Landmass Explained

A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land that is in one piece and not broken up by oceans.^{[1] [2]} The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or an island.^{[3] [4]} In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental crust extending above sea level.^[5]

Continents are often thought of as distinct landmasses and may include any islands that are part of the associated continental shelf. When multiple continents form a single contiguous land connection, the connected continents may be viewed as a single landmass. Earth's largest landmasses are (starting with largest):^{[6] [7] [8]}

1. Afro-Eurasia (main landmass of the geoscheme region of the same name and its continental parts Africa and Eurasia - or Europe and Asia; the center of Earth's land hemisphere, comprising more than half of Earth's landmass)
2. Americas (main landmass of the geo-region of the same name and its continental parts North and South America; comprising most of the landmass of the Western Hemisphere)
3. Antarctica (main landmass of the geo-region and continent of the same name)
4. Mainland Australia (main landmass of the geo-region Oceania, its sub-region Australasia, the continent Australia and the country Australia)

See also

• Coastline paradox
• Continent
  • Boundaries between the continents of Earth
• Island
  • List of islands by area
• Landform
  • Glossary of landforms
• Mainland
• Supercontinent

Notes and References

1. Web site: Landmass . Cambridge Dictionary . Cambridge.org Dictionary . 17 January 2023.
2. Web site: Landmass . Merriam-Webster . Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . 17 January 2023.
3. Book: Continental Shelf Limits: The Scientific and Legal Interface . Peter J. . Cook . Chris M. . Carleton . 298 . . 9 November 2000 . 10.1093/oso/9780195117820.001.0001 . 9780197561218 . Google Books.
4. Book: Nijman . Jan . Muller . Peter O. . de Blij . H.J. . Introduction . Regions: Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts . . 2017 . 17th . 11 . 978-1-119-30189-9.
5. Web site: Landmass . Dictionary.com . Dictionary.com, LLC . 25 July 2020.
6. Web site: Dempsey . Caitlin . Geography Facts about the World's Continents . Geography Realm . 2013-10-15 . 2022-08-26.
7. Book: Ross E. . Dunn . Laura J. . Mitchell . Kerry . Ward . The New World History: A Field Guide for Teachers and Researchers . 23 August 2016 . . 978-0-520-28989-5 . 232– . Google Books.
8. Encyclopedia: continents . Encyclopedia of World Geography . 1 . R.W. McColl . 2005 . Facts on File, Inc. . 978-0-8160-7229-3 . 215 . 25 August 2022 . And since Africa and Asia are connected at the Suez Peninsula, Europe, Africa, and Asia are sometimes combined as Afro-Eurasia or Eurafrasia. The International Olympic Committee's official flag, containing [...] the single continent of America (North and South America being connected as the Isthmus of Panama)..