 |
Why is Australia an island? |
Land Features
A lot of people wonder if Australia is an island or a continent. Or is it both? An island is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by water. If you look at a map, you’ll see this is certainly true for Australia.
A continent is one of the giant pieces of land that cover the Earth and divide the oceans. Is Australia a continent? It certainly is big, but it’s not as big as Asia or Africa. A big clue to why Australia would be a continent is underground. Continents sit on top of large pieces of the Earth’s crust called plates. These plates fit together like a puzzle to form the Earth. North America sits on one. South America sits on one. Africa sits on one. Europe and Asia share one. Australia sits on one as well, and oddly enough, it shares its plate with the country of India. See if you can find those on a map and imagine a single plate holding the two of them.
For the most part, Australia has its own plate, like the other continents. It also has its own cultures and animals that a very different than other continents’. Most people consider Australia a continent.
All continents are pretty much islands, or parts of islands, because they are surrounded by water. Because of naming customs, the biggest ones are only called continents. Because of its smaller size, Australia gets to be both an island and a continent.
Map it!
Australia is an island so it is surrounded by water. What bodies of water surround Australia? Different maps may give you different answers, but chances are you’ll find at least two major oceans surrounding it. What are they?
What bodies of water surround your country? If you live in the United States you’ll find two major oceans as well.
Does your country and Australian share any of the same neighboring oceans? Which ones?