Boundaries between the continents

The borders of the continents are the limits of the several continents of the Earth, as defined by various geographical, cultural, and political criteria.

Europe and Asia

The nature and boundaries of Europe is more a sociopolitical question than a geographical one. Many geologists and geographers agree that Europe and Asia share many common geographical features and they are sometimes referred to as the single continent Eurasia. Although Europe is a distinct geographical entity, mostly a super-peninsula of the mainland of Asia, so is for example, the Indian subcontinent which even resides on a different tectonic plate than the rest of Asia and Europe.

The eastern boundary of Europe has been variously defined since antiquity. Herodotus regarded Europe as extending all the way to the Eastern Ocean, and being as long as (and much larger than) Africa and Asia together. The modern world is in consensus that Europe ends at the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Ural Mountains, but the boundaries between these latter two features are uncertain; that leading from the Urals to the Black Sea, for example, has been drawn by different authorities as at the Don, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Caucasus, the Russian frontier or the Rioni River.

Western sources (e.g. the National Geographic Society) usually state that the Europe-Asia boundary follows the watershed of the Ural Mountains from near Kara, Russia on the Kara Sea to the source of the Ural River, then follows that river to the Caspian Sea. The border then follows the watershed of the Caucasus Mountains from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea.

Green - Europe; pink/grey - Asia

By this definition, the Ural Mountains are on the border of Europe and Asia, likewise for the Greater Caucasus (although Mount Elbrus, which would be the highest point in Europe, is north of the watershed divide, and as such would be entirely in Europe by this definition). The Lesser Caucasus is located entirely in Asia. The Turkish city Istanbul lies in both Europe and Asia, effectively making it a transcontinental city. Georgia and Azerbaijan both have most of their territory in Asia, although each has small parts of its northern territory in Europe.

Russia and Kazakhstan have both European (western) and Asian (eastern) parts. While Russia is generally considered a European country that extends into Asia, Kazakhstan is considered a Central Asian country that extends into Europe.

Three nations of the South Caucasus Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia – have a strong sociopolitical claim to be European. Of the three, only Georgia and Azerbaijan are generally regarded as having portions of territory in Europe, but Armenia may be regarded as European for cultural and historical reasons. All three, however, are typically excluded from lists of European states.

According to the standard Russian/Soviet definition, the boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the Mugodzhar Hills, then down the Emba River to the Caspian Sea. From the Caspian Sea it runs to the Black Sea along the Kuma-Manych Depression, marked by the rivers of the same name. This definition was in use by Russian geographers since mid-18th century; it was officially recommended for use in textbooks by the Geographical Society of USSR in 1958. It places all of the Caucasus, including countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan and North Caucasian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, entirely in Asia.

Russia's Vaygach Island and Novaya Zemlya extend northward from the northern end of the Ural Mountains and are a continuation of the chain into the Arctic Ocean. They separate the European Barents Sea and the Asian Kara Sea, and may be considered part of Europe or Asia. The maps on this page show them with Europe. The Russian Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef Land farther north is also associated with Europe. All of these Arctic islands are part of the European Arkhangelsk Oblast.

Lesser accepted Europe and Asia divisions

• Meso-Caucasus definition This definition defines the border between the Caspian and Black seas, as follows: The border goes between the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus, and is marked by the Rioni River and lower Kura River, although this border is ill-defined between the two rivers. This definition leaves a greater part of Georgia and Azerbaijan in Europe.
• Lesser Caucasus definition Though very rare, this definition defines the border between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea as the watershed of the Lesser Caucasus. This definition places Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia almost entirely in Europe, and Iran almost entirely in Asia; however, some isolated spots of these five countries can be placed on the other continent.
• Political Russian division The division of Russia, considering the Russian Federal Subjects, is the following:
  • On Europe's border, from north to south: Nenetsia Autonomous Okrug, Komi Republic, Perm Krai, Bashkortostan Republic and Orenburg Oblast;
  • On Asia's border, from north to south: Yamalia Autonomous Okrug, Khantia-Mansia Autonomous Okrug, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast.

