THE RELIEF OF THE CONTINENTS

PEDRO FLORES. 1º ESO

AFRICA

Africa, with more than30 m. km2 of surface,is the third largestcontinent. The strait of Gibraltar,on the north, separatesAfrica from Europe,and the Suez Canal,on the north-est,separates Africa fromAsia. The MediterraneanSea, the Red SeaAnd the Atlanticand Indian surroundits coasts.

ÁFRICA

The african coasthas not many insand outs, and nomany islands.Coastal accidentsmore important Good Hope cape, the Gulf of Guineaand the peninsulaof Somalia.The biggest islandof the continent isMadagascar.

Suez Canal

Strait of Gibraltar, island of Madagascar and Good Hope cape.

Continental terrain:● The plateausoccupy the biggestpart of the territoryand gives the continentAn horizontal shape and an elevatedaverage altitude (750 m.). There wecan find arid zones,like the Sahara, Namibiaand the Kalaharidesert.

Sahara,NamibiaandKalaharidesert.

Several mountainranges are found inAfrica: Atlas Mountains, on thenorth; the EthiopianHighlands, on theeast ; and the Drakensberg Mts., on the south. On thewest, the highest partis the Rift Valley, abig fracture with Lakes (like lake Victoria) and elevatedVolcanoes likeKilimanjaro(5.895 m), that is thehighest peak of thecontinent..

Atlas andDrakensberg Mts.

Rift Valley, Lake Victoriaand Kilimanjaro (5.895 m)

● The main depressions are Níger basin and Congo basin.

Rivers of the continent:● Atlantic watershed (Níger, Congo) are large and fast-flowing.● Mediterranean watershed are short and have a low flow except the Nilo (6.756 km), the second largest river of the Earth. In the uadis of the Sahara there is water sometimes.● Indian watershedare shorter than the Atlantic, except the Zambezi, where are the Victoria waterfalls.

Nile River

Niger River

Congo River

Waterfalls Victoria in the Zambezi River

ASIA

Asia is the largest continent (44 m. km2)and the second highest(950 m), after Antarctica.Three oceans watertheir coast: GlacialArtic on the north,Pacific on the east, and Índico on the south. Asia is separatedFrom Europe from theUrals Mts, the Caucasus Mts and the Mediterranean sea;and from America withBering strait.

ASIAIt has a coast withSeveral peninsulas,like Anatolian, Arabian, Hindustan,Indochinese and Malacca, Korean and the Kamchatka;and wide gulfs, like Persian Gulf and theBengal Gulf.There are many islands,like, Sri Lanka,Formosa andarchipelago of Japan, Philippines and Indonesia.

Anatolian, Arabian and DeccanPeninsulas

Indochinese, Malacca, Korean and Kamchatka Peninsulas

ASIA

The main features are:● Large and elevated mountain ranges in the central area. The main one is the Himalaya, where is the Everest(8.850 m), the highest peak on Earth.

Himalaya’s glaciers

● Plateaus and plains area around the continent. The main are the Tíbetan Plateau, in the centre, the highest of the planet and the Mongolian plateau, where is the Gobi desert. On the north there are plains in Siberia. On the east, there is the Manchurian Plain and the Great China Plain.

● The main depressionsAre occupied by three interior seas: Caspian Sea, Aral Sea and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea depression is located under 395 m of the sea level, the deepest of the planet.

Himalaya, Tiberan Plateau and Takla Makan Desert.

Tibetan Plateau

Gobi Desert

Siberian Plain

Asian rivers are large.● Siberian rivers (Ob,Yenisei, Lena) have large courses that freezes in winter.●ePacific watershedrtientepacífica (Amur; Huang-Ho or Yellow River; Yangtsé or Blue River; Mekong) form great aluvian plains.● Indian watershed (Indus, Ganges) crosses the Himalaya and create aluvian plains.

