UNIT 3. THE CONTINENTS

WHAT AM I GOING TO LEARN?
Europe, Africa, Asia, America, Oceania and Antarctica: relief and hydrography

WHAT DO I HAVE TO STUDY?
●Unit from your book.
● English handouts and worksheets.
● Spanish and English vocabulary (use your glossary book and vocabulary organizer)
●Activities from your book.
● The outline you made.

ASIA
• ASIA IS THE LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE WORLD.
• REGIONS;
• ASIA IS DIVIDED ON VARIOUS REGIONS:
• NORTHERN ASIA • CENTRAL ASIA
• SOUTHERN ASIA, WHICH INCLUDES THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE SOUTH OF THE HIMALAYAS AND VARIOUS OTHERS ADJACENT FROM THE EAST AND WEST.
• RELIEF; • ASIA HAS A VARIED RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY LONG AND HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES. THE HIMALAYAN RANGE (WHERE MOUNTAIN EVEREST, THE WORLD’S HIGHEST PEAK, IS) STANDS OUT. ASIA ALSO HAS LARGE PLATEAUS AND SEVERAL PLAINS. THE SIBERIAN PLATEAU, INTERRUPTED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS, STRETCHES ALL THE WAY INTO EUROPE. YOU MAY ALSO FIND ARCHIPELAGOS AND PENINSULAS SURROUNDING THE CONTINENT.
• BODIES OF WATER; • ASIA HAS LONG AND LARGE RIVERS SUCH AS THE YANGTZE IN CHINA. AMONG THE ASIAN LAKES, THE CASPIAN SEA, A SALT WATER LAKE, STANDS OUT. IT IS LOCATED BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA AND IS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
• CLIMATE • ASIA PRESENTS A DIVERSIFIED CLIMATE BECAUSE OF ITS VAST TERRITORIAL EXTENSION. IT HAS REGIONS IN THE COLD, TEMPERATE, AND WARM ZONES. • ON THE OTHER HAND, ASIAN WINTERS ARE COLD AND DRY BECAUSE WINDS BLOW FROM LAND TO SEA. IN THE SUMMER, THE WIND BLOWS FROM THE OCEAN TO THE LAND, WHICH CAUSES A LOT OF HUMIDITY AND RAIN. THIS TYPE OF CLIMATE IS KNOWN AS MONSOON. • MONSON IS THE TYPE OF WIND THAT BLOWS PARTICULARLY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.

AMERICA • AMERICA IS THE SECOND LARGEST CONTINENT OF THE PLANET. IT CONSISTS OF TWO MASSES OF LAND AND SEVERAL ISLANDS. IT IS DIVIDED IN THREE REGIONS: • NORTH AMERICA • CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN • SOUTH AMERICA • IN AMERICA, THE RELIEF CONSISTS MAINLY OF PLAINS, VALLEYS, MOUNTAINS, MOUNTAIN RENGES, AND PLATEAUS. THE COAST AND THE CLIMATE ARE DIVERSE IN THIS CONTINENT.

The Atlantic Ocean bathes the coasts of America to the east. To the north is the Arctic Ocean, and to the west is the Pacific Ocean.
The two sub-continents (North and South America) have very similar mountain ranges, and the west coast of the two sub-continents has impressive young mountain ranges stretching from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. 194 meters: In South America there is the Andes, whose highest peak is the Aconcagua, with 6,959 meters of height. There are also large plateaus, such as the Andean altiplano, in South America, located at 4000 m.a.s.l. There are also some volcanoes in North America, such as Popocatepetl, one of the highest and most dangerous volcanoes in the world, which is still active today.
The rivers on the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic slopes are very different. Arctic: These are rivers that remain frozen in winter. In spring, their flow increases with the melting of the ice, like the Mackenzie.
Atlantic: They are long and flowing and, in general, they are navigable. In North America we find the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. In South America we find the Amazon River, the Orinoco River and the Paraná-Paraguay Rivers.
Pacific: They are short and steep, as they originate in the mountain ranges on the west coast of America. Colorado River.

