia is greatly influenced by its topography. Let's give an example. The Himalayas almost do not allow moist air masses from the Indian Ocean to pass to the north. Therefore, up to 12,000 mm of precipitation falls annually on the southern slopes, while to the north of the Himalayan mountains there is one of the driest deserts in the world - the Taklamakan.
Southwest Asia is located on the Arabian Peninsula, the Mesopotamian Lowland, as well as on the vast highlands: Asia Minor, Armenian and Iranian, along the outskirts of which rise high, relatively recently formed folded mountains. As you move east from the Mediterranean Sea, the climate from Mediterranean gradually becomes subtropical continental. The penetration of moisture to the east is prevented by mountain ranges. Arabia is located in a tropical dry climate region. The Rub al-Khali desert is located here. Desert landscapes characterize much of Southwest Asia. The most convenient places for people to live are along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and in the Mesopotamian lowland, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (the Indian Ocean basin) create favorable conditions for irrigated agriculture.
central Asia is a combination of huge plateaus and highlands with high mountain ranges of the Tien Shan and Kun-Lun, the peaks of which rise 7 km or more. The main feature of the climate of Central Asia is sharp continentality with large daily and annual temperature amplitudes. This is a land of dry steppes and deserts, the largest of which - the Gobi - is located northeast of the Tibetan Plateau. High ridges prevent moist air masses from the oceans from penetrating into Central Asia, so Tibet receives only 100 mm of precipitation per year. Here are the glaciers that give rise to large rivers: the Yangtze, Yellow River, Mekong, Brahmaputra, Indus.
East Asia includes mainland (Eastern China and the Korean Peninsula) and island (Japanese Islands) natural complexes. This is an area of monsoon climate with variable-humid (monsoon) forests. From north to south, the region is crossed by two climatic zones: temperate and subtropical. Therefore, in the north, the winter monsoon is dry and cold (average temperatures are negative), while the summer monsoon is humid and hot. To the south, winter and summer temperatures gradually increase. The large Chinese rivers Yangtze (5800 km) and Yellow River (4845 km), carrying their waters to the Pacific Ocean, flood in the summer during the wet monsoon.
A characteristic feature of the climate of East Asia and the Japanese Islands is typhoons. These are hurricane-force winds originating in the Pacific Ocean. They cause great destruction and are accompanied by heavy rainfall.
South Asia includes the Himalayas - the greatest mountain system in the world, whose ten peaks exceed 8 km; the Indo-Gangetic lowland with the deep rivers Indus (3180 km) and Ganges (2700 km), flowing into the Indian Ocean; the Hindustan Peninsula, where the Deccan plateau is located, exceptionally rich in ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals; the Indochina Peninsula with its tin-tungsten belt, as well as deposits of zinc, silver, gold and diamonds; as well as the Malay Archipelago, whose islands are covered with equatorial rainforests.
South Asia is located in the subequatorial and equatorial belts and is under the influence of the southwest monsoons.
Altitudinal zonation is clearly expressed in the Himalayas. Here you can find almost all the natural zones of the Earth, which replace each other as you climb the mountains. It is not without reason that plant hunters flock to the Himalayas, because here you can collect an extraordinary collection, especially since the places are difficult to access and little developed by man.
Population and political map. Foreign Asia is the most populous region on Earth: about 4 billion people live here, i.e. over half of all humanity. The population is extremely diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. Representatives of all three major races live here, as well as peoples who combine the characteristics of different races in their appearance. The most numerous peoples speak Indian and Sino-Tibetan languages. In South-West Asia, Arabic and Iranian languages are spoken.
Due to the peculiarities of the relief, the population is distributed extremely unevenly throughout the territory. Very high population densities in the river valleys and coastal regions of South and East Asia. The high mountainous and desert central areas of the region are very sparsely populated. The population of Overseas Asia is growing very quickly, especially in China and India. 34% of the population live in cities. Largest cities: Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai (Bombay), Shanghai, Jakarta, Kolkata. On the political map of the region there are 48 states, differing greatly in size and population. Almost all countries are classified as developing countries in terms of economic development, and Japan leads the list of developed countries. The world's largest country, China, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore have achieved significant economic success in recent years (see atlas map).
PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CONTINENTS AND OCEANS
The largest natural complexes into which the geographical envelope is divided are continents and oceans.
Continents, or continents, are the largest land masses, surrounded on all sides by the waters of the World Ocean. Their total area is 149 million km, or 29% of the earth's surface. There are only six continents, and by size they can be arranged in the following order: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia. Each continent is a unique natural complex. The determining factors for the unique nature of each continent are its geographical location, size, configuration, surface structure and history of development.
The concept of “continent” should be distinguished from the concept of “part of the world”. The latter reflects the historical approach to dividing land into separate parts. There are also six parts of the world: Europe and Asia, which are part of one continent - Eurasia, America, which includes two continents - North and South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica.
When starting to study the continents, remember that the characteristics of any natural complex are built according to a specific plan. The plan provides a deeper disclosure of the cause-and-effect relationships that explain the uniqueness of each natural complex.
The characterization of the continents in this manual is based on the following plan: the geographical position of the continent, brief information from the history of its exploration, geological structure, relief, minerals, climate, inland waters, natural areas, the most characteristic physical and geographical areas, population, political map. In turn, each of these sections is revealed according to its own plan.
When characterizing natural complexes, remember that it is necessary not only to reveal internal connections, but also to find out the most important thing that distinguishes one territory from another.
table 2
General information about the continents
|
Name ma- |
Area, million km |
Height relative to sea level, m |
Extreme points of the continent and their coordinates Northern - Cape Chelyuskin, 77°43" N. South - Cape Piai, 1°1b"N. Western - Cape Roca, 9°34" W. Vostochnaya - Cape Dezhnev, 169°40" W |
Population, |
|||
|
no islands |
with islands |
greatest Everest (Jomolun- |
smallest Ven Mert- of the sea |
||||
|
Kilimand- |
veil of the lake |
Northern - Cape El Abyad, 37°20"N. South - Cape Agulhas, 34°52" S. Western - Cape Almadi, 17°32" W. Eastern - Cape Ras Hafun, 51°23" E. | |||||
|
Northern - Cape Murchison, 71°50" latitude. South - Cape Mariato, 7°12" N. Western - Cape Prince of Wales, Eastern - Cape St. Charles, 55°40" W. | |||||||
|
Akonka- |
40, semi- Val Island |
North - Cape Galinas, 12°25" N. South - Cape Froward, 53°54" S. Western - Cape Parinhas, 81°20" W. Eastern - Cape Cabo Branco, 34°46" W. | |||||
|
Kosciusz- |
veil of the lake |
North - Cape York, 10°41 "S. Yuzhnaya - Cape South-East, 39°1 1 "S. Western - Cape Steep Point, 1 13°05" E. Eastern - Cape Byron, 153°39" E. | |||||
|
410, hard giving confidence |
North - Antarctic Peninsula, | ||||||
Questions and tasks:
1. Determine the coordinates of the extreme points of Africa.
2. Calculate the length of the continent in degrees and kilometers from north to south and from west to east.
4. What other special degree network lines cross Africa? What conclusion can be drawn from this fact?
5. What geographical pattern is most clearly visible in the natural conditions of the continent due to its position in relation to the equator?
6. What is the influence of the oceans and seas that surround Africa on its nature?
7. What are the most characteristic features of the nature of Africa associated with its geographical location? Brief information from the history of continental exploration
The Mediterranean states - Ancient Greece and Phenicia, developing sea routes, have long known the northern shores of Africa well. However, sailors managed to get around the mainland only in the 15th century. In an effort to find the shortest route to India, a Portuguese expedition led by Vasco da Gama in 1497-1498. circumnavigated Africa and left the Atlantic into the Indian Ocean. For a long time, neither traders nor explorers were able to advance into the interior regions. The elevated coastline in the east and west without convenient bays and bays, vast deserts in the north, climatic conditions unusual for Europeans, impenetrable forests in the center of the continent and rapids rivers - all this made it difficult to penetrate deep into Africa. For a long time, only individual travelers could get into some inland areas and collect scant information about their nature and population.
Only in the 19th century, in connection with active colonization, expeditions organized by different countries began. The English traveler-humanist David Livingston made a great contribution to the exploration of the mainland during a series of expeditions in the 40-60s of the last century. The works of the Russian scientist V.V. Juncker, who collected in 1876-1886, are widely known. rich material about the nature and life of Central and Eastern Africa.
