A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
Plate tectonics is the geological process and study of the movement, collision and division of continents, earlier known as continental drift.
For people in Britain and Ireland, the expression "the Continent" may also refer to Continental Europe, that is, the mainland of Europe, excluding the British Isles, Iceland and some other islands.
