Anne. O yes, mamma, Geography is a description of the earth we inhabit.
Mrs. Harley. And the earth (which the globe before us represents,) is divided into four parts, viz. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The three first are contained in the eastern hemisphere, and are called the old world. America is situated in the western hemisphere, and is called the new world, because discovered in modern times.
Anne. Pray, mamma, is not a continent one of the divisions of the land?
Mrs. Harley. Yes, my dear; for after we have divided the whole globe into land and water, we again subdivide the land into Continents, Islands, Peninsulas, Isthmusses, and Promontories,—the water into Oceans, Seas, Straits, Gulfs, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, and Creeks.
A Continent is a large tract of land containing several countries which are not separated by seas; as Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.
An Island, is a tract of land entirely surrounded by water, as Britain, Ireland, Sicily, &c.
A Peninsula, is a tract of land almost surrounded by water, and is joined to the main land by an isthmus, as the Morea.
An Isthmus, is a narrow neck of land that joins a peninsula to the continent, as the Isthmus of Corinth.