[...]... countries, mainly because they both cover such large land areas Each has 14 neighboring countries Russia’s borders touch Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, and Ukraine China is bordered by Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and... began to drift Today’s continent of Africa was at the center of Pangaea South America broke off from southwestern Africa and drifted west, Antarctica broke away from Africa’s southern tip and drifted south, and Australia broke off from Antarctica and headed east North America split off from Africa’s northwest coast and shifted west, and Eurasia broke off the top and moved north At one point, India split... each is a leading language: 1 Mandarin Chinese: China, Taiwan, Singapore 2 Spanish: Spain, parts of North, Central, and South America 3 English: Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, numerous former British colonies in Asia and Africa 4 Bengali: Bangladesh, eastern India 5 Hindi: India 6 Portuguese: Portugal, Brazil 7 Russian: Russia, several former Soviet republics On average,... Colombia, in South America receives the highest average annual precipitation in the world an estimated 523.6 inches (1,330 cm) of rain a year, according to the U.S National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration People in North America use eight times as much freshwater as people in Africa 12 AMAZING WORLD GEOGRAPHY Where do most earthquakes happen? Most earthquakes and volcanoes take place along... continents are actually six separate land masses; Europe and Asia share the Eurasian tectonic plate THE WORLD AS A WHOLE Have the continents always looked the way they do today? No, not according to the theory of continental drift Scientists believe that early in the earth’s history, there was just a single landmass, or continent, which they call Pangaea About 200 million years ago, Pangaea broke up and... border area of France and Spain Today, most of the more than 2 million Basques live in Spain For years, many Basques have wanted to form their own country, separate from Spain and France The Basque language, called Euskera, is one of the most mysterious and oldest on earth—it is not related to any other known language Genetic studies of the Basque people have shown that they are not related to any other... more than half the world s 1,500 active volcanoes Geologists use the term “active” to mean that a volcano may erupt again someday Earthquakes are also common in the Ring of Fire Encircling most of the Pacific Ocean, the Ring of Fire extends from New Zealand in the South Pacific, north to Asia and Japan, across the northern Pacific to Alaska, and then south along the west coasts of North, Central, and... its area with plenty of room left over The Pacific Ocean holds almost half the world s water The Indian Ocean is almost as large as the Atlantic Ocean What is the world s largest island? Greenland has 840,000 square miles (2,184,000 sq km), making it the largest island in the world According 10 A map of the earth showing the Pacific Ocean at its center reveals just how much of the earth’s surface the... Baghdad, Iraq 125,000 8 Nishapur (Neyshabur) Iran 125,000 9 Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia 100,000 10 Patan (Anhilwara), India 100,000 What is the difference between a nation and a state? First, there are two kinds of “states.” One is a division of a country, as in the 50 states of the United States The other kind of state is any country By definition, a country must occupy a space with internationally recognized... rises and comes out of the earth in the form of lava—the hot molten rock that is spewed from volcanoes 13 The Ring of Fire surrounds the Pacific Ocean, and more than half of the world s 1,500 active volcanoes are found there 14 AMAZING WORLD GEOGRAPHY the Pacific Ocean It struck Hilo, Hawaii, 14 hours later and continued on to the Philippines and Japan, causing more death and destruction As many as . North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. But there are just six distinct land masses because Europe and Asia lie on top of a single tectonic plate, called Eurasia continent of Africa was at the center of Pangaea. South America broke off from southwestern Africa and drifted west, Antarctica broke away from Africa’s southern tip and drifted south, and Australia broke. mountains may form. When the plates pull apart from each other, continents may break apart and oceans may form. The World As a Whole Chapter 1 4 The seven continents are actually six separate land