Relief and geological structure.
Minerals
Almost the entire continent is an ancient African-Arabian platform - part of the split Gondwana, the foundation of which was formed in the Archean and Proterozoic. The ancient folded structures that make up the base of the platform developed over hundreds of millions of years. The African block in its different parts experienced uplift and subsidence. Mountain structures were destroyed, and sedimentary rocks accumulated in subsidence zones. There were splits and outpourings of magma.
The northern and southern parts of the continent developed differently, so their modern relief is significantly different. In the north there are more subsidence zones that were repeatedly flooded by seas. Destroyed ancient folded structures are covered with sedimentary rocks. Stratified plains formed on these plates. Ancient crystalline rocks come to the surface only on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, in the center of the Sahara and along the Red Sea. They are dominated by the relief of plateaus and highlands.
In Eastern and Southern Africa, plateaus and shield highlands occupy most of the territory. In the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, enormous movements of the earth's crust occurred, especially active in the east of the continent, where there is a zone of deep faults. Vertical and horizontal movements of large blocks of the earth's crust occurred along the cracks. Uplifts - horsts - and subsidences - grabens were formed. The horsts in relief correspond to the blocky ridges of the East African Highlands with flat tops and steep slopes. Deep narrow lakes have formed in many grabens. The faults were accompanied by volcanic activity, so in the East African and Ethiopian highlands there are large areas of lava plateaus and large volcanic massifs, for example, the highest peak in Africa, Kilimanjaro (5895 m). Horsts are also numerous in South Africa, for example the Drakensberg Mountains. Volcanic activity continues to this day. There are active volcanoes along the fault lines in East Africa and off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, such as Mount Cameroon.
In the extreme north and south of the continent, mobile folded zones adjoin the ancient platform - the Atlas system in the north and the Cape system in the south. Folding movements in the Cape Mountains ended during the Hercynian orogeny, in the Atlas - during the Alpine. These folded structures, uplifted by subsequent tectonic movements, represent low and medium-high folded block mountains dissected by river valleys. In the Cenozoic, the entire continent experienced uplifts, especially active along the edges, so even “low” northern Africa has altitudes mostly above 200 m, and southern and eastern ones above 500-1000 m.
Africa is rich in various minerals. Deposits of ferrous (iron, cobalt, chromium, manganese) and non-ferrous (copper, zinc, tin) metal ores are confined to the ancient folded base of the continent. Gold and diamonds are mined in Central and Southern Africa. In modern conditions, large deposits of uranium ores have acquired exceptional value. In sedimentary rocks, mainly in Northern and in some basins of Central and Southern Africa, there are deposits of coal, brown iron ore, phosphorites, and aluminum ores - bauxite. Significant oil and gas reserves have been explored in the north of the continent and on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
Questions and tasks:
1 Using a physical map, identify the main features of the relief of Africa.
2. How is the tectonic structure and development of the continent reflected in the relief? What patterns can be traced in the development of relief?
3. Tell us about the folded block mountains of Africa. Explain how they are confined to the northern and southern edges of the continent.
What patterns can be traced in the distribution of minerals? In which areas of Africa would you continue searching for oil, coal, and non-ferrous metal ores?
Almost all of Africa is located at low latitudes. Most of the continent lies between the two tropics. Twice a year the Sun in these areas is at its zenith at noon, and its lowest midday position is approximately the same as in Moscow on the summer solstice. Average air temperatures in the summer months are almost everywhere above 20 °C, and in some places reach 35-36 °C. In winter, even in the “coolest” extreme southern and northern regions, average monthly temperatures on the plains do not fall below 8 °C.
In the central parts of the continent, the air warms up evenly throughout the year. Seasonal temperature fluctuations are clearly visible only in tropical and especially subtropical latitudes. Climates differ mainly in the amount and pattern of precipitation. Their greatest number occurs in the equatorial regions: the Congo River basin (Zaire) and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea - 2000-3000 mm per year, and on the windward slopes of the mountains even more - up to 9000 mm. North of 17-20° N latitude. annual precipitation is less than 300 mm.
