List of transcontinental countries
 | This article possibly contains original research. (November 2020) |
Contiguous transcontinental countries.
Non-contiguous transcontinental countries.
Countries that may be considered transcontinental, depending on the legal status of their claims or the definition of continental boundaries used.
This is a list of countries with territory that straddles more than one continent, known as transcontinental states or intercontinental states.[1]
Contiguous transcontinental countries are states that have one continuous or immediately-adjacent piece of territory that spans a continental boundary, most commonly the line that separates Europe and Asia). By contrast, non-contiguous transcontinental countries are those states that have portions of territory that are separated from one another either by a body of water or by other countries (such as in the case of France). Most non-contiguous transcontinental countries are countries with dependent territories like Denmark with Greenland, but can be countries that have fully integrated former dependent territories in their central states like France with its overseas regions.[1]
For the purposes of this article, a seven-continent model is assumed based on common terms of reference by English language geographers.[2] Combined continents like "the Americas" and "Eurasia" are not acknowledged or referenced. The boundary between Europe and Asia is largely conventional (much of it over land), and several conventions remained in use well into the 20th century. However, the now-prevalent convention—which has been in use by some cartographers since about 1850—follows the Caucasus northern chain, the Ural River and the Ural Mountains, is used for the purposes of this list.[3] This convention results in several countries such as in the case of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkey finding themselves almost entirely in 'Asia', with a few small enclaves or districts technically in 'Europe'. Notwithstanding these anomalies, this list of transcontinental or intercontinental states respects the convention that Europe and Asia are full continents rather than subcontinents or component landmasses of a larger Eurasian continent.
Listed further below, separately, are countries with distant non-contiguous parts (overseas territories) on separate continents.
Definition
The lists within this article include entries that meet the following criteria:
- Transcontinental or intercontinental states are sovereign states that have some portion of their territory geographically divided between at least two continents.[1][4]
- Transcontinental states can be classed as either contiguous or non-contiguous transcontinental states.[5]
- Contiguous transcontinental states are those countries that have one continuous or immediately adjacent piece of territory that spans a continental boundary. More specifically, they contain a portion of their territory on one continent and a portion of their territory on another continent, while having these two portions connected via a natural geological land connection (e.g. Russia) or the two portions being immediately adjacent to one another (e.g. Turkey).[6][7]
- Non-contiguous transcontinental states are those that have portions of territory that are separated from one another either by a significant body of water or by other land.[6][7] Most non-contiguous transcontinental countries are countries with overseas territories.[1]
The boundaries between the continents can be vague and subject to interpretation, making it difficult to conclusively define what counts as a 'transcontinental state'.
- For the purposes of this article, a seven-continent model is assumed.[2]
- Therefore, states that have territory across sub-continental boundaries, as well as plate boundaries that are internal to continents, are excluded from this article.
- Some non-contiguous transcontinental states have territory situated on distant islands that may or may not be considered a part of another nearby continent (e.g. Yemen's Socotra and Portugal's Madeira). Though there is debate[citation needed] as to whether these states ought to be considered 'transcontinental', they are still included in this article.
- States that only have uninhabited island territory as a part of another continent (e.g., Venezuela's Aves Island) are considered transcontinental for the purpose of this article.[citation needed]
- While it is debatable as to whether states that have claimed territory within the Antarctic Treaty System can have actual control of that claimed territory (e.g., Chilean Antarctic Territory), they are included in this article.
- Some autonomous regions (or dependent territories) may be constitutionally distinguishable from the parent state that claims them as their territory (e.g., in the case of British Overseas Territories and the United Kingdom), thereby causing debate as to whether such states ought to be considered 'transcontinental'.[citation needed] They are nevertheless included in this article.
- Micronations, autonomous regions, and sub-national entities that are in themselves transcontinental are excluded from the lists in this article as a separate entry from their controlling state.
- Any entry must be a UN member state or a part of the United Nations System. Therefore, states with limited recognition are excluded from the lists in this article.
