Continents of the World

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Vic knows the world isn't something he can learn about only by looking at a globe nor is it something he can learn about by simply reading books actually vict knows something about World Geography from his own experience for example from vacation trips and times when his family has moved what does that have to do with geography consider what Vic is studying now the continents of the world and his study has shown him that continents cover only a small part of the world yet they must support nearly all the world's people when he thinks about trips he's taken Vic finds that he knows pretty much about continents after all he's traveled on the continent where we live North America here it is on the globe and the Globe May remind Vic of North American geography he's actually seen for instance the coastlines changing coastlines with gently sloping beaches in one place and rugged cliffs in another Coast lines with many natural inlets that men may use as harbors looking at the globe Vic can see that North America's coastlines run generally north and south and he's reminded of other features of the North American continent seen on his trips he's reminded of the Plains large Flatlands used for grazing and farming and the mountains Hills and plateaus of North America like the coastlines North American Mountains run generally North and South remembers traveling through these Highlands seeing lumbermen at work and hearing about mines there that Supply us with iron and other minerals there's still more that Vic knows about North America from his own experience he knows something of how and where people live he has learned that many live where the climate is mild in the United States and Southern Canada as well as Mexico north and south of these areas life can be difficult in Northern Canada because of the cold climate and in Central America because of the mountainous land or the hot climate what's more cities are where most North Americans live some cities like Chicago and Montreal have been built as centers of water and rail Transportation others like Helena Montana and Mexico City have been built close to Mineral Farm or other resources so Vic knows something about the North American continent now he has to find out about the other continents of the world South America Europe Asia Africa Australia and Antarctica a quick glance at the globe reveals that these continents have the same kinds of features as North America take South America for example there are coastlines Plains Highlands and cities and other places where people live the same kinds of features North America has then is South America geographically the same as North America Vic knows it's not and to find out why he takes a closer look at South America an imaginary look through his geography books and Globe first his study gives him a picture of South America's coastlines like the North American coasts they run generally North and South but unlike North America's coasts the shorelines are rather regular with comparative few natural Harbors when Vic studies the plains of South America he finds them different from those of North America some of the South American lowlands are rainforests one reason for this is that these lands lie close to the equator and have hot humid climates an area closely resembling the North American Plains is a large Plateau region in the center of the continent used for grazing and grain farming in the mountains another difference between the two Americas may be found mountains in both continents run north and south but in South America the Western mountains are denser more difficult to cross than those of the continent to the north perhaps this accounts partly for the way the continent is divided into countries for instance Argent Ina is on one side of the mountains Chile on the other how and where do people live on this continent larger South American cities like buenos Ares are on the East Coast where the climate is moderate there are cities in the West too such as Lima but in South America relatively few people live in cities many live in small villages and on farms looking into South American farming Vic finds that Compared to North America a small variety of crops is grown and much of the Farmland is devoted to Specialty crops like coffee despite its farms and cities this continent is comparatively undeveloped it is less densely populated than North America and men have made far less use of its resources in this respect South America is very different from the continent of Europe Vic can see that the coastline of Europe is even more irregular than that of North America perhaps that's one reason why Europeans from the northern countries of Scandinavia and Great Britain to the southern countries of Italy and Greece use their coasts so extensively to build and harbor ships and to trade with the rest of the world Inland many Plains of Europe Europe are not naturally fertile yet men have worked to improve them to raise vegetables and livestock for Europe's large population European mountains and Highlands differ from those of both North and South America instead of running North and South they stretch generally East and West one effect of these many mountain barriers has been the division of the continent into separate regions natural boundaries became the boundaries of countries each with its own culture how and where do the many different European peoples live most are in western and southern Europe where they have established Urban centers fewer people live in Eastern Europe where agriculture is the traditional industry but where manufacturing and trade are growing European cities differ from those of the Americas while many American cities were built around Factory Mining and Farm industries some European cities began as marketplaces and others as religious centers long before big industries were established with a fifth of the world's population and a 16th of its land Europe has little Wilderness left but for many centuries men have used the land wisely and Europe remains rich in agricultural products and Industry joining Europe in a continuous land mass is the huge continent of Asia and the two continents together are sometimes called Eurasia Asia's long coastline is greatly varied there are many inlets and natural Harbors in the Southeast and on the Black Sea very few in the southwest yet even where excellent Harbors exist the Asians have developed few large ports a reason for this may be seen Inland on the plains for most of Asia's Farmers have never produced enough food for export indeed little enough food for the Asians the heart of Asia is a vast Highland of plateaus and mountains spreading out from the center of the continent in some some places to the very shorelines it is these mountains that divide the people of Northern and Central Asia into many isolated pockets of civilization small agricultural communities on the Plains and plateaus and a few larger towns connected to Europe largely by air and a single railroad though people in these communities have very little their lives are far less precarious than those of of many people in southern Asia there men Farm every available bit of land yet there are frequent shortages of food and living space is scarce how similar the highlands of Asia are to those of North America but how different the uses to which they are put there are few remaining forests here and Mining is largely undeveloped every possible bit of land is devoted to farming very close to both Europe and Asia is the continent of Africa though Africa is second in size only to Asia its Coastline has so few harbors and inlets its Plains are so dry and hot and its Mountain so dense that only in the last century has this continent been extensively explored nearly all of northwest Africa is the world's largest desert the Sahara the desert is nearly uninhabitable but there are millions of people living east of it along the Nile River and south of it in the grasslands and tropical parts of the continent impressive as the obstacles to African progress are even more impressive is the work African are doing to overcome these obstacles deep waterer Harbors have been dug into the coastline factories are being built to process the minerals that enrich the land irrigation projects bring new life to Aid lands amidst such changes how do Africans live imagine a continent in which 800 different languages are spoken in which modern cities exist near tribal Villages and in which primitive Hunters live close to Statesmen who are leading the young countries of this continent toward more important positions among the nations of the world Vic to locate the remaining continents of the world must look at the lower part of his Globe for Australia and Antarctica are the only continents entirely in the southern hemisphere Antarctica is a cold continent it has no permanent population but scientists of several Nations have built observation stations there among recent discoveries are a few relatively warm Lakes volcano and several different plants and insects how different Antarctica is from Australia a continent with only one country a growing industrial nation a narrow band along the eastern and Southeastern Shoreline of Australia abounds with harbors and inlets and here in a comfortable moderate climate is where most Australians live Australians are for the most part an urban people four out of five live in cities west of them are the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and west of this the driest land of any continent in the world nearly half of Australia is too dry for human settlement and a great deal of the other half is a vast grassland with irregular rainfall where Kangaroos and other unique Australian animals roam only one out of five Australians lives outside the cities some of these people have turned grassland into prosperous sheep ranches producing nearly a third of the world's wool others work at mining for Australia is rich in Coal iron aluminum and gold with Australia Vic has looked at all of them the continents of the world Vic living in North America knows his own continent best and he's able to learn something of the other continents by comparing them to North America on the globe GL and through his books Vic has learned some of the similarities and differences among continents he'll try to remember them and he'll learn others as he continues to study the continents of the world [Music]