Lena River

Huang-Ho River (Yellow)

Yangtze River (Blue)

Mekong River

Indus River

Ganges River

AMERICA1. America is the second largest continent (42 millones de km2). It is surrounded by three oceans: Glacial Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific.2. On its coast there are many peninsulas, like Labrador, that covers the Hudson bay, or Florida and Yucatán, that close the Gulf of Mexico. On the north there is second biggest island on Earth, Greenland, and on the south there is the Strait of Magellan. In Centre America the islands form an archipelago, The Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea.

Bering Strait,Panama isthmus andStrait of Magellan

Greenland

Caribbean Sea

The main features are:● The highest mountain ranges run along the west coast. These are the Rocky Mountains in North America and the Andes, in South America, where is the Aconcagua (6.962 m), the highest peak of the continet. On the east there are theAppalachian Mts.

The great plains (Great Plains, Amazon, Pampas) are surrounded by rivers. In South America there are great plateaus (Brasilian plateau, Bolivian plateau).

Rocky Mts

Appalachians

Andes

Aconcagua (6.962 m)

Great Plains, Argentinian Pampa,Bolivian plateau.

Amazon Basin

All American riversAre born on the western ranges and end in the Atlantic. In North America we find theMississippi-Misouri; in South America, the Amazon(6.800 km; it has the highest flow in the world), theOrinoco and Paraná, where are the Iguazu waterfalls.

Lakes are abundant: in North America there are the Great Lakes (Superior,Michigan, Huron, Erie yOntario), and in South America, the lakes Maracaibo and Titicaca.

Mississippi River

Amazon River

Iguazu Waterfalls

Great Lakes

Lake Titicaca(3.800 m altitude)

OCEANIA

Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans, is the smallest continent (9 millones de km2). It is made up by million of islands, only four with a big size: Australia (the biggest island of the Earth) New Guinea and the two islands that for New Zeland. The rest of the islands are in the Pacific, gropued in three groups: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polinesia.

Australia has a relief made up of plains and plateaus, with just one important range: the Great Dividing Range. New Zeland and New Guinea have a mountaneous relief. Other islands are active volcanoes; other have coral reef.

ANTARCTICAAntarctica, with more than 14 millones de km2, is a continent surrounded by four oceans: Glacial Antarctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian.

EUROPEEuropa has 10,2 m.km2 and a low altitude (340m). It is separated from Asia by the Urals,River Ural, Caspian Sea, theCaucasus and the Black Sea; from Africa by theMediterreanean Sea; and borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Artic Ocean.

EUROPEThe European coast is full of iiregularities (jfiords, rias, capes) peninsulas (Escandinavian,Jutland, Iberian, Italian, Balkan) and islands (Iceland, British Isles: Great Britan and Ireland, Baleares, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus).

EUROPE

The coasts are surrounded by different seas like: North Sea, Baltic Sea, Cantabrian Sea, Thyrrenean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Jónico and Aegean Sea.

Peninsulas: Escandinavian, Balkan, Italian

Isles: Icealand, Cyprus and British Isles.

The European relief is made up by a great plain surrounded by mountains:● The Great European PlainCovers the centre and east of the continent, from France to Russia.

The oldest ranges are located on the north and east of the continent, there are not very high because of the erosion. The main are the Escandinavian Highlands and the Urals.

The young ranges form an arch around the Mediterranean coast. The main are the Betic Systems, the Pyrenees, theAlps (Montblanc,4.807 m), theCarpathian, theApenines, theBalkans and theCaucasus, where is the Elbrus (5.600m), the highest peak of the continent.

Ural Mountains

Los Alpes

Mont-Blanc (4.807 m)

Cáucaso

Mont Elbrus (5.600 m)

● Atlantic watershed (Tagus, Loira,Seine, Rhin, Elba, Vistula)● Mediterranean watershed (Ebrus ,Rhone, Po).● Black Sea watershed (Don, Danube) andCaspian (Volga) . The Volga is the largest of the continent.

The Danube in Budapest and the Rhin in Cologne.