Contiguous boundary
| This section possibly contains original research. (November 2022) |
Contiguous transcontinental states are those countries that have one continuous or immediately adjacent piece of territory that spans a continental boundary. More specifically, they contain a portion of their territory on one continent and a portion of their territory on another continent, while having these two portions connected via a natural geological land connection (e.g. Russia) or the two portions being immediately adjacent to one another (e.g. Turkey).[6][7]
Africa and Asia
African land part of Egypt
Asian land part of Egypt
The rest of Africa
The rest of Asia
The modern convention for the land boundary between Asia and Africa runs along the Isthmus of Suez and the Suez Canal in Egypt. The border continues through the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden. In antiquity, Egypt had been considered part of Asia, with the Catabathmus Magnus escarpment taken as the boundary with Africa (Libya).
Egypt: Out of the 27 governorates of Egypt, two lie entirely on the Asian Sinai Peninsula and two are transcontinental: Ismailia Governorate is nearly equally divided by the Suez Canal, and Suez Governorate—which is coterminous with the "transcontinental city" of Suez—has a small portion east of the Canal.
Former transcontinental country:
Israel: After the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, Israel briefly became a transcontinental state as it occupied territory on the African side of the Suez Canal, in addition to the entirety of Sinai. The land was returned in 1975 per the Sinai Interim Agreement.
Asia and Europe
Europe
Asia
historically placed in either continent
The conventional Europe-Asia boundary was subject to considerable variation during the 18th and 19th centuries, indicated anywhere between the Don River and the Caucasus to the south or the Ural Mountains to the east. Since the late-19th century, the Caucasus–Urals boundary has become almost universally accepted. According to this now-standard convention, the boundary follows the Aegean Sea, the Turkish Straits, the Black Sea, along the watershed of the Greater Caucasus, the northwestern portion of the Caspian Sea and along the Ural River and Ural Mountains to the Arctic Ocean.[8][9]
According to this convention, the following states have territory in both Asia and Europe.
: Azerbaijan is a country located mainly on the Asian portion of the Caucasus; with a small portion of the country, its Qusar, Shabran, Siazan, Khachmaz and Quba districts north of the Greater Caucasus Watershed, and thus in Europe, placing a population of about half a million (or ca. 5% of the country's total population) in Europe.
: Georgia is located mainly on the Asian portion of the Caucasus; however, the Municipality of Kazbegi, north Khevsureti and Tusheti are located north of the Greater Caucasus Watershed, which is geographically in Europe, with mountain peaks throughout the Caucasus ridge, placing around 5% of the country's total territory in Europe. Despite its geography, Georgia is considered a European country geopolitically[10] because of its historical, cultural, ethnical, and political ties to the continent.[11][12][13][14]
: Kazakhstan is a country mainly located in Central Asia,[15] with a small portion of the country extending west of the Ural River in Eastern Europe.[16] The country's physical, cultural, ethnic, and geographic characteristics are Central Asian,[16][17] with a large European influence and influx of European settlers from Russia from when it was a part of the Soviet Union and the earlier Russian Empire. Its West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions extend on either side of the Ural River,[18] placing a population of less than one million residents (out of a 15 million total population) geographically in Europe.
: Russia, the largest country in the world, spans most of northern Eurasia; stretching over a vast expanse of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Its sparsely populated Asian territory was historically incorporated into the Tsardom of Russia in the 17th century by conquests. Russia is considered a European country, as it has historical, cultural, ethnical, and political ties to the continent.[19] The vast majority of its population (80%) lives within its European portion, making it the most populous European nation. Russia's capital Moscow is the largest city in Europe.
: Turkey falls almost wholly within Western Asia (the Asian portion of Turkey composing the Anatolian Peninsula and additional land) plus a smaller portion of the country in the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe called East Thrace, which covers only 3% of the country's total area, with a population of about 11 million people, or some 14% of the country's population. Turkey's largest city Istanbul spans both sides of the Bosphorus, making it a "transcontinental city" in both Europe and Asia,[20] while the country's capital Ankara is located in Asia. The territory of the current Turkish state is the core territory of the previous Ottoman Empire that was also transcontinental in the same geographic region, which itself had also supplanted the earlier, similarly transcontinental Byzantine Empire.
