Continents
Continents
those large masses of the earth’s crust in which most of the surface protrudes above the level of the world ocean in the form of land, while the peripheral part is submerged beneath the ocean (the continental margin). The continents have a total crustal thickness of up to 35-45 km and contain the granitic (granitic-metamorphic) layer.
There are six continents in the Recent geological epoch: Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.