§ 32. Having learned the relation of our Earth to the Sun and the Planets, it will be well to acquaint ourselves with the principal objects on its surfaces.—What the Interior of our Earth consists of, we have as yet no idea, because we have not yet been able to penetrate deeper than a few hundred feet; and this is, in proportion to the Earth’s Diameter, little more than nothing. But as regards her surface, we know that it consists partly of land and partly of water. Little more than one fourth of the Earth’s surface is covered with land; all the rest is water.—The great lands are called Continents; the great waters are called Oceans. Smaller portions of land surrounded on all sides by water, are called Islands. Smaller bodies of water surrounded by land are called Lakes.
§ 33. The land on our Earth is divided into Five Continents: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.—These, however, are not all of the same extent. Europe is the smallest of them. America and Asia are the greatest.
The adjoining Plate No. [XI], will give you an idea of the proportion of land and water on our Earth, and of the relative extent of the Five Continents.
Fig. I represents the surface of the Earth divided into land and water. Were all land on our Earth put together in a circle, and the water placed round it, then the land would only fill the inner circle, the water occupying the surrounding ring, a space nearly four times as large as the circle. Fig. II, III, IV, V and VI represent the comparative surfaces of America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Fig. VII represents the comparative surface of the Moon.
Upon close inspection of these figures you will perceive;
1. That the extent of America and Asia are nearly equal; but that each of these Continents is several times larger than either Europe or Australia.
2. That the next greatest portion of our Globe is Africa, which is more than three times larger than Europe.
3. That Europe is the smallest Continent of our globe.
4. That the whole surface of the Moon would not be more than enough to cover either America or Asia.