North America and South America
The conventional boundary between North America and South America is at some point on the Colombia–Panama border, with the most common demarcation in atlases and other sources following the Darién Mountains watershed where the Isthmus of Panama meets the South American continent (see Darién Gap). This area encompasses a large watershed, forest and mountains in the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department and Panama's Darién Province. Since both Panama and Colombia traditionally view the Americas as a single continent, the Darién border is locally presented not as between the continents of North and South America but rather as between the subcontinental regions of Central and South America.
Panama: Since the political boundary between Panama and Colombia is not entirely determined by natural features, some geographers prefer to use the Panama Canal[21] as the physical boundary between North and South America instead.[22] Under this convention, Panama is classified as a transcontinental country while its capital Panama City is classified as a South American city. Panamanian sports governing bodies affiliate to differing continental/regional confederations: its athletics federation to South America's, its soccer federation to North, Central America and Caribbean's; its Olympic committee to both South America's and Central America's.
Colombia: Until the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903, Colombia included territory in North America. [map]
Non-contiguous
North America and South America
- Colombia: Most of Colombia, predominantly its mainland, is located in northern South America (see North America and South America above) and the Malpelo Island in the Pacific Ocean is also associated with South America (or on rare occasion Oceania, due to its status as an oceanic island).[23][24] However, the state also administers the San Andrés and Providencia archipelago, 640 kilometres (400 mi) WNW of Colombia's Caribbean Coast, in North America.
Venezuela (Aves Island): Most of Venezuela, predominantly its mainland, is located in northern South America. Aves Island, however, is geographically a definitive part of North America. It is one of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela which are under the administration of the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace.
The special case of Caribbean islands adjacent to the South American coastline:
Trinidad and Tobago: The state of Trinidad and Tobago lies on two tectonic plates. The southern half of Trinidad lies on the South American Plate while the northern half of Trinidad and the island of Tobago lie on the Caribbean Plate. However, these geological features do not necessarily qualify Trinidad and Tobago as a transcontinental state, as the whole territory is often labeled geopolitically as part of North America.- Leeward Antilles (Collectively Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao of the Netherlands; Nueva Esparta of Venezuela; and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, excluding Aves Island): The Caribbean islands division of North America and South America is complicated. Geopolitically, all Caribbean islands in the West Indies are often labeled as North American islands, but geologically, the islands of the Leeward Antilles lie on the continental shelf of South America, and can be considered South American as well. Excluding the geographically North American Aves Island, the remaining Venezuelan islands of the Federal Dependencies are islands situated in the Caribbean Sea on the continental shelf of South America. These islands are north of the Venezuelan mainland and are akin to the location of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Trinidad and Tobago. Similarly, the islands of the State of Nueva Esparta (Margarita Island, Coche Island, and Cubagua) are also situated in the Caribbean Sea just to the north of the Caribbean coastline of the Venezuelan mainland. However, all of the non-Venezuelan islands in this area are typically considered North American rather than South American.[25]
Caribbean Island locations
North American Caribbean islands administered by South American states:
 |
 |
Caribbean islands considered North American or South American:
 |
 |
 |
 |
.svg) |
 |
North America, Oceania, and Asia
United States: While the territory of the United States lies overwhelmingly in North America, it includes the state of Hawaii in Oceania, as well as several other Oceanian island possessions. These islands include American Samoa (in Polynesia), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (in Micronesia) and the United States Minor Outlying Islands (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island).[26] Additionally, the territory of the United States also encompasses Alaskan islands on Northeast Asia's continental shelf. Most of these islands are always associated with North America, except for the westernmost Near Islands group, which is on Asia's continental shelf beyond the North Aleutians Basin and on rare occasions could be associated with Asia, which could then allow the U.S. state of Alaska to be considered a transcontinental state. Alaska's Aleutian Islands, located at the northernmost tip of the Pacific Ocean, have also been considered part of Oceania on rare occasions, due to the remote nature of the western islands, and their close proximity to the Pacific Plate.[27][28][29] The islands, however, have Indigenous American inhabitants and non-tropical biogeography, and as such they are excluded from most standard definitions of Oceania.[30][31][32][33]