AFRICA • AFRICA IS THE THIRD LARGEST CONTINENT ON EARTH. IN AFRICA THERE IS GREAT DIVERSITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. • REGIONS; • AFRICA IS DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN REGIONS: • NORTHERN AFRICA • SUB-SAHARA AFRICA, LOCATED SOUTH OF THE SAHARA DESERT. • RELIEF; • GRAND PLATEAUS AND MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS FROM THE AFRICAN RELIEF. THERE ARE ALSO ABUNDANT SAVANNAHS. IT HAS SEVERAL DEPRESSIONS, SOME IN THE KALAHARI DESERT. THE GREAT AFRICAN PLATEAU OCCUPIES MOST OF THE CONTINENT. • THE CONTINENT’S LARGEST ISLAND, MADAGASCAR, IS LOCATED IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
• BODIES OF WATER; • IN SOME PARTS OF AFRICA THERE ARE MANY RIVERS. THERE ARE ALSO VARIOUS FRESHWATER LAKES. SOME OF THE RIVERS FEED OFF THE ABUNDANT TROPICAL RAINS. HOWEVER, MORE THAT HALF THE CONTINENT IS MADE UP OF DESERTIC LAND WITH NO PERMANENT RIVERS.
• CLIMATE; • THE CLIMATE IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT IS MOSTLY UNIFORM. ONLY SOME SECTORS HAVE TEMPERATE OR COLD CLIMATES. THE HIGH MOUNTAIN REGIONS HAVE COLD TEMPERATURES AND ABUNDANT RAIN. • IN THE WARM ZONES OF AFRICA, EQUATORIAL, TROPICAL, AND DESERTIC WEATHERS ARE PRESENT. THE MEDITERRANEAN AND OCEANIC ZONES HAVE TEMPERATE CLIMATES. SUMMERS ARE HOT AND WINTERS, MILD. RAIN MAINLY FALLS IN SPRING AND AUTUMN. ON THE OTHER HAND, AREAS WITH OCEANIC CLIMATE REGISTER ABUNDANT RAINFALL AND FAIR TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

EUROPE • EUROPE IS THE SECOND SMALLEST CONTINENT OF ALL. • REGIONS; • EUROPE IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE REGIONS: • NORTHERN EUROPE • ATLANTIC EUROPE • CENTRAL EUROPE • EASTERN EUROPE • MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE, WHICH CONSISTS OF THREE PENINSULAS: BALKAN, IBERIAN, AND ITALIAN.
• RELIEF; • EUROPE IS A CONTINENT WITH VARIOUS PENINSULAS. IT ALSO HAS PLAINS IN THE CENTER. IN THE NORTH AND EAST, IT HAS ANCIENT MOUNTAINS. THE ALPINE RANGE FORMS AN ARCH ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN. ITS COAST ARE VARIED BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF PENINSULAS AND ISTHMI. • ISTHMUS IS A LONG AND NARROW STRETCH OF LAND WITH SEA ON BOTH SIDES THAT LINKS TWO LARGES AREAS OF LAND.
• BODIES OF WATER; • IN EUROPE THERE ARE MANY SHORT RIVERS. SOME ARE USED FOR NAVIGATION AND OTHERS ARE IMPORTANT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.
• CLIMATE; • MOST OF EUROPE IS LOCATED IN THE TEMPERATE ZONE. CLIMATE IS MODERATE AND DOES NOT CHANGE MUCH FROM ONE REGION TO THE OTHER. NORTHERN EUROPE IS IN THE PLANET’S COLD ZONE
• EURASIA • MANY SCHOLARS JOIN THE CONTINENTS OF EUROPE AND ASIA BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF A SINGLE CONTINENTAL MASS. THEY CALL IT EURASIA. OTHERWISE, THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS TWO DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, SEPARATED BY THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND THEIR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

