Continent
continent (noun, pl. continents) – one of the principal landmasses on earth. Traditionally six continents have been recognized: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe and America. North and South America are usually also regarded as continents. Most Pacific Islands cannot be easily attributed to any of these continents. Therefore they are sometimes referred to as the virtual continent Oceania. Recognizing landmasses or even isolated islands as continents is often imprecise and to some extent arbitrary. Geologically, different continents should be located on separate continental plates. Following this logic, however, Madagascar would have to be accepted as a continent whereas Europe would become part of the Eurasian continent.
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