What is Australia: island or continent? Australia, with an area of approximately 7.7 million square kilometers, is the smallest continent on Earth. But given its size close to Greenland (2.1 million square kilometers), why is Australia considered a continent and Greenland only an island?
What defines a continent or an island? Conform Britannicaan island is a land mass “completely surrounded by water” and “smaller than a continent”. By this definition, Australia cannot be an island because it is already considered a continent.
What is Australia? And if Australia is a continent, why isn’t Greenland? Although there is no strict scientific definition for continents, some common criteria help to distinguish them:
What is Australia: island or continent? The criteria on which we can make the distinction
Geological Criterion: Australia and most of Asia are located on separate tectonic plates. Greenland, on the other hand, is part of the same tectonic plate as North America.
Biological Criterion: Australia is home to a large number of plant and animal species that do not exist elsewhere in the world, making it ecologically unique. Greenland has fewer endemic species and its fauna is largely shared with other arctic regions.
Anthropological Criterion: Aboriginal peoples are unique to Australia. In Greenland, the indigenous population (the Inuit) are part of a larger group of peoples spread throughout the Arctic region, including Canada, the USA and Russia.
Size matters
Another important factor is size. Australia is almost four times the size of Greenland, and the significant difference between the two helps draw a dividing line.
If Greenland were larger, or Australia smaller, the discussion might be more complicated.
What is Australia? Exceptions and cultural considerations
There are, of course, exceptions. For example, Europe and Asia share the same tectonic plate, but are considered separate continents for cultural and historical reasons. These differences show that the definition of a continent is not purely geographical, but also involves other dimensions of humanity and nature.
In conclusion, Australia remains a unique “island continent” due to a combination of geological, biological, anthropological and size factors, while Greenland continues to hold the title of the world’s largest island.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
