The oceans divide planet Earth's land mass into tectonic continents. Our planet has six tectonic continents in total: they are Arfica, Eurasia, North and South America, Australia, and Antarctica. These continents may include inland seas, such as the Baltic Sea, and large islands, such as Greenland, which is actually part of the North American continent. The terms "old continent" and "old world" refer to the continents of Eurasia and Africa, whereas the terms "new continent" or "new world" refer to the two American continents.

The tectonic continents can be divided into smaller segments that are called geographical continents. When talking about continets in everyday speech, we usually talk about geographical continents. The tectonic continent of Eurasia can be divided into two geographical continents: Europe and Asia. The rest of the tectonic continents form their own geographical continents. As a result, the Earth is often said to consist of seven continents, even though it actually has only six tectonic continents. 

The continents are divided by mountain ranges (such as the Caucasus, between Europe and Asia), inland seas (such as the Mediterranean, between Europe and Africa), and narrow necks of land (such as those between Africa and Asia, and between North and South America). 


Oceans and continents.