Good to see you again. You have already practiced the five themes of geography and used the Equator, Prime Meridian, latitude, and hemispheres to locate places. This lesson uses those map skills to quickly sort out the major land and water facts most likely to appear on your test.
By the end, you should be able to identify all seven continents and five oceans, recognize Asia and the Pacific Ocean as the largest, explain why Antarctica is the largest desert, identify Pangaea, and correct the common Lake Baikal question.
Read the world map strategically
A continent is one of Earth’s seven main land divisions. In the usual U.S. school system, the seven continents are:
- Asia
- Africa
- North America
- South America
- Antarctica
- Europe
- Australia
This is also their order from largest to smallest by land area. The two most important size facts for the test are:
- ASIA is the largest continent.
- AUSTRALIA is the smallest continent.
7 Continents and 5 Oceans | Learn the names | Educational video for Kids | Geography
Watch “7 Continents and 5 Oceans” from Smartie the Alpaca for a fast visual tour of the names and locations you need to recognize on a map.
Watch the continents to match each continent with its position and remember that Asia is the largest. Then watch the oceans, focusing on the Pacific as the largest and deepest ocean. Finish with the review quiz for a quick recall check.
Location anchors for the continents
You do not need to memorize every border. Use a few strong location clues:
| Continent | Quick map clue |
|---|---|
| North America | Includes the United States and Canada; north of South America |
| South America | South of North America; between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans |
| Europe | North of Africa and west of Asia |
| Africa | South of Europe; between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans |
| Asia | East of Europe; the largest continent |
| Australia | Southeast of Asia; in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres |
| Antarctica | Surrounds the South Pole; covered largely by ice |
A useful test trick: Antarctica is not the largest continent. It is the fifth-largest continent, larger than Europe and Australia but smaller than Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.
National Geographic Education’s “Continent” gives the official size order of the seven continents and a concise description of Antarctica’s location and conditions.
In the article introduction, read from the opening definition through the size ranking. Then scroll to the Antarctica subsection and read the Antarctica passage. Focus on the facts that Antarctica has no permanent population and is larger than Europe or Australia.
The five oceans: use location plus size
The five oceans are:
- Pacific Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- Southern Ocean
- Arctic Ocean
Here are the fastest map clues:
| Ocean | Where it is |
|---|---|
| Pacific | Between Asia/Australia and North and South America |
| Atlantic | Between the Americas and Europe/Africa |
| Indian | Between Africa, Asia, and Australia |
| Southern | Encircles Antarctica |
| Arctic | Around the North Pole |
The test answer to memorize is:
“Which ocean is the largest?”
PACIFIC OCEAN
The Pacific Ocean is also the deepest ocean. On a flat world map, it looks split into two pieces at the left and right edges, but it is one connected ocean.
NOAA Ocean Exploration’s “How Big Is the Pacific Ocean?” confirms the precise size fact behind the test answer.
Read the short Ocean Fact, beginning with its first paragraph. Focus on the key comparison: the Pacific is both the largest and deepest ocean basin.
Antarctica: continent and desert
The word desert does not mean “hot and sandy.” A desert is an area that gets very little precipitation.
Antarctica receives very little precipitation, so it is a polar desert. By total area, it is Earth’s largest desert.
Keep these two facts separate:
- Largest continent: ASIA
- Largest desert: ANTARCTICA
- Largest hot desert: SAHARA
Pangaea and Lake Baikal: two common test traps
Pangaea was an ancient supercontinent: a single huge landmass made from nearly all of Earth’s land joined together. Over millions of years, tectonic plate movement separated it into the continents we know today.
For a direct test question:
“What was the large supercontinent called?”
PANGAEA
Pangaea was not an eighth modern continent. It was the earlier, joined arrangement of the continents.
Pangea for Kids | Learn all about the supercontinent of long ago!
Watch Learn Bright’s “Pangea for Kids” for a short explanation of what a supercontinent was and how Pangaea broke into the landmasses that became today’s continents.
Watch the definition to lock in that Pangaea was one enormous landmass containing all the continents. Then watch the breakup to see how it separated into the beginnings of the modern continents.
Lake Baikal: state the size rule
A test question can be confusing if it says “the largest freshwater lake” without explaining what “largest” means.
- Lake Baikal, in Russia, is the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume. It is also the deepest freshwater lake.
- Lake Superior, in North America, is the largest freshwater lake by surface area.
Your study guide likely expects this question:
“The largest freshwater lake in the world is located in what country?”
RUSSIA
If it asks for the lake’s name and means largest by volume, answer:
LAKE BAIKAL
Do not answer “Lake Baikal” when the question asks for a country.
Rapid multiple-choice review
Answer mentally first, then check the answer immediately below.
1. Which continent is the largest by land area?
A. Africa
B. Asia
C. North America
D. Antarctica
B. ASIA
2. Which continent is the smallest?
A. Europe
B. Antarctica
C. Australia
D. South America
C. AUSTRALIA
3. Which continent surrounds the South Pole?
A. Asia
B. Antarctica
C. Australia
D. Europe
B. ANTARCTICA
4. Which ocean is the largest and deepest?
A. Atlantic Ocean
B. Arctic Ocean
C. Indian Ocean
D. Pacific Ocean
D. PACIFIC OCEAN
5. Which ocean surrounds Antarctica?
A. Southern Ocean
B. Pacific Ocean
C. Atlantic Ocean
D. Arctic Ocean
A. SOUTHERN OCEAN
6. The Atlantic Ocean lies mainly between:
A. Asia and Australia
B. North America and South America
C. the Americas and Europe/Africa
D. Antarctica and Australia
C. THE AMERICAS AND EUROPE/AFRICA
7. Why is Antarctica considered the world’s largest desert?
A. It has the highest temperatures.
B. It receives very little precipitation.
C. It is the largest continent.
D. It has no oceans nearby.
B. IT RECEIVES VERY LITTLE PRECIPITATION
8. Pangaea was:
A. a modern continent
B. an ocean around Antarctica
C. an ancient supercontinent
D. the first name for Australia
C. AN ANCIENT SUPERCONTINENT
9. Lake Baikal is located in:
A. Canada
B. Russia
C. Chile
D. the United States
B. RUSSIA
10. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake when “largest” means:
A. volume of water
B. surface area
C. number of islands
D. distance from the Equator
A. VOLUME OF WATER
11. Which freshwater lake is largest by surface area?
A. Lake Baikal
B. Lake Superior
C. Lake Victoria
D. Lake Erie
B. LAKE SUPERIOR
12. Which list puts the three largest continents in correct order?
A. Asia, Africa, North America
B. Africa, Asia, North America
C. Asia, North America, Africa
D. North America, Asia, Africa
A. ASIA, AFRICA, NORTH AMERICA
Key takeaways
Memorize this compact set before your geography test:
- Seven continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia.
- Largest continent: ASIA
- Smallest continent: AUSTRALIA
- Five oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic.
- Largest and deepest ocean: PACIFIC OCEAN
- Largest desert by area: ANTARCTICA
- Ancient supercontinent: PANGAEA
- Lake Baikal: in RUSSIA; largest freshwater lake by volume.
- Lake Superior: largest freshwater lake by surface area.
Next, you will shift from map facts to Earth science vocabulary: the lithosphere, atmosphere, relief, magma, lava, chemical weathering, and glacial erosion.
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