Eurasia and the Americas?

[Techno-Druid]

On a completely technical level, why do we use terms like Europe and Asia and North and South America? Understandably, North America millions of years ago split off from Eurasia and eventually merged with South America over millions of years, meaning that North and South America were once seperate continents indisputably, but what about in the modern 21st century within the Holocene? What about Eurasia, Europe and Asia haven't really been apart ever, although lands like the Indian Subcontinent did slowly collide with Eurasia (which to my memory formed the Himalayas, so why do we in modern usage consider these to be different continents?

[PC2]

Continents do not have a universal technical definition. The edge of Europe and Asia (and the Mid-East region) can arguably be a bit fuzzy, but the edges of other continents are more clear.

The typical one world border haters have started calling continents social constructs. Its just another way of complaining about something that isn't really a problem.

[Puupi]

They will teach you this stuff in high school when you get there.

[Techno-Druid]

They will teach you this stuff in high school when you get there.

But I'm already in High School and I know the basics of the continents, just confused on why we use an archaic division of lands like this.

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Continents do not have a universal technical definition. The edge of Europe and Asia (and the Mid-East region) can arguably be a bit fuzzy, but the edges of other continents are more clear.

The typical one world border haters have started calling continents social constructs. Its just another way of complaining about something that isn't really a problem.

Well honestly I find Europe/Asia and North/South America to largely be social constructs if thay makes sense. I also thinks it's a bit fuzzy where Australia starts and Asia ends if that also makes some sense. I do however believe unlike some things that most continents indeed are real.

[PC2]

But I'm already in High School and I know the basics of the continents, just confused on why we use an archaic division of lands like this.

We need a way of categorizing Earth at different levels. If there is a better way of identifying all landmasses at the 5-10 quantity level, please share it with us.

[Kalis]

Europe, Asia and Africa were regarded as separate by the Ancient Greeks (though they called Africa Libya), and nobody can really be arsed to change it now.

[Deleted]

Europe and Asia really are just one continent.. I mean jeez look at a globe. Sure poltically speaking they're different, but geographically speaking?



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look at this arbritary line..

[Tradewind]

Continental Plates define most of it, the exception being Europe/Asia, which for the longest time was probably mostly a cultural thing and then just tacking on some geographic points to make the separation.

[Drekker17]

A North and South America makes much more sense being separated than Europe and Asia, geographically. Since one: they are on different plates, and second the area that separates them is very small, like the area that separated Africa and Asia. Honestly I think if they had very different names people would argue about it just as much as they argue Africa and Asia aren't separate continents, aka barely ever.

[Ripster42]

Europe and Asia really are just one continent.. I mean jeez look at a globe. Sure poltically speaking they're different, but geographically speaking?



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look at this arbritary line..

That line is at the urals I thought. Sure, they're not the himilayas, but no other mountain range is really.

[Kallisto]

Europe, Asia and Africa were regarded as separate by the Ancient Greeks (though they called Africa Libya), and nobody can really be arsed to change it now.

Essentially this though the lines have changed a little.

Back during the ancient Greek times the border between Africa and Asia was actually the Nile because of its wideness and how no one knew the source of it. Now it is considered the Suez.

Europe/Asia borders have been considered same since forever. Aegean/Black Sea is on such border with the mountain range (Caucus) as the land border, plus the Urals in Russia. Geographical lines that separate.