In Africa there are equatorial, two subequatorial and two tropical zones. The northernmost coast and southern tip of the mainland are located in subtropical zones.
The equatorial, constantly humid and hot climate is formed in the Congo Basin and on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. To the north and south, over large areas (up to 17-20° N and S), a monsoon subequatorial climate prevails with a seasonal change in the direction of movement of air masses. The summer equatorial monsoon, which contributes to heavy rainfall, is replaced by the winter, tropical, in which dry, hot weather sets in.
Subequatorial zones give way to tropical ones, where dry weather prevails all year round. Summers are hot (temperatures up to 40 °C and above), winter temperatures drop to 18 °C. Daily temperature amplitudes are greater than annual ones. Within the tropical zone, southern Africa receives slightly more rainfall than the north. In summer, in the narrowed part of the continent, in an area of low pressure, air masses from the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Their interaction contributes to the formation of clouds and precipitation.
The climatic conditions on the west coast of Africa are unique within the tropical zones, where air moves along the coast from colder temperate latitudes towards the equator. In this regard, temperatures are relatively low (even in summer about 20 ° C, and in winter about 15 ° C). When moving to low latitudes, air masses warm up and move away from moisture saturation, so precipitation does not form. Cold currents that prevent the development of convection also do not contribute to the formation of precipitation: the air at the surface of the ocean is colder than in the upper layers. However, a lot of moisture evaporates from the sea surface, and this leads to the formation of dew and fog on the coast during relatively cold night hours. Such a climate with mild summers, relatively cool winters, almost complete absence of precipitation throughout the year, heavy dew and frequent fogs is typical for the Namib Desert and some parts of the western coastal Sahara.
On the east coast of South Africa, under the influence of air masses moving from the equator towards temperate latitudes, a hot, humid tropical climate is formed. This is favored by the warm currents washing the shores of the mainland, above which the air receives especially a lot of moisture, as well as the rather high ledges of the plateau and the Drakensberg Mountains. Rising up the slopes, the air cools, clouds form and precipitation falls.
In the north - on the Mediterranean coast - and on the southwestern tip of Africa, the climate is subtropical Mediterranean with dry, hot summers and warm, humid winters.
On the east coast of South Africa, within the subtropical zone, the precipitation regime is different. In summer, humid air comes to the coast from the Indian Ocean, and, as in the tropical zone, it rains. In winter, the Cape Mountains block the prevailing westerly winds, resulting in less rainfall.
Questions and tasks:
1. How does its geographic location influence Africa’s climate?9
2, In what climate zones is Africa located?
3. What air masses circulate over the African continent? What properties do they have? Trace the main directions of their movements by season. What weather changes accompany such movements? In what parts of Africa are they most noticeable?
4. What explains the large contrasts in the distribution of precipitation on the mainland?
Which areas of Africa, in your opinion, have the most favorable climatic conditions for human life? Justify your answer
Inland waters
The most striking feature of the African continent is the relatively small amount of land water. If you distribute the waters of rivers, streams and lakes evenly over the entire area of the continent, then in terms of the thickness of the resulting layer (180 mm), Africa will be in second to last place in the world (Australia occupies the last place). This is explained by the fact that most of the territory receives little precipitation, and evaporation due to high temperatures is high everywhere. In addition, water is lost due to seepage into the sands and rocky areas of deserts.
A distinctive feature of Africa’s water network is the significant area of internal flow areas (about 1/3 of the entire area of the continent). Rivers flow into lakes that do not flow into the ocean, or are lost in sand and rubble or in swamps. Internal flow is associated with both a deficit moisture, and with the basin nature of the surface. Endorheic lakes or swamps on the site of former lakes occupy the bottoms of basins (Lake Chad, Rudolf).
Africa's waters are distributed extremely unevenly. A dense river network is available where there is a lot of rainfall and water-resistant rocks are common: in the Congo Basin (Zaire), on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. More than a third of the continent has no constant flow at all: water appears only in depressions after rare rains (in the Sahara, Namib Desert, etc.). Deserts have dry riverbeds called wadis, indicating a wetter climate in the past. Water flows down them after rare rains.
