NationStates Jolt Archive

Can be for any reason, but which one's your favorite? :D

Mine is N. America, since that's where I live and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

America, the only one I've ever been on

oh, we're diving into south and north america? (what about central american and the caribean?)

anyways, my vote goes to South America

Europe, with Antarctica as a close second.

Europe 'cause I'm there. Antarctica 'cause hardly anyone is there.

Either Australasia (note: it's not Australia - that's just part of it, albeit a fairly large part) or Antarctica. The former purely for NZ, and the latter because it's awesome :D

North America because it's home to New Jersey. New Jersey is paradise.

Either Australasia (note: it's not Australia - that's just part of it, albeit a fairly large part) or Antarctica. The former purely for NZ, and the latter because it's awesome :D
u mean Oceania?

(...) (what about central american and the caribean?)
The continent of the carribean?
There are "only" 7 continents on this planet and they're all on the list.

(And I swear it's absolutely by coincidence that we meet again in this thread! I honestly don't have anything against you :p)

Why would anyone like a place where tornados and hurricanes thrived?

I chose the place where throwing boiling water into the air means having to watch out for falling ice. The home of penguins.

Antarctica!

u mean Oceania?

Yep - same thing. Can never remember which is the supposedly 'modern' name. Doesn't really matter I expect.

The secret continent that no-one talks about (Except just then, I talked about it. D'oh).

North America because it's home to New Jersey. New Jersey is paradise.
What, is it opposite day or something? :D

oh, we're diving into south and north america? (what about central american and the caribean?)

anyways, my vote goes to South America
central america and the caribbean aren't continents
my vote is Australia, even tho I haven't been there.

North America because it's home to New Jersey. New Jersey is paradise.

NJ in da hizouse!!!!

(then again, what part of nj?)

Atlantis...if it ever existed..


Um...i like every continent except antartica..becuz in antartica you can't see half naked women running around all day...on some place on every continent you can. plus, the cold in Ant. shrivels my testicles..and thats bad.

I like America cause that where America is at.

Which America?


...


:D

Greater America. It's where turkeys, chocolate, vanilla, tomatoes, and potatoes come from.

It also has cool animals.

Um...i like every continent except antartica..becuz in antartica you can't see half naked women running around all day...

Don't they have the internet in Antarctica?

Don't they have the internet in Antarctica?
yes they do, and on the internet, you can see anything!!!

Of which continent is Tahiti considered part?

Of which continent is Tahiti considered part?

Generally Oceania.

Antarctica because that's where the Adelie Penguin resides, and you can't hate these guys.

l'Europe évidemment

come on, more votes for africa - its got lions and gorillas and flamingoes and rift valley and the origin of humanity and EVERYTHING!!! :D

yes they do, and on the internet, you can see anything!!!


but the cold would still leave you shrivled!

The continent of the carribean?
There are "only" 7 continents on this planet and they're all on the list.

Depending on the geographic model you use, there are as many as 7 or as few as 4.

This explains it in detail.
Definitions

Since geography is defined by local convention, there are several conceptions as to which landmasses qualify as continents, and which might be termed supercontinents (e.g. Africa-Eurasia), microcontinents (e.g. Madagascar or New Zealand), or subcontinents (e.g. South Asia). Seven landmasses and their associated islands are commonly reckoned as continents, but these may be consolidated. For example, North and South America are often considered a single continent, and Asia is often united with Europe. Ignoring cases where Antarctica is omitted, or where Australasia or Oceania are used in place of Australia, there are half a dozen traditions for naming the continents.
Models
7 continents: Antarctica South America North America Europe Asia Africa Australia
6 continents: Antarctica America Europe Asia Africa Australia
6 continents: Antarctica South America North America Eurasia Africa Australia
5 continents: Antarctica America Eurasia Africa Australia
5 continents: Antarctica South America Laurasia Africa Australia
4 continents: Antarctica America Africa-Eurasia Australia

