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 Why should Australia be considered a
continent and Greenland an island? The answer is not clear-cut, but there are
rational reasons behind it.
The characteristics of
continents are these:
- Areas of geologically stable
continental crust, or cratons, tectonically independent from other
continents
- Biological distinctiveness,
with unique animal and plant life
- Cultural uniqueness
- Local belief in separate
continental status
Obviously, the first two
are scientific, and the second two are more subjective.
Compare Australia and
Greenland, the largest island:
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Australia
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Greenland
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Tectonic independence
from other continents
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YES
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NO
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Unique flora and fauna
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YES
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NO
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Unique cultures
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YES
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NO
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Local opinion
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MIXED
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ISLAND
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To elaborate:
- Australia is separated from all
other continents by young oceanic crust. Greenland is geologically part
of North America.
- Australia has highly distinct
plants and animals. Greenland's are largely shared with northern North
America.
- Australia is considerably
larger than Greenland. If separation is key, then Antarctica should also
be considered an island (making Australia second largest).
- Australia has unique, ancient
cultures. Greenland's Arctic cultures, while unique, are part of larger
North American Arctic culture.
- Everyone agrees that everything
smaller than Australia is an island. Australians themselves are divided,
and often claim that Australia is both the world's largest island and
the world's smallest continent.
So, there are good reasons
to assert that Australia is a continent and not an island.
However, it has to be
conceded that there can be no definitive answer. The questions only grow more
complex when you look at the details:
- By scientific criteria,
Madagascar and several other islands are continents.
- Europe is really just a series
of peninsulas off western Asia. Only culture, tradition, and a sense of
separateness gave it continental status.
- Siberia and Alaska are not part
of separate continents geologically. The sea barrier between them is
just a happenstance of the current high sea levels of this interglacial
period.
- Africa is solidly joined to
southwest Asia, though in the process of rifting away.
- The Americas are joined by a
substantial but recent land bridge.
(Image: Greenlandic
glaciers, courtesy LeonWP, Flickr)
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