The rivers of Africa are mainly fed by rain. The flow regime is in accordance with the precipitation regime. Rivers in the subequatorial and tropical climate zones are fuller in summer, and in the Mediterranean - in winter. The Congo River (Zaire) is full of water all year round, as rivers from both hemispheres flow into it, and the summer rainy season occurs in the north and south in different months.
The longest river in Africa and the whole world is the Nile (6671 km). The sources of the Nile were unknown to Europeans for a long time. Only in the 70s of the XIX century. The Kagera River was discovered, flowing from the west into Lake Victoria and considered the uppermost course of the Nile. After Lake Victoria, the river flows through several more lakes. Within the East African Highlands there is a whole cascade of rapids and waterfalls on the river. After several tributaries flow into it, the river’s water content increases and it receives the name White Nile. Near the city of Khartoum, the White Nile merges with the Blue Nile, which originates in the Ethiopian Highlands from Lake Tana. From here, already called the Nile, the river flows, crossing outcrops of solid crystalline rocks. Previously, there were famous rapids here that made navigation difficult (this explains the inaccessibility of the upper Nile in the past). After the creation of the high-rise Aswan Dam, in the construction of which our country also took part, a huge reservoir was formed on the site of the rapids.
Below Aswan, the Nile is a calm, wide, flat river. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a large delta, composed, like the entire Nile floodplain, of fertile silt. Silt is brought during floods mainly from the volcanic Ethiopian Highlands. The Nile Valley and Delta played a huge role in the development of civilization. Fertile lands and water, combined with a hot climate, contributed to the prosperity of Ancient Egypt - a state with developed irrigated agriculture, construction art, science, and high culture. Now the Nile water is used for irrigation and hydroelectricity.
Neil's regime is peculiar. The bulk of the water in the main river comes from the Blue Nile. It is full of water during the summer rains. The rise of water reaches the lower reaches in late summer - early autumn. In the middle reaches of the Nile there is more water than in the lower reaches. This is due to the large loss of water in the desert, through which the river flows for hundreds of kilometers without receiving tributaries.
The length of the second major river in Africa - the Congo (Zaire) - is more than two thousand kilometers less than the Nile, and its water content is 15 times greater. The Congo Basin lies in the equatorial and subequatorial climatic zones and is characterized by high rainfall. The river's flow is sharply divided into three parts. In the upper reaches (from the source to the equator) rapids and waterfalls abound, as the river flows here from stepped plateaus and crosses the mountains. Entering the basin, the Congo becomes a flat river with lake-like expansions of the valley, a wide channel, low banks, and a calm flow. Not far from its confluence with the Atlantic Ocean, the Congo cuts through the elevated western slope of the basin. There is also a whole cascade of waterfalls here.
The Congo's flow is large and more or less uniform throughout the year. There are two rises in water associated with summer maximum precipitation in the northern and southern hemispheres. During upsurges, the waters of the Congo in the middle reaches flood vast areas within the flat bottom of the basin.
There are several other large rivers in Africa. Among them are the Niger, which flows into the Gulf of Guinea, and the Zambezi, which carries water into the Indian Ocean. On the Zambezi there is one of the largest waterfalls in the world - Victoria (height 120 m, width 1800 m).
All African rivers have many rapids and waterfalls, which is associated with the occurrence of hard rocks close to the surface and the elevation of the continental margins.
There are many lakes in Africa, the basins of which have very different origins. There are lakes located in grabens along the line of the Great East African Rifts. The grabens are partially filled with water. The lakes are elongated, narrow, very deep (almost up to 1500 m), with steep banks. The largest of them are Tanganyika and Nyasa (Malawi). There are lakes whose basins are depressions of the earth's crust. This is the origin of the basin of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and one of the largest lakes in the world. Part of the bottom of the flat basin is occupied by Lake Chad. Its outlines depend on the amount of water flowing into the lake; the shores of the lake are swampy. There are lakes of volcanic origin in the Ethiopian Highlands; Lake Tana was formed by damming the river with lava flows.
In the bowels of the continent there are large reserves of groundwater. They are especially important in arid zones. Aquifers in the Sahara, Sudan, semi-deserts and deserts of South Africa contain fresh water. They come close to the surface in depressions of the relief - basins, dry riverbeds. Water is life, so oases are located around natural reservoirs, ponds, and wells. Palm trees grow in oases, and crops and fruit trees are grown on irrigated lands. There are also watering holes for livestock here. The search, extraction and rational use of groundwater is one of the most important life problems of the peoples inhabiting the arid regions of Africa.