The 7-continent model is usually taught in Western Europe, the United States, and Australia. In Canada, the government-approved Atlas of Canada names 7 continents and teaches Oceania instead of Australia. In East Asia, especially in the Orient, it is taught as a 7-region model since the rendition of "continent" in Chinese is similar to "island", which connotes a separate smaller landmass surrounded by water. In China, Japan, and Korea, the English term Australasia and local translations of Oceania are most often used. The 6-continent Americas model is taught in England, Asia and Latin America but, again, it is often taught in terms of the 6-region model. The 6-continent/region Eurasia model is preferred by the geographic community, while the geologic community forgoes local differences by classifying based on tectonic plates. It is especially used in Russia, elsewhere in Eastern Europe, and Japan, which often refer to the 7-continent model as a Western cultural convention. Historians may use the 5-continent/region model in which North Africa is separated from Sub-Saharan Africa and attached to Eurasia (Jared Diamond) or the 4-continent/region Afro-Eurasian (Andre Gunder Frank).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

However, all that being said, the Carribean is certainly not a continent by any standard accepted models I know of. :)

And just to be twisted, I'll answer "Pangea Ultima" (http://scotese.com/future2.htm).

And just to be twisted, I'll answer "Pangea Ultima" (http://scotese.com/future2.htm).


I think that picture is wrong...the whole pacific ocean thing...I believe(could be wrong) that the atlantic ocean is getting larger..so in 250 my from now..there would be no pacific ocean...can any one explain as to why it'd be different?

Lemuria.

North America: Generally pleasant climate and lots of wide open spaces. Cities are geographically spread out and I like the weather variety.

I think that picture is wrong...the whole pacific ocean thing...I believe(could be wrong) that the atlantic ocean is getting larger..so in 250 my from now..there would be no pacific ocean...can any one explain as to why it'd be different?
The Pacific is itself on a plate, and not between two plates like the Atlantic. So it doesn't really disappear, it just gets squished and then thrown somewhere else.

I chose Antarctica, because it only has a few humans living permanently on it. As the landmass with the fewest humans, it is therefore my favorite. It also averages out to be the coolest.

Europe comes in a close second because it breaks the mold by starting and ending with something other that "A" (although it still starts and ends with the same letter)

I think that picture is wrong...the whole pacific ocean thing...I believe(could be wrong) that the atlantic ocean is getting larger..so in 250 my from now..there would be no pacific ocean...can any one explain as to why it'd be different?
The Pacific is itself on a plate, and not between two plates like the Atlantic. So it doesn't really disappear, it just gets squished and then thrown somewhere else.

Exactly so. Not to mention that the map is based on the Atlantic being shrunk via subduction.

More Information about the Future World: 50 Million Years from Now


Though there is no way of knowing what the future geography of the Earth will be (except maybe through our friends at the Psychic Connection), it is possible to project current plate motions into the future and make an educated guess. In general, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans will continue to widen until new subduction zones bring the continents back together, forming a Future Pangea.

The world 50 million years in the future looks slightly askew. North America is rotated slightly counter-clockwise; Eurasia is rotated clockwise bringing England closer to the North Pole and Siberia southward towards warm, subtropical latitudes.

Africa will collide with Europe and Arabia closing the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. A Himalayan-scale mountain range will extend from Spain, across Southern Europe, through the Mideast and into Asia. Similarly, Australia will beach itself on the doorstep of Southeast Asia and a new subduction zone encircles Australia and extends westward across the Cenral Indian Ocean. It is interesting to note that present plate trajectories suggest that the East African Rift will not grow into a wide ocean.

One of the most important changes in the geography of the Future, is the beginning of subduction along the eastern coasts of North America and South America. Though the Atlantic Ocean has widened, the Puerto Rican Trough and Scotia Arc may propogate northward and southward along the east coast of North and South America. In time, this new westward dipping subduction zone will consume the Atlantic Ocean.
http://scotese.com/moreinfo.htm

250 Million Years in the Future: "Pangea Ultima"

The life history of an ocean basin is determined by the balance between two opposing forces: sea floor spreading (rifting) and subduction. During the early phases of ocean formation, rifting dominates. A small continental rift, much like the East African Rift, grows wider forming a narrow ocean, like the Red Sea. Sea floor spreading continues to rapidly widen the ocean.