Culturally European states

Other nations have strong cultural ties with Europe, such as the northern African states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. However, the clear boundary of the Mediterranean Sea excludes these nations geographically. Some in Egypt, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia have shown ambition to become a state of the European Union, but currently full membership is disallowed (Morocco applied to join, but was rejected on geographical grounds). Of course, many other countries outside Europe have cultural and historical ties to Europe as a consequence of colonization and migration.

Politically European states

See also Geographic criteria for EU membership

Europe ends in the west at the Atlantic Ocean, although Iceland and the Azores archipelago (in the Atlantic, between Europe and North America) are usually considered European, as is the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Greenland is geographically associated with North America but politically associated with Europe (as it is still part of Denmark, although EU law no longer applies there). Turkey, despite having only 3% of its land in Europe, has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1949 and an official candidate for membership of the European Union since 2005. Islands geographically associated with one continent sometimes have stronger political and cultural ties to another. For example, Cyprus, an island geographically a part of Asia, was admitted to the Council of Europe in 1961 and joined the EU in 2004. Cape Verde, an island group off the Atlantic coast of Africa, has also shown an interest in joining the EU. Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, also geographically Asian states (although Azerbaijan and Georgia have a part of their land in Europe,) have all joined the Council of Europe.

Africa

The natural geographical boundaries of Africa are the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. The boundary between Africa and Asia has been drawn either up the Gulf of Suez or up the Gulf of Aqaba. On purely geological grounds, the boundary could be drawn along the fault-line into the Jordan River valley (which would make Israel, Lebanon, and a small part of Syria part of Africa.)

The usual line today is at the Isthmus of Suez along the path of the Suez Canal. This makes the Sinai Peninsula geographically Asian, and Egypt a transcontinental country. A map of the recognized boundary between the two continents may be viewed here. Nevertheless Egypt is commonly referred to as an African state, because most of its population and territory are there. Geopolitically, Egypt is sometimes regarded as an Asian state, and it is usually considered part of the transcontinental geopolitical region of the Middle East.

In historical geography, several of the larger Mediterranean islands have often been more akin to Africa than to Europe or Asia. Ancient Egypt often ruled Cyprus, and sometimes Crete and Rhodes. The Roman Empire grouped Crete with Cyrenaica (in ancient Libya.) The Balearic Islands and half of Sicily were ruled from Carthage.

The Canary Islands and Madeira Islands are off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and although they are geographically part of Africa, they are under the rule of Spain and Portugal, respectively, and geopolitically part of Europe. Prior to Southwest European colonization, they were fully integrated into Africa.

Mayotte, situated in the Mozambique Channel between Africa and Madagascar (also geographically part of Africa) is under the rule of France, as are Réunion Island east of Madagascar and some scattered islands in the Indian Ocean also associated with Africa. The Seychelles, Mauritius, and Comoros are island nations also associated with Africa.

Africa and Europe

The boundaries between Europe and Africa are almost entirely clear-cut and undisputed, since the two continents occupy opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea, of which the midway areas are mostly devoid of islands. Spain owns the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the African mainland. Sicily forms an extension of Europe into the heart of the Mediterranean, with only Malta, Pantelleria, and the Pelagie Islands falling into question.

Malta is geographically associated with Africa but has geopolitically been considered part of Europe since its Christian reconquest. It is closer to the African mainland than the Italian mainland and has historically been associated with Africa much longer. The Maltese people speak a North African dialect of Arabic and are descended from the ancient Libyans, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, as well as the island's Islamic conquerors.

The Italian islands of Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands are closer to Tunisia on the African continent than Sicily and thus part of Africa. The Portuguese Atlantic island possession of the Azores is slightly closer to Europe than Africa and is associated with Europe.

Africa and South America

The boundaries between Africa and South America are clear-cut and undisputed, since the two continents occupy opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, of which the midway areas are devoid of islands. While the uninhabited Brazilian island possession of Saint Peter and Paul Rocks is associated with South America, the British island possessions of Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island are associated with Africa.