South America and Oceania
Chile: Chile is mostly on the South American mainland and includes the islands of Easter Island and Isla Salas y Gómez, which are within the Oceania subregion of Polynesia.[26] Those and the oceanic Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands are part of Insular Chile.[34]
Ecuador: The Pacific Ocean archipelago of the Galápagos Islands, about 1,000 kilometers from continental Ecuador, is sometimes considered part of Oceania.[35][36][37][38][39] This is because of the distance separating them from mainland South America, and their oceanic geology.[24][34] The islands lie on the Nazca Plate with Easter Island, which is considered to be separate to the South American Plate, and they additionally border the Pacific Plate.[40] The Galápagos Islands did not have any known human ties to South America during the pre-Columbian era;[41][42] however, they also do not fit into a cultural subregion of Oceania and the Pacific, as is the case with Easter Island, which historically was Polynesian.[43][42]
Europe and North America
.svg)
Denmark: As a constituent part of the Danish Realm, Greenland is a non-sovereign country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Fully located on the North American tectonic plate, and close to the mainland, Greenland is considered to be geographically a part of North America,[44] with the United Nations categorizing them as such.[45] Although it is politically associated with Europe and internationally represented by a European state (including in the Council of Europe), it is autonomous. Historically and ethnically, its native population is of North American tradition, although it also shares cultural links with other native peoples bordering the Arctic Sea in Northern Europe and Asia (today in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia), as well as in North America (Alaska in the U.S., Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern parts of Quebec and Labrador in Canada). Greenland was part of Danish territory and within the territory of the European Union, but voted for more autonomy and is now excluded from the EU.[46]
Europe, North America, and South America
Netherlands: Though most of the Kingdom of the Netherlands' landmass is in Europe, it also includes six island territories in the Lesser Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea: the Dutch Caribbean. Within the Lesser Antilles archipelago, three territories are in the Leeward Islands group (considered part of the continent of North America) and three in the Leeward Antilles group (on the South American continental shelf). Since the dissolution of the Dutch Antilles in 2010, the sovereign Kingdom of the Netherlands has been administratively divided into four non-sovereign constituent "countries": Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands — the last of which includes the islands of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba (collectively known as the BES islands or the Caribbean Netherlands) as "special municipalities", making it a non-sovereign transcontinental constituent country within the Kingdom.
Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Africa, and Antarctica
France: Metropolitan France is located in Europe, while the five overseas departments and regions, five overseas collectivities, and one Sui generis collectivity are located in other continental regions. Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon are located in North America, French Guiana is located in South America, Mayotte and Réunion are located in Africa, and French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia are located in Oceania. These 11 populated territories of overseas France are integral parts of France, as are the uninhabited Clipperton Island (considered either North American or Oceanian)[47][48] and the uninhabited French Southern and Antarctic Lands, which include the claimed Adélie Land on the Antarctic mainland, the Crozet Islands and the Kerguelen Islands in the Antarctic region, Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands on the Australian Plate, and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean. French sovereignty claim on Adélie Land is in abeyance under the Antarctic Treaty System. France has territory in each continental region except Asia.
Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and Antarctica
United Kingdom: The United Kingdom, located in Northwestern Europe, possesses the 'dependent territories' of Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are located in North America. The Falkland Islands are located in South America. The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are associated with South America but straddle the plate boundary with and are closer to Antarctica. The Pitcairn Islands are located in Oceania. The islands of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha are located in Africa. The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are located in Asia, and the British Indian Ocean Territory is located in the center of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia (geologically a part of South Asia, but geopolitically a part of East Africa).[45] The British Antarctic Territory is located in Antarctica. The United Kingdom is the only state in the world to possess territories in each continental region.