OCEANIA • OCEANIA IS THE SMALLEST CONTINENT AND HAS A VERY CHARACTERISTIC RELIEF. IT IS FORMED BY NEARLY TWENTY THOUSAND ISLANDS OF DIFFERENT SIZES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. AUSTRALIA IS THE EARTH’S LARGEST ISLAND AND PART OD THIS CONTINENT. • REGIONS; • OCEANIA IS COMPOSED OF FOUR REGIONS: • AUSTRALIA • MELANESIA • MICRONESIA • POLYNESIA
• RELIEF; • THE AUSTRALIAN RELIEF IS MADE UP OF PLATEAUS AND PLAINS. IT HAS SEVERAL DESERTS, A CENTRAL DEPRESSION, AND THE GREAT DIVIDED RANGE. THE ISLANDS OD OCEANIA ARE OF VOLCANIC AND CORAL ORIGIN AND HAVE VERY FERTILE SOIL.
• CLIMATE; • A WARM CLIMATE PREVAILS IN OCEANIA. THE ISLANDS CLOSE TO THE EQUATOR ARE HUMID, WITH ABUNDANT PRECIPITATION. THERE ARE OTHER ZONES IN THE TROPIC, WHICH HAVE A DRY AND A RAINY SEASON. AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR IS ARID AND DRY BECAUSE IT HARDLY RAINS. THE COAST RECEIVES PLENTY OF RAIN WITH SOME FREQUENCY. • BODY OF WATER; • THE DRY CLIMATE IN AUSTRALIA’S INTERIOR PREVENTS THE EXISTENCE OF IMPORTANT, LARGE RIVERS. THE ISLANDS ARE SO SMALL THEY DO NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT BODIES OF WATER.

ANTARCTICA • YOU ALREADY KNOW THE EARTH’S POLES ARE LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN ENDS OF THE PLANET. BECAUSE OF THEIR LOCATION, THESE AREAS RECEIVE LESS SUNLIGHT. THEREFORE, THEY ARE VERY COLD PLACES COVERED WITH ICE ALL YEAR LONG. THE ARTIC OCEAN IS LOCATED IN THE NORTH POLE, INSIDE THE ARTIC CIRCLE. IT OCCUPIES GREAT PART OF THIS REGION, WHICH CONTAINS MANY PENINSULAS. • ANTARCTICA IS LOCATED IN THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE, IN THE SOUTH POLE. IT’S LARGER THAN EUROPE AND THE LEAST ACCESSIBLE CONTINENT, BECAUSE IT’S ALWAYS COVERED WITH ICE. • IT WAS THE LAST REGION ON EARTH TO BE EXPLORED BY HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS FREQUENTLY EXCLUDED FROM THE GROUP OF CONTINENTS BECAUSE IT DOES NOT HAVE A PERMANENT POPULATION. NEITHER DOES IT HAVE A HISTORICAL OR CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD. THERE ARE ONLY SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS THAT WORK IN RESEARCH STATIONS. THESE RESEARCH PROJECTS MAY ONLY HAVE PEACEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES.
• AT LEAST 95% OF THE RELIEF IS COVERED WITH A GREAT MASS OF ICE, SURROUNDED BY THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN. CLOSE TO 90% OF THE EARTH’S FRESHWATER IS IN ANTARCTICA, FROZEN INTO HUGE GLACIERS. • THIS CONTINENT’S TEMPERATURES IS THE COLDEST IN THE WORLD. IT HARDLY EVER RAINS AND IT ALWAYS RECEIVES FREEZING WINDS. IN THE CONTINENT, FAUNA IS SCARCE, BUT IN THE SURROUNDING OCEAN, IT IS ABUNDANT. DURING SUMMER, THERE IS DAYLIGHT 24 HOURS, WHILE IN THE WINTER IT IS ALWAYS NIGHT.