Americas

The border between North America and South America has been drawn variously, generally somewhere along the Isthmus of Panama.

One common demarcation follows the Darien Mountains watershed divide along the Colombia-Panama boundary where the isthmus meets the South American continent. Another reckons the continental divide at the Panama Canal, whereby Panama has territory on either side in both continents. Geopolitically (i.e., not strictly geophysical), Panama is usually included with the other North American countries in Central America. The border between North and South America has also been drawn (infrequently) between Costa Rica and Panama, or at one of several other lines across the Isthmus of Panama.

In non-Anglophone cultures, America is thought of as one continent or supercontinent encompassing the entire landmass between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. In this way, North, Central and South America are thought of as regions of the greater landmass. America is often regarded as a single continent in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, along with other countries. The Olympic Rings represent the Americas with a single ring.

This collection of lands and regions in the Western hemisphere is referred to as the Americas by the English-speaking world. From a sociopolitical and cultural perspective, the Americas are generally divided into Anglo-America (the U.S., Canada, and the Anglo-Caribbean countries) where English prevails) and Latin America (Mexico, most of South America, and some of the Caribbean such as Cuba and Hispaniola; Haiti and the Dominican Republic) where Romance languages generally predominate). Latin America – particularly Hispanic America – is generally considered a transcontinental region straddling two continents, much like the Middle East. Moreover, the Guyanas are sometimes grouped with the Caribbean region along with Belize and Bermuda (a British possession actually 1000 km east of the US mainland, also sometimes grouped with Anglo-America.) It is not uncommon for what is geopolitically considered North America to be limited to the US, Canada, and sometimes Bermuda.

The Galápagos Islands and Malpelo Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean are possessions of Ecuador and Colombia, respectively, and associated with South America. The uninhabited French possession of Clipperton Island 600 miles off the Mexican coast is associated with North America. France also continues to control French Guiana on the northern mainland of South America, as well as Saint-Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland and Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthélemy, and Saint Martin in the North American Caribbean. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are two other European nations that also continue to control islands in the Caribbean, and the Netherlands Antilles are considered split between North and South America.

Europe and North America

The boundaries between Europe and North America are mostly clear-cut and undisputed, since the two continents occupy opposite sides of the North Atlantic Ocean, of which the midway areas are devoid of islands, except in the north, where the line comes down to Greenland and Iceland. Iceland and the Azores are protusions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and are associated with and peopled from Europe. Greenland not only is usually considered geographically North American, most of the Greenlander ancestry is from the Inuit people indigenous to northern North America. The Norwegian Arctic islands of Jan Mayen and Svalbard archipelago are associated with Europe. Although Greenland is the closest land to them, they are much closer to Europe than to the North American mainland.

Asia and North America

The Bering Strait and Bering Sea separate the landmasses of Asia and North America, as well as forming the international boundaries between Russia and the United States, respectively. This national and continental boundary separates the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait, with Big Diomede in Russia and Little Diomede in the US. The Aleutian Islands are an island chain extending westward from the Alaska Peninsula toward Russia's Komandorski Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as an integral part of the transcontinental American state of Alaska. Most of them are associated with North America, except for the westernmost Near Islands group, which is on Asia's continental shelf beyond the North Aleutians Basin and allows the US to be considered a transcontinental country without Hawaii and other Oceanian island possessions.

The US therefore is situated in central and northwestern North America, northeastern Asia, and Oceania. St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea belongs to Alaska and may be associated with either continent, as may the Rat Islands in the Aleutian chain. The western Aleutian Islands belong to the transcontinental Aleutians West Census Area. St. Lawrence Island belongs to the Nome Census Area, which is also transcontinental if the island is associated with Asia.

Asia and Oceania

Indonesia is today more commonly referred to as one of the Southeast Asian countries, and thus simply Asian. East Timor, an independent state that was formerly a territory of Indonesia, is sometimes considered part of Oceania, but is classified by the United Nations as part of the "South-Eastern Asia" block. It is expected to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [1], having been involved as a ASEAN Regional Forum member since independence, and has participated in the Southeast Asian Games since 2003.

Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia consists not only of its namesake continent and the island state of Tasmania, but also external island possessions in the sub-Antarctic (see Antarctica below) and to the east and northwest of the continent. Of the tropical island territories, Norfolk Island, the Coral Sea Islands, and Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Indian Ocean are in Oceania, while Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (to the west of Sumatra) are associated with Asia. The majority of the ancestry of Australia's Asian island residents is Asian and the majority of them are Muslim or Buddhist. Macquarie Island is part of the transcontinental state of Tasmania and the transcontinental Local Government Area of Huon Valley, while Lord Howe Island is part of New South Wales and the other external islands are federal territories.

Antarctica

Antarctica and its outlying islands have no permanent population. All land south of 60°S latitude is terra nullius and the Antarctic Treaty System holds all claims to such land in abeyance. Although South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are closer to Antarctica, the inhabited Falkland Islands are closer to South America and the continental boundary separates them from the South Georgia group. These South Atlantic island groups were the object of contention in the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina, which maintains its irredentist claims on the islands.

The following are sub-Antarctic island territories north of 60° and associated with Antarctica:

• Australia: Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island
• France: Crozet Islands, Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Kerguelen Islands
• New Zealand: Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Campbell Islands (all disputed whether associated with Oceania or Antarctica)
• Norway: Bouvet Island
• South Africa: Prince Edward Islands (disputed whether associated with Africa or Antarctica)
• United Kingdom: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

If the Prince Edward Islands are considered associated with Antarctica, Cape Town is a transcontinental city and Western Cape is a transcontinental province, since they include the islands.

Islands

Green - Europe; dark pink/light pink/grey - Asia;
yellow - Greek Asian islands (Aegean)

Continents are called so because they are continuous bodies of land. Thus, an island is not strictly part of any continent, but many islands can be associated with one by geographical proximity (or also by historical convention, political ties or similar "human" criteria). For example, Sumatra, Singapore and Hainan are not literally "in" Asia; nevertheless they are closer to Asia than to any other continent, and also are most closely associated with Asia, so this article will consider them Asiatic islands, and Greece and Indonesia transcontinental countries (likewise for other continents and their adjacent islands). Alternate associations would be defensible in some cases.

Using this definition, the following countries could all be considered transcontinental by virtue of the fact that an integral part of their national territory consists of islands that are situated within the continental shelf of another continent or are otherwise geographically closer to a continent on the mainland of which they have no territory (mainland continent shown below in bold text):

• Australia (Australia, Oceania, Asia, and Antarctica)
• Colombia (South America and North America)
• Denmark (Europe and North America (if one includes Greenland))
• France (Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Africa, and Antarctica)
• Greece (Europe and Asia)
• Italy (Europe and Africa)
• Netherlands (Europe, South America, and North America (if one includes the overseas Netherlands Antilles and Aruba)
• Norway (Europe and Antarctica (if one includes Bouvet Island))
• Portugal (Europe and Africa)
• South Africa (Africa and Antarctica (if the Prince Edward Islands are counted as Antarctic islands))
• Spain (Europe and Africa)
• United Kingdom (if one includes the British overseas territories, the UK still covers all continents: the British Isles minus the Republic of Ireland and plus the Channel Islands and Gibraltar in Europe; Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island in Africa; Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Montserrat in North America; the Falkland Islands in South America; the Pitcairn Islands in Oceania; Akrotiri and Dhekelia and British Indian Ocean Territory in Asia; and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in Antarctica.)
• United States (North America, Oceania, and Asia)
• Venezuela (South America and North America (if one includes Isla Aves))
• Yemen (Asia and Africa)

Four countries also include both continental territory and islands in mid-Pacific Ocean; see Oceania, below. At least four countries also include both continental territory and Antarctic island territories recognized by international law; see Antarctica, below.

See also

• List of countries spanning more than one continent