Africa and Europe
Italy: Italy has a number of small islands south of Sicily which can be considered part of the African continent, due to their proximity to Tunisia. The closest land to Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands (Lampedusa, Linosa and Lampione) is Tunisia on the African mainland. Nevertheless, Pantelleria and Linosa are considered part of Europe, Lampedusa and Lampione part of Africa.[49]
Portugal: Continental Portugal is in Europe, while the archipelago of Madeira, an Autonomous Region (including Porto Santo Island, the Desertas Islands and the Savage Islands), is associated with Africa.[50] If the Azores Autonomous Region is considered to be split as two island groups (with the westernmost Flores Island and Corvo Island on the North American tectonic plate being a distinct group from the rest), Portugal would be a transcontinental state geologically (see Europe and North America above). However, geologic tectonic plate separation does not necessarily define geographical continental distinction.
Spain: Although its mainland is in Europe, Spain has territory including two provinces and two autonomous cities in Africa. Close to 5% of Spain's population live on the African continent. Territories include the Canary Islands in the Atlantic,[51][52] the cities of Ceuta and Melilla on mainland North Africa and its plazas de soberanía, which are close to those cities that are geographically part of Africa. The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are three of the 19 autonomous communities and cities that form Spain, while the plazas de soberanía are under a different status, akin to unincorporated territories. The African Mediterranean island of Alboran belongs to the transcontinental city of Almería and the transcontinental province of Almería.
Asia and Africa
Yemen: Although mainland Yemen is in the southern Arabian Peninsula and thus part of Asia, and its Hanish Islands, Zubair Group, and Perim in the Red Sea are associated with Asia, Yemen's national territory extends to the archipelago of Socotra, which lies east of the horn of Somalia[53] and is much closer to Africa than to Asia.[54]
Asia and Europe
Greece: The territory of Greece includes a number of islands just off the coast of Asia Minor, such as Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, Kastellorizo, Strongyli Megistis, and Ro.
Asia and Oceania
Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia consists of its namesake continent and island possessions associated with Oceania, Asia, and Antarctica. Its Indian Ocean island possessions of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are sometimes geographically associated with Southeast Asia. The majority of residents on these islands have Asian ancestry; there is also a proportion of Australians and New Zealanders on the islands who have European ancestry.[55][56] The islands have no proper indigenous population, as they were only discovered in the 17th century, by Europeans. Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are classified as being the westernmost areas of Oceania by the World Factbook, and are also considered part of Oceania by the United Nations. They are within the Australian Plate, and could potentially be geographically part of Oceania under definitions that include the nearby Malay Archipelago, or under definitions which are based on tectonic plates.
Japan: Japan's Izu islands and Bonin Islands (consisting of the Volcano Islands, and three remote islands; Nishinoshima, Minami-Tori-shima and Okinotorishima) are sometimes considered part of Oceania, owing to their oceanic nature.[24][36][26][57][58] The Bonin Islands belong to the Oceanian biogeographic realm, and are believed to have once been inhabited by Indigenous peoples of Oceania around 2,000 years ago, with their official discovery coming much later in the 16th century, through Europeans.[59] The most isolated island, Minami-Tori-shima (also known as Marcus Island) is 2,000 kilometers removed from Tokyo, lying closer to the northernmost islands of Micronesia.[60][61]
Indonesia and 
Timor-Leste: Indonesia (excluding Western New Guinea) and Timor-Leste are occasionally associated with Oceania, as they are the closest to Australia and Melanesia out of all countries in the Malay Archipelago.[32] Indonesia currently controls Western New Guinea, which is culturally associated with Oceania, and geologically a part of the Australian landmass.[35][62][63] Moreover, Indonesian territories include the province of East Nusa Tenggara (which Timor-Leste shares a border with) and the Moluccan archipelago, both of which lie within Wallacea and have been considered as geographical and cultural intersections of Asia and Oceania.
