You can long list natural objects that have become subjects of the study of such a science as geography: continents, oceans, peoples and countries, mountains, plains, seas and much more. The same article will deal exclusively with continents and oceans.
What does the geography of continents and oceans study?
This course is necessarily present at the geographical faculties of classical and pedagogical universities. As a rule, it is conditionally divided into three logical sections:
- Geography of the northern continents.
- Geography of the southern continents.
- Geography of the oceans.
This course is also being studied in high school (in the 7th grade).
What does the geography of continents and oceans study? Science sets itself the task of considering the regional features of the nature of our planet. We are talking about the largest natural complexes of the Earth - continents and oceans. Within their limits, geographers try to find various patterns, sometimes comparing individual parts of the planet’s surface.
The geography of continents and oceans is a discipline that is of extraordinary importance for the education of the younger generation. Indeed, without awareness of the causes of the entire diversity of the nature of the Earth by students, environmental education is impossible , which is an important component of the school system of education.
Continents and oceans - the largest natural complexes of the planet
Continents - this is exactly what the geography of continents and oceans is studying in all the details and details. These are the largest natural complexes in the world, which serve as excellent models for studying any natural laws and processes occurring in the geographical envelope.
What is the mainland? This is a huge land mass, surrounded on all sides by the waters of the oceans. Six continents stand out on the planet (in some states - 5 or 7). The largest of them is Eurasia, and the smallest is Australia.
It is important to note that land and ocean are distributed unevenly on the surface of planet Earth (approximately 30% to 70%). At the same time, in the Northern Hemisphere the percentage of land is much higher, but in the South - to the south of 50 degrees it is practically absent (with the exception of insignificant islands and archipelagos).
All continents are separated by vast masses of oceans. There are five of them on the planet (some scientists believe that there are only four of them): the Pacific (the largest and deepest of all the oceans), the Atlantic (the most turbulent), the Indian (the warmest and most salty), Arctic and Southern. Existence of the last ocean just causes numerous disputes among scientists.
Algorithms for the study of continents and oceans
Continents and oceans, their nature is studied by regional geographers according to clear plans. So, the study and description of the continent includes the following points:
- geographical location of the mainland;
- the nature of the coastline, including the extreme points of land;
- geological structure and terrain;
- mineral resources of the continent;
- climatic features;
- surface waters (rivers, lakes, glaciers, etc.);
- natural zoning of the territory.
In turn, the oceans are being studied according to another plan, which includes the following items:
- geographical position;
- bottom topography and mineral resources;
- climate over the ocean;
- system of ocean currents;
- organic world of the ocean;
- features of economic use of water areas.
Finally...
Now you know what the geography of continents and oceans is studying. This is one of the main courses taught at universities that train geography scientists and educators. The main task of this discipline is to consider the key features and patterns of nature of all continents and oceans on our planet.