Starting Conversation with Kids about Continents and Oceans

A Map generally refers to a pictorial or graphical representation of the Earth’s flattened surface. Maps show the physical features, political boundaries, topographic features, natural resources, etc.

According to the latest estimations based on the world map, one-third of the Earth’s surface is suitable for natural habitat. Oceans cover almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface and the rest one-quarter of the land where nearly 14% of the portion belongs to the deserts and 28% to the land surface or other uneven terrains.

Maps have a distinguishing feature of Grids that mainly consist of Latitudes and Longitudes. These help in locating different places on the Earth. These lines are drawn on a map that is not real but imaginary which helps us find directions around the Earth’s curved dimension.

Latitudes are imaginary parallel lines that run east-west in direction. They help to find directions in the north-south direction of the Equator. Latitude value ranges from 0º to 90º north of the Equator and 0º to 90º south of the Equator. Longitudes are imaginary parallel lines that run north-south in direction. They help to find directions in the east-west direction of the Equator. Longitude value ranges from 0º to 180º east of the Prime Meridian and 0º to 180º west of the Prime Meridian.

The Earth’s surface is covered with 70% of water bodies, mostly oceans. It is seen that almost 95% of the ocean water has salty waters. The Earth has five giant ocean bodies. They are;

1. The Pacific Ocean.
2. The Atlantic Ocean.
3. The Indian Ocean.
4. The Antarctic Ocean.
5. The Arctic Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is one of the largest oceans in the world. Nearly 31% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the ocean. The Pacific Ocean is divided by the line of Equator separating the water body into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean is located between the continents of Europe, Africa, and America. It is the second-largest ocean body. It consists of the mid-Atlantic ridge which is a unique characteristic feature of the water body.

The Indian Ocean happens to be the third-largest water body on the Earth. It forms nearly 20% of the entire surface of the Earth. It surrounds the Indian sub-continent in the North, Australia, and East Africa. It is characterized by tectonic plate boundaries and divergent plate boundaries.

The Antarctic Ocean borders the Continent of Antarctica entirely. Being the fourth largest ocean, it covers almost 20,328,000 square kilometers. It is characterized by severe climatic conditions and is one of the least populated continents in the world.

The Arctic Ocean, being the fifth largest ocean, is the smallest of all. It has a size equal to the sub-continent of Russia. It is situated in the north – pole and there exist diverse species of plants and fishes. However, it has the weakest ecosystems on the Earth.

The oceans are large masses of water bodies that surround several continents of the world. The continents have huge mountain ranges, uneven terrains, plateaus, plains, forests, deserts, and other water bodies. Earlier, there was only a single mass of land named “Pangaea” which later got segregated into seven continents namely:

1. Asia:

• Covering almost one-third of the surface of the Earth, it happens to be the largest continent on the planet Earth.
• Russia, the world’s largest country followed by China and India as the most populated countries is situated in Asia.
• The Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world visible from space, is situated in Asia.

2. Africa:

• Sahara, the world’s largest desert, and the Nile, the world’s longest river are the two most characteristic features of Africa.
• Contributes 96% of the diamonds and 50% of the world’s gold.
• Africa’s chocolate production is nearly 60%.

3. Europe:

• Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, is situated in Europe.
• Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain range in the continent.
• Nearly three-fourths of the world’s potatoes come from Europe.

4. North America:

• Consists the world’s third-largest river known as the Mississippi River.
• Largest producer of maize, soybean, and wheat.
• The world’s largest lake which contains freshwater is located on this continent.
• The continent consists of 23 countries.

5. South America:

• The country of Brazil located in Africa is the largest coffee producer in the world.
• Tropical rainforests are its characteristic feature.
• The world’s largest river in terms of volume, the Amazon is located on the continent.

6. Australia:

• Consists of only three countries.
• Characterized by the presence of various eucalyptus trees.
• The longest Great Barrier Reef which is about 2000km is located on this continent.

7. Antarctica:

• It consists of 75% of the world’s freshwater bodies.
• The temperature during summers is nearly -35ºC and in winters it is -70ºC.
• No time zones.

Conclusion:

Thus, it is very essential to know about the geographical features of the world which can be easily understood with the help of world Maps. It produces spatial thinking in us and we can learn about various aspects of the discipline.