Questions and tasks:
1 Test yourself whether you are ready to characterize any of the rivers in Africa according to the following plan: where the river begins, what territory it flows through, how the relief affects the direction and nature of the river’s flow, through what climatic zones the river flows, how it affects its nutrition and mode, where the river flows, how is it used by humans?
2 Which ocean basins include the rivers of Africa? Draw the boundaries of the pools on a physical map
3 Which ocean receives the greatest flow of surface water from the continent?
Remember from the history course what mysteries of the Nile could not be solved by Egyptian scientists for many years? What explanation can you give for the mysterious regime of the Nile - the rise of waters in the driest time of the year?
Natural areas
The location of Africa's natural zones depends primarily on the uneven distribution of precipitation. The amount of heat that the surface receives changes slightly. In Africa, natural zones of the equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and, to a lesser extent, subtropical geographical zones are formed.
The Congo Basin and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea north of the equator are occupied by a zone of moist evergreen equatorial forests. The climate is hot and uniformly humid. It rains almost every day throughout the year. Under these conditions, chemical processes are actively occurring in the upper layer of the earth's crust, accompanied by the formation of iron and aluminum oxides. Microorganisms and soil fauna participate in chemical processes. Modified rocks acquire a special structure and red and yellow colors. These are the so-called weathering crusts, on which red-yellow ferrallite soils (ferrum - iron, aluminum - aluminum) are formed.
Plenty of heat and moisture throughout the year encourages the growth of rich vegetation. Moist evergreen equatorial forests contain a huge diversity of plant species. The forests are multi-tiered. Trees 40-50 m high (palm trees, legumes, etc.) reach the upper tier. The lower parts of the trunks are devoid of branches and, like tall columns, crowns with hard, dense, often shiny leaves are brought to the light. These features of the leaves provide protection from evaporation and burns from direct sunlight. In the lower tiers, trees and shrubs often have soft, large leaves. There is little light and very humid, so plants have devices to increase evaporation, and sometimes even to remove water in liquid form (so-called drippers). The trees of the lower tiers have different heights, their crowns fill the entire space from 10 m and above. There are few plants near the surface of the earth. Roots writhe between the tree trunks and rotting fallen trunks and branches, covered with mosses and lichens, lie. The trunks and crowns are entwined with vines - climbing and climbing plants with thin, flexible and very long stems. Epiphytic plants settle on the branches, leaves and trunks of trees. They use trees as support, and take moisture and nutrients from the air. Plants with dense foliage and branched crowns produce a large mass of organic matter.
Fallen leaves, dead branches, fallen trunks decompose very quickly. The resulting substances are immediately consumed by plants and animals, so they do not accumulate in the soil. This is also facilitated by a large amount of precipitation, which determines the constant leaching regime of the soil. If forests are destroyed over a more or less large area, their restoration is slow. Only small clearings and clearings quickly become overgrown, where dying plants from the surrounding forest end up. Areas of soil deprived of vegetation quickly lose nutrients, and water erodes the top layer of soil. Such areas grow only with shrubs and herbs that are undemanding to the soil.
In humid equatorial forests there are many tree species with valuable wood, and a large number of species with edible fruits.
The forests of the humid equatorial zone create a wide variety of conditions for the existence of animals. Conditions change horizontally (depending on the location in relation to reservoirs, etc.), and even more - vertically, in different tiers. The loose soil and forest floor are rich in microfauna and are home to a variety of invertebrates, shrews, snakes, and lizards. In the ground layer - small ungulates, forest
pigs, forest elephants, near water bodies - pygmy hippopotamuses, okapi (relatives of giraffes). This tier is home to gorillas, the largest apes. In the treetops there are a lot of other monkeys: monkeys, colobus monkeys, and among the apes - chimpanzees. There are many birds, rodents, insects, often very large in size.
Ants and termites are common in all tiers. Amphibians (frogs) live everywhere, including in trees, which is facilitated by high air humidity. The largest forest predator is the leopard. It hunts on the ground, but can rest and lie in wait for prey in trees.