Antarctica and other continents
Sub-antarctic region
- Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom: These eight states have overseas island possessions in the Subantarctic region between 46°S and 60°S latitude. Subantarctic islands that are north of 60°S latitude but south of the Antarctic Convergence and that are recognized by international law as being full sovereign possessions of an administering state are: Bouvet Island (Norway), Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australia), the Kerguelen Islands (France), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom). The United Nations categorize Bouvet Island and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands as part of South America, and Heard Island and McDonald Islands as part of Oceania.[45] South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is sometimes considered to be geographically within the bounds of South America;[64][65] however, the other islands are among the most isolated locations in the world. Human activity is very limited on Bouvet Island and Heard Island and McDonald Islands; for example, the McDonald Islands have only ever been visited twice throughout their entire recorded history, with the last visit being in 1980.[66] The World Factbook categorize Bouvet Island and Heard Island and McDonald Islands as part of Antarctica rather than South America/Oceania.[67][68]
Antarctic region
- Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom: These seven states claim portions of the Antarctic mainland (some of them overlapping)[note 1], as well as its associated islands south of 60°S latitude. Some, including Argentina and Chile, consider the Antarctic land they claim to be integral parts of their national territory. However, none of these claims are recognized by the United Nations and the international community.[note 2] Since 1961, the Antarctic Treaty System has held in abeyance all land claims south of 60°S latitude, including Antarctica's ice shelves and Antarctic islands.
Countries formerly and/or never widely or officially considered as transcontinental countries
Asia and Oceania
Malaysia, 
Papua New Guinea, the 
Philippines and 
Singapore: The Malay Archipelago, located between Melanesia and mainland Southeast Asia, can be considered a transcontinental region. Many initial 19th century definitions of Oceania included most or all of the Malay Archipelago.[70][34][71][72] Definitions of Oceania which include the Malay Archipelago are much rarer today; the non-oceanic nature of the Malay Archipelago and its geological connections to Asia may not have been as widely known in the 19th century.[32] The Philippines are the closest to the Oceania subregion of Micronesia, and are sometimes historically associated with it, mainly due to their shared Christian cultures and Spanish colonial histories, and their shared Austronesian backgrounds.[23] Anthropologically, New Guinea is a part of Melanesia, but it is sometimes included in the Malay Archipelago. The state of Papua New Guinea is an observer in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes mainland states of Southeast Asia, and has contemplated full membership in this organisation.[73] Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore (as well as Japan) are all dialogue partners of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and Timor-Leste are an observer. However, only countries solely associated with Oceania have full membership, such as Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa.[74][75]
North America and Oceania
Costa Rica and 
Mexico: Oceania at times is considered to encompass all oceanic islands in the Pacific Ocean.[24][36] Oceanic islands are defined as islands that were never connected to a continental landmass, and which formed through volcanic acitivity in the ocean.[24] Mexico administer the oceanic Guadalupe Island and Revillagigedo Islands, and the oceanic islet of Rocas Alijos, while Costa Rica administer the oceanic Cocos Island. All of these islands were uninhabited prior to European discovery,[76] and none lie on the North American or South American tectonic plates; the Mexican islands lie on the Pacific Plate with most of Oceania, and Cocos Island lies on the self-named Cocos Plate, which contains no other islands besides Colombia's Malpelo Island. Furthermore, the Mexican state of Baja California, despite being physiologically connected to the American landmass, is in fact part of the Pacific Plate. Guadalupe Island and Rocas Alijos are rarely categorized with other Pacific Islands, as they are only 250 to 300 kilometers removed from Baja California. Revillagigedo's most remote island, Clarion, is 700 kilometers from Mexico's coast, and Cocos Island is 550 kilometers from Costa Rica's coast. These islands are more frequently associated with the term Pacific Islands,[77] and occasionally have been included as part of Oceania.[39][23][76] Remoter islands such as France's Clipperton (1,100 kilometers from Mexico's coast) are even more commonly associated with Oceania, with such islands usually having stronger biogeographical affinities to the central Pacific or south Pacific.[78]
![[map]](/wiki/File:Colombia_in_1886.svg){kind=link}
See also
- Boundaries between the continents of Earth
- Dependent territory
- Historical powers
- List of countries by continent
- List of former transcontinental countries
- Thalassocracy
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d "Transcontinental Countries Of The World". WorldAtlas. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
- ^ a b "Continent". NationalGeographic.org. National Geographic. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ The question was treated as a "controversy" in British geographical literature until at least the 1860s, with Douglas Freshfield advocating the Caucasus crest boundary as the "best possible", citing support from various "modern geographers" (Journey in the Caucasus, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Volumes 13–14, 1869). In 1958, the Soviet Geographical Society formally recommended that the boundary between Europe and Asia be drawn in textbooks from Baydaratskaya Bay, on the Kara Sea, along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, then the Ural River to the Mugodzhar Hills, the Emba River, and the Kuma–Manych Depression (i.e. passing well north of the Caucasus); "Do we live in Europe or in Asia?" (in Russian).; Orlenok V. (1998). "Physical Geography" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2011-10-16.. Nevertheless, most Soviet-era geographers continued to favour the boundary along the Caucasus crest. (E. M. Moores, R. W. Fairbridge, Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology, Springer, 1997, ISBN 978-0-412-74040-4, p. 34: "most Soviet geographers took the watershed of the Main Range of the Greater Caucasus as the boundary between Europe and Asia.")