At some point in time a subduction zone forms along one of the margins of the ocean. Ocean floor is now destroyed at about the same rate that it is created. During this period in an ocean's history, it neither grows nor contracts, much like the modern Pacific.

Eventually the mid-ocean ridge gets too close to one of the margins and is subducted. Now the ocean is in a period of decline. Because no new ocean floor is being created, the ocean must close.

250 million years in the future, the Atlantic and Indian oceans have closed. North America has collided with Africa, but in a more southerly position than where it rifted. South America is wrapped around the southern tip of Africa, with Patagonia in contact with Indonesia, enclosing a remanent of the Indian Ocean.

Antarctica is once again at the South Pole and the Pacific has grown wider, encircling half the Earth.

We call this future Pangea, "Pangea Ultima", because it is the final Pangea.
http://scotese.com/newpage11.htm

BTW, you could have found those explanations yourself with one little click on the "More Info" button that page has. ;)

Vote Europe, largely because Paris is there.

I rarely paid attention to Geography lessons at high school. Consequently, I have no clear idea of what a continent actually is (Daistallia, you've just quadrupled my knowledge, even though I still can't define 'continent'). I always used to wonder why Greenland wasn't one. Part of North America, mostly ice, or too small? Hmm.

My fave is the sub-continent. ;)

I'm going to go with Europe, as the birthplace of civilization, or at the very least, of decadence. woot!

Fourecks.

Vote Europe, largely because Paris is there.

I rarely paid attention to Geography lessons at high school. Consequently, I have no clear idea of what a continent actually is (Daistallia, you've just quadrupled my knowledge, even though I still can't define 'continent'). I always used to wonder why Greenland wasn't one. Part of North America, mostly ice, or too small? Hmm.

The definition is not the same depending on who you ask.

There's the traditional geographic definition, I was taught as a student: "a large body of land surrounded by water."

The American Heritage Dictionary says it's "one of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America."
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=continent

This 3rd grade geography class says it's
"defined as a large unbroken land mass completely surrounded by water, although in some cases continents are (or were in part) connected by land bridges."
http://www.uwm.edu/People/jgotzler/

First Lessons In Geography, a textbook from 1856, defines it as "the largest division of the land" and says there are 2: "the Eastern" and "the Western".
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11722/11722-h/11722-h.htm

Infoplease defines it as "a large unbroken land mass completely surrounded by water, although in some cases continents are (or were in part) connected by land bridges."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001745.html

The Idaho Museum of Natural History defines it as "a large landmass composed mostly of granitic rock. Continents rise abruptly above the deep-ocean floor and include the marginal areas submerged beneath sea level."
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/glossary/letter.asp?letter=C

I know geologists also use a definition involving the tectonic plates and cratons (the "core" of a continent), but I'm having trouble a good geological definition online.

Fourecks.

That'd be my second choice.

I like Antarctica. Forget the penguins, a kilometers-thick ice sheet can't be wrong! Of course, if there's an alien outpost underneath it... *initializes reality check*

NJ in da hizouse!!!!

(then again, what part of nj?)
I'm from Trenton, but I love the whole state from the Delaware Water Gap to Cape May.

Depending on the geographic model you use, there are as many as 7 or as few as 4.

This explains it in detail. (...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

However, all that being said, the Carribean is certainly not a continent by any standard accepted models I know of. :)

And just to be twisted, I'll answer "Pangea Ultima" (http://scotese.com/future2.htm).
Good source of information - I believe I've heard it before but it never really made much sense, so I just stuck with what I learned in school (7).

The Pacific is itself on a plate, and not between two plates like the Atlantic. So it doesn't really disappear, it just gets squished and then thrown somewhere else.


ohhhh..ok thanks for clearing that up.. I like earth science and all..but never to big on the whole plates and all..(i like rock formations more)

Pangea though I’m a bit behind in the times