Equatorial forests play a big role in shaping the nature of not only the places where they grow, but also the entire continent and even the Earth as a whole.
In the south, north and east, the zone of humid equatorial forests gives way to a zone of variable-humid deciduous forests, and then open forests and savannas. The change is caused by the appearance of a dry period, which lengthens as it moves away from the equator.
Huge areas in Africa (up to 40%) are occupied by savanna - a kind of tropical forest-steppe, where the grass cover forms the basis of the vegetation. Among the tall grasses rise small groups or single specimens of trees, sometimes thickets of bushes. Trees and shrubs have adaptations to protect them from drought and frequent fires. Their leaves are usually small, hard, pubescent, the trunks are covered with thick bark. Water is sometimes stored in wood, stems, and leaves.
The umbrella shape of the crowns is characteristic. When the sun is high, the shadow from such crowns covers the near-trunk part of the root system. In the rainy season, the savannah is a sea of lush grasses, the trees turn green with leaves, in the dry season the grasses burn out, the leaves fly off, the savanna becomes yellow and brown. At this time, fires from lightning and bonfires are frequent. Sometimes people light dry grass themselves, believing that the ash fertilizes the soil. Fire causes great damage to vegetation, and especially to wildlife.
Savannah soils are more fertile than the soils of moist equatorial forests. During the dry period, humus accumulates, since the processes of decomposition of plant residues at this time slow down due to lack of moisture, and the dead grass cover does not have time to completely decompose. Red ferrallitic or red-brown savannah soils are formed.
Tree species in the humid savannah are dominated by long-lived baobabs, umbrella acacias, mimosas, and palms. Tree-like spurges and aloe with fleshy, spiny leaves grow in dry savannas.
The rich grass cover provides food for large herbivores: antelopes, zebras, buffalos, rhinoceroses. Giraffes and elephants feed on tree leaves. There are many predators: lions, leopards, cheetahs, there are jackals and hyenas that eat carrion. Hippos and crocodiles live in reservoirs, and numerous birds nest along the banks of rivers and lakes.
Savannah animals have been hunted since ancient times. While they were hunted by local tribes for food with primitive weapons, the balance established in nature was not disturbed. With the penetration of Europeans into Africa, mass destruction of animals began for the sake of ivory, rhino horns, crocodile skin, skins of predatory animals, ostrich feathers - everything that had and still has a very high value on the world market. Later, sport hunting developed. The mass extermination of animals disrupted the processes of self-regulation in the natural complexes of savannas and caused enormous and irreparable harm to nature.
They modify the nature of savannas and cause the emergence of natural complexes that differ from the original ones, the development of cattle breeding and the associated destruction of grass cover (grazing, knocking out), cutting down bushes and annual fires. Dried grass is burned because livestock eats the young shoots better. It is believed that savannas in their modern form, especially in areas with sufficient moisture, appeared on the site of sparse light-colored variable-humid tropical forests as a result of both natural processes and the development of cattle breeding. In dry savannas, near the borders with the desert zone, the desert is advancing, also under the influence of human economic activity.
To preserve the nature of savannas and protect animals from destruction, nature reserves and national parks are being created in African countries. They are actively visited by tourists all over the world, so they generate income. The national parks of East Africa are widely known: Kivu, Virunga in Zaire, Kagera in Rwanda, Serengeti in Tanzania, where the pristine appearance of savannas and rich wildlife have been preserved. A lot of scientific work is being done there.
Large areas to the north and south of the savannas are occupied by zones of tropical semi-deserts and deserts. They do not have a season of sustained rainfall. There are only irregular, sporadic rainfalls, in some areas once every few years. The zone is characterized by extreme dry air, high daytime and relatively low nighttime temperatures, dust and sand storms. Large temperature changes contribute to cracking and destruction of rocks. The surface of the deserts is covered with rocky areas, alternating with sandy terrain. The influence of air masses from the oceans and their interaction is also evident in the interior parts of the southern half of the continent, especially in summer. Therefore, the amount of precipitation varies from the ocean coasts to the central basins and nowhere reaches such low values as in the north (with the exception of the western coast with specific climatic conditions). Therefore, more or less arid zones of dry savannas and semi-deserts occupy the central parts - the internal basins. In the east they give way to zones of humid savannas and tropical forests, and in the west there is the Namib Desert.
