Continents and Oceans Overview

Mr. Jeremy Rinkel

Geography of the oceans

Earth’s oceans:

• Cover 70.8% of Earth’s surface

• Are interconnected (“world ocean”)

• Have huge size and volume (as a reservoir, contain 97% of Earth’s water)

The four principal oceans

• Pacific• Atlantic• Indian• ArcticPlus:• Southern or

Antarctic Ocean

Figure 1-2

Comparing oceans to the continents

Figure 1-3

Comparing depth of the oceans to elevation on land

Figure 1-4

Early exploration of the oceans

• Pacific navigators peopled many remote islands

Figure 1-6

Early exploration of the oceans

• Advancements of European navigators– Phoenicians explored the Mediterranean Sea

and beyond– Pytheas developed method to determine

latitude– Eratosthenes calculated circumference of Earth– Ptolemy produced map that shows known land

surrounded by largely unexplored oceans

Early exploration of the oceans

• The Vikings explored the North Atlantic and established many colonies

Figure 1-7

Early exploration of the oceans

• During the Age of Discovery, Columbus and Magellan make journeys of exploration

Figure 1-8

Early exploration of the oceans

• Voyaging for science began with English navigator and explorer Captain James Cook– Mapped many unknown islands– Determined outline of the Pacific Ocean– Sampled ocean properties– Modified shipboard diet to eliminate scurvy– Used John Harrison’s chronometer to

determine longitude

Seven continents

• What exactly is a continent? – A continent is large landmasses on the earth’s

surface.– North America, South America, Europe, Asia,

Africa, Australia, and Antarctica are the seven continents of Earth.

Africa

South America

Australia

Asia

Antarctica

North America

Europe