Alice Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Maybe a silly question but in printing out maps of the seven continents for a project for my son I got to wondering. I knew someone here would be able to enlighten me. In a brief Internet search I got conflicting answers. Thanks. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Maybe a silly question but in printing out maps of the seven continents for a project for my son I got to wondering. I knew someone here would be able to enlighten me. In a brief Internet search I got conflicting answers. Thanks. :001_smile: Some schemes have a continent called 'Australasia', of which New Zealand is a part. Others have 'Australia' as a continent, and New Zealand belonging to no continent. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Mouse Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Our Smart Globe claims that New Zealand is part of the continent Oceania. I learned in school that it was part of the continent Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in NE Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Our program "Trail Guide to World Geography" claims that NZ is part of Oceania. But I too, noticed the conflicting answers when I looked at different maps. I don't ever remember being taught ANY geography in school..... (public school in CA). Anyway, I wish there could be some consensus on the subject. It makes it harder to teach when the students see different names on different maps. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Well, it is on the Indo-Australian plate, so I would note that it is floating on the same plate as Australia, and talk about Plate Tectonics. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 The continent of Australia includes New Zealand. I've never heard of a country not being included from any continent, as one poster remarked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I believe there's a current move to make all the islands of that region into what's being called "Australasia". In past, it was called Oceania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Well the British Isles are part of Europe, and Japan is part of Asia. By analogy, I'd say New Zealand is best described as part of the Australian continent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Because NZ is so much further away from Australia than the UK is from Europe, I side with those that say it's not part of any continent. But I would discuss the plate its on, etc, as another poster mentioned. The English Channel is only about 20 miles wide at one point, but NZ is a good thousand miles away from Australia. Plus, I know some people who don't consider the British Isles truly Europe, but there is that tunnel linking the two... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Plus, I know some people who don't consider the British Isles truly Europe, but there is that tunnel linking the two... True. And I know a few who don't even consider Texas a part of the U.S., so there ya go . . . :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 True. And I know a few who don't even consider Texas a part of the U.S., so there ya go . . . :D :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The continent of Australia includes New Zealand. I've never heard of a country not being included from any continent, as one poster remarked. Yes, but I've always wondered why Iceland is considered part of Europe. I think that some countries are just islands. However, this is one of those rather grey areas--what did people do before they knew about plate tectonics? I personally go by distance--NZ & Iceland are just so very, very far away from their continents. This reminds me of Astronomers defining just what is and isn't a planet. Now it is, now it isn't... (thinking of Pluto here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 As far as I know, we don't count NZ as part of the continent of Australia. They only get included if we're talking about the region of Oceania. As far as I know, they like it that way... Rosie- waiting for comments from Keptwoman ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 True. And I know a few who don't even consider Texas a part of the U.S., so there ya go . . . :D You've got that right.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 As far as I know, we don't count NZ as part of the continent of Australia. They only get included if we're talking about the region of Oceania. As far as I know, they like it that way... Rosie- waiting for comments from Keptwoman ;) Thanks Rosie. I was hoping someone from that area of the world would chime in. And yes, I know Australia isn't New Zealand. Maybe the woman from NZ will chime in too! :) Thanks everyone else also. Not sure I got a definitive answer but at least I know I'm not alone in my confusion. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I thought continents were large land masses surrounded by water. There are either 6 or 7. I have never heard of islands like New Zealand being referred to as part of continents before. Australia is a continent, but even Tasmania isn't part of the "continent", surely? Certainly the general understanding Down Under is that NZ is not part of the Aussie continent. I am pretty sure NZealanders would be mortified :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Plus, I know some people who don't consider the British Isles truly Europe, but there is that tunnel linking the two... They are always discussing whether Britain should join or split from Europe here in the UK. We obviously have some very adventurous engineers. I was taught as a child that New Zealand is part of Australasia. Then I read a book by Paul Theroux called 'The Happy Isles of Oceania' and he seemed to include Australia, New Zealand and all the Pacific Islands in his definition. I guess politics is always conflicting with geography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurafrantz Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 ...that NZ is NOT a continent. It exists because it sits at the edge of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. The Aussie plate is riding up over the Pacific and get lumped up into NZ. The result is that it is made of a mix of Aussie stuff and Pacific stuff. So I guess that's what Kiwis are taught in school...or maybe he figured it out all by himself! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Maybe a silly question but in printing out maps of the seven continents for a project for my son I got to wondering. I knew someone here would be able to enlighten me. In a brief Internet search I got conflicting answers. Thanks. :001_smile: How can New Zealand be part of a continent when it is an island?:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I believe there's a current move to make all the islands of that region into what's being called "Australasia". In past, it was called Oceania. This is my understanding as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 How can New Zealand be part of a continent when it is an island?:confused: From Wikpedia: The narrowest meaning of continent is that of a continuous[6] area of land or mainland, with the coastline and any land boundaries forming the edge of the continent. In this sense the term continental Europe is used to refer to mainland Europe, excluding islands such as Great Britain, Ireland, and Iceland, and the term continent of Australia may refer to the mainland of Australia, excluding Tasmania. Similarly, the continental United States refers to the 48 contiguous United States in central North America and may include Alaska in the northwest of the continent (both separated by Canada), while excluding Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. From the perspective of geology or physical geography, continent may be extended beyond the confines of continuous dry land to include the shallow, submerged adjacent area (the continental shelf)[7] and the islands on the shelf (continental islands), as they are structurally part of the continent.[8] From this perspective the edge of the continental shelf is the true edge of the continent, as shorelines vary with changes in sea level.[9] In this sense the islands of Great Britain and Ireland are part of Europe, and Australia and the island of New Guinea together form a continent (Australia-New Guinea). As a cultural construct, the concept of a continent may go beyond the continental shelf to include oceanic islands and continental fragments. In this way, Iceland is considered part of Europe and Madagascar part of Africa. Extrapolating the concept to its extreme, some geographers take Australia, New Zealand and all the islands of Oceania (or sometimes Australasia) to be equivalent to a continent, allowing the entire land surface of the Earth to be divided into continents or quasi-continents.[10] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 ...that NZ is NOT a continent. It exists because it sits at the edge of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. The Aussie plate is riding up over the Pacific and get lumped up into NZ. The result is that it is made of a mix of Aussie stuff and Pacific stuff. So I guess that's what Kiwis are taught in school...or maybe he figured it out all by himself! :D And I, originally from Canada, would agree. But then, I'm always trying to point out how different Canada is from the States to those from overseas ;). I guess politics is always conflicting with geography. :iagree: And it's interesting to see how people from different parts of the world see things (with variations for personal opinion, naturally.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well I'm a Kiwi and I would have said that NZ is not part of a continent but part of the area called Oceania. However I'm just one person. So I've put up a poll on a NZ message board I'm on and I'll get back to you with the results :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Well I'm a Kiwi and I would have said that NZ is not part of a continent but part of the area called Oceania. However I'm just one person. So I've put up a poll on a NZ message board I'm on and I'll get back to you with the results :) Thanks Sandra! I've been hoping you'd chime in. I have to say I wasn't sure about asking the question but I'm glad I did as the discussion has been interesting to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Well I'm a Kiwi and I would have said that NZ is not part of a continent but part of the area called Oceania. However I'm just one person. So I've put up a poll on a NZ message board I'm on and I'll get back to you with the results :) NZ is part of the Kingdom of Lochac, and the current king and queen are from Sydney. That means you are OURS! Sorry everyone, I just like teasing Sandra. :D Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 As a side note are there really people who think Canada is part of the US? Yes, but mostly it's people from overseas who know it's a different country but think it's just the same. Kind of like thinking that Austrians are the same as Germans just because they speak the same language. Canada is more like the US than Chad is, for example, but Chad isn't the same as Kenya even if they're more alike than Kenya and Mexico...you get the picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 This will probably make the waters murkier but here are the results so far: 10 said Oceania 25 said Australasia 2 said Asia 3 said other. As for what "other" entailed: 1/ Gondwanaland 2/ Both Australasia and Oceania 3/ A largely submerged continent called Zealandia That probably makes it as clear as mud. So I guess the majority of New Zealanders say Australasia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 NZ is part of the Kingdom of Lochac, and the current king and queen are from Sydney. That means you are OURS! Sorry everyone, I just like teasing Sandra. :D Rosie Watch it missy. I'm not above throwing rotten eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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