On elevations of the relief, altitudinal zonation appears. Thus, in the Ethiopian Highlands, in conditions of a warm, but not hot climate throughout the year, fertile soils are formed on volcanic rocks under savannas. This belt (from 1700 to 2400 m) is favorable for human life and the development of agriculture. Here is the birthplace of valuable agricultural crops - coffee, many varieties of wheat, rye, millet. Above 1400 m it becomes cooler and drier, and natural conditions are more favorable for cattle breeding. The highest peaks of the continent, even in tropical and equatorial latitudes, are covered with eternal snow and glaciers. But there are only a few of them - Kilimanjaro, Kenya and some others.
Questions and tasks:
1 What natural zones were formed in Africa9 List them sequentially from north to south
2 Which climatic zones correspond to certain zones?
3 Check if you remember the characteristic representatives of the flora and fauna of each natural zone. Try to explain their presence in a specific natural zone, tracing natural connections
4 What environmental problems are typical for each natural zone9
The article contains information about the seas and oceans that wash the shores of the most significant continent on the planet. Describes the features and specifics of the coastal areas of the continent. All the seas that are part of the oceans washing the shores of Eurasia are described in detail here.
Seas and oceans of Eurasia
The eastern shores of the mainland are washed by the Pacific Ocean.
Rice. 1. Pacific Ocean.
The Eurasian Pacific coast is distinguished by its extraordinary dissection and diversity of islands. The islands and peninsulas of Eurasia, in turn, isolate a system of interconnected marginal seas from the ocean: the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands separate the Sea of Okhotsk, the Japanese Islands and the Korean Peninsula delimit the mainland and the Sea of Japan.
Eurasia is the largest continent on our planet. It is washed by all oceans.
Rice. 2. Eurasia surrounded by oceanic waters.
The islands that make up the area of the mainland surround its territory in a semi-ring. The Eurasian islands and archipelagos are mostly located in eastern waters. In the northwestern region of the mainland there are large islands and island groups.
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The northern shores of Eurasia are washed by:
- East Siberian and Chukchi Sea;
- Norwegian and Barents Sea;
- White, Red and Laptev Sea.
The southern ends of the continent are dominated by the Mediterranean Sea and the seas of the Indian Ocean:
- Red;
- Arabian;
- Andaman;
- South China.
The eastern part of the continent is washed by the seas of the Pacific Ocean:
- Beringovo;
- Okhotsk;
- Japanese;
- East China.
The continental tip of the west belongs to the Atlantic Ocean. The North Sea rules here.
The part belonging to the outskirts of the Pacific Ocean has a complex coastline structure. The Western Pacific belt is characterized by difficult bottom topography.
The continent contains the deepest depression and the highest point on Earth.
Eurasia is separated from the rest of the planet's continents by straits and seas.
Seas of the Eurasian continent
There are a huge number of seas washing Eurasia.
The continent, washed by four oceans, is recognized as a supercontinent. The gigantic piece of land owes its impressive size to this title. The total land area is over 54 million square meters. km. In addition to the mainland itself, this number also includes the area of 15 peninsulas.
On the continental shelf, near the European coastal borders, lies the Bay of Biscay, as well as the Baltic, North and Irish seas.
Rice. 3. Bay of Biscay.
Gibraltar connects oceanic waters with the Mediterranean Sea, which includes several basins separated by islands and peninsulas. The Black and Azov Seas protrude deeper into the mainland, which, thanks to the Bosphorus, are subsequently combined with the Mediterranean Sea.
The Scandinavian Peninsula is located between the Norwegian and Barents seas. In the eastern regions of the mainland, chains of islands and peninsulas separate the seas from the Pacific Ocean. The Sea of Okhotsk is separated by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
What have we learned?
We found out how many oceans wash the lands of the continent. We received information about why this territory of the Earth received the title of supercontinent. We found out how many peninsulas belong to the territory of the largest landmass. We found out how and how the mainland is separated from the others. We received information that the planet’s seas are connected to each other by a system of bays and straits. We learned that most of the mainland is located in the northern hemisphere.
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