- ^ "transcontinental". OxfordDictionaries.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "contiguous". Dictionary.Cambridge.org. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Misachi, John (25 April 2017). "Which Countries Span More Than One Continent?". WorldAtlas.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Ramos, Juan (19 March 2018). "What Continent Is Egypt Officially In?". ScienceTrends.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ National Geographic Atlas of the World (9th ed.). Washington, DC: National Geographic. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4262-0634-4. "Europe" (plate 59); "Asia" (plate 74): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles."
- ^ World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. 22 March 2022.
- ^ "Country profiles".
- ^ https://www.gmfus.org/sites/default/files/Kelly%2520and%2520Kramer%2520-%2520Georgia_0.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "10 things you might not know about Georgia - BBC News". BBC News. 4 July 2013.
- ^ "EU relations with Georgia - Consilium".
- ^ "BBC - Religions - Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church".
- ^ "Kazakhstan - Local Travel Information and City Guide". www.kazakhstan.com.
- ^ a b https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1520&context=ree [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Kazakhstan, Retrieved: 8 May 2016
- ^ World Factbook. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. 17 March 2022. Kazakhstan: Geography
- ^ Pashentsev, Evgeny, ed. (2019). Strategic Communication in EU-Russia Relations: Tensions, Challenges and Opportunities. Springer Nature. ISBN 9783030272531. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
Russia is culturally part of Europe and this will still be the case in the future.
- ^ "Istanbul, Turkey - Image of the Week - Earth Watching".
- ^ "Panama Canal | Definition, History, Treaty, Map, Locks, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com.
- ^ North America
- ^ a b c Sebeok, Thomas Albert (1971). Current Trends in Linguistics: Linguistics in Oceania. the University of Michigan. p. 950. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
Most of this account of the influence of the Hispanic languages in Oceania has dealt with the Western Pacific, but the Eastern Pacific has not been without some share of the presence of the Portuguese and Spanish. The Eastern Pacific does not have the multitude of islands so characteristic of the Western regions of this great ocean, but there are some: Easter Island, 2000 miles off the Chilean coast, where a Polynesian tongue, Rapanui, is still spoken; the Juan Fernandez group, 400 miles west of Valparaiso; the Galapagos archipelago, 650 miles west of Ecuador; Malpelo and Cocos, 300 miles off the Colombian and Costa Rican coasts respectively; and others. Not many of these islands have extensive populations — some have been used effectively as prisons — but the official language on each is Spanish.
- ^ a b c d e R. Zug, George (2013). Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands: A Comprehensive Guide. University of California Press.
- ^ S. Ridgely, Robert; Guy, Tudor (1989). The Birds of South America: Volume 1: The Oscine Passerines. University of Texas Press. p. 14. ISBN 9780292707566. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Finally, a few comments on the area we consider to be part of "South America" are in order. Essentially we have followed the limits established by Meyer de Schauensee (1970: xii) with a few minor modifications. Thus, all the continental inshore islands are included (e.g., Trinidad and Tobago; various small islands off the northern coast of Venezuela, the Netherlands Antilles [Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao]; and Fernando de Noronha, off the northeastern coast of Brazil), but islands more properly considered part of the West Indies (e.g. Grenada) are not. To the south, we have opted to include the Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas — in referring to them as the Falklands we are not making any political statement but merely recognizing that this book is being written in the English language), as their avifauna is really very similar to that of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. However, various other islands farther out in the South Atlantic (e.g., South Georgia) are not included except incidentally (e.g., endemic South Georgia Pipit have been incorporated). Likewise, the Juan Fernández Islands far off the Chilean coast have not been included (except for incidental comments), nor have the Galápagos Islands, situated even further off the Ecuadorian coast.
- ^ a b c "Oceania Military Guide". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Todd, Ian (1974). Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 9780207127618. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Wallace, Alfred Russel (1879). Australasia. The University of Michigan. p. 2. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Oceania is the word often used by continental geographers to describe the great world of islands we are now entering upon [...] This boundless watery domain, which extends northwards of Behring Straits and southward to the Antarctic barrier of ice, is studded with many island groups, which are, however, very irregularly distributed over its surface. The more northerly section, lying between Japan and California and between the Aleutian and Hawaiian Archipelagos is relived by nothing but a few solitary reefs and rocks at enormously distant intervals.
- ^ Kohlhoff, Dean (2002). Amchitka and the Bomb: Nuclear Testing in Alaska. University of Washington Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780295800509. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
The regional name of the Pacific Islands is appropriate: Oceania, a sea of islands, including those of Alaska and Hawaii. The Pacific Basin is not insignificant or remote. It covers one third of the globe's surface. Its northern boundary is the Aleutian Islands chain. Oceania virtually touches all of the Western Hemisphere.
- ^ The Stockholm Journal of East Asian Studies: Volumes 6-8. Center for Pacific Asia Studies, University of Stockholm. 1996. p. 3. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ The World and Its Peoples: Australia, New Zealand, Oceania. Greystone Press. 1966. p. 6. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Henderson, John William (1971). Area Handbook for Oceania. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Mears, Eliot Grinnell (1945). Pacific Ocean Handbook. J. L. Delkin. p. 45. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ a b c Brown, Robert (1876). "Oceania: General Characteristics". The countries of the world. Oxford University. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Oceania Bibliography" (PDF). Helictite: Journal of Australasian Cave Research. 25 (1). 1987. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
This paper covers the region from Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea, a province of New Guinea) in the west to Galapagos Islands (Equador) and Easter Island (Chile) in the east.
- ^ a b c Todd, Ian (1974). Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama. Angus & Robertson. p. 190. ISBN 9780207127618. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
[we] can further define the word culture to mean language. Thus we have the French language part of Oceania, the Spanish part and the Japanese part. The Japanese culture groups of Oceania are the Bonin Islands, the Marcus Islands and the Volcano Islands. These three clusters, lying south and south-east of Japan, are inhabited either by Japanese or by people who have now completely fused with the Japanese race. Therefore they will not be taken into account in the proposed comparison of the policies of non - Oceanic cultures towards Oceanic peoples. On the eastern side of the Pacific are a number of Spanish language culture groups of islands. Two of them, the Galapagos and Easter Island, have been dealt with as separate chapters in this volume. Only one of the dozen or so Spanish culture island groups of Oceania has an Oceanic population — the Polynesians of Easter Island. The rest are either uninhabited or have a Spanish - Latin - American population consisting of people who migrated from the mainland. Therefore, the comparisons which follow refer almost exclusively to the English and French language cultures.
- ^ Review of the Protected Areas System in Oceania (PDF). International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 1986. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
Easter Island on the east has been included on the basis of its Polynesian and biogeographic affinities even though it is politically apart. The other islands of the eastern Pacific (Galapagos, Juan Fernandez, etc.) have sometimes been included in Oceania.
- ^ Hull, Frank M. (1937). A Check List of the Syrphidae of Oceania (PDF). Department of Biology, University of Missouri. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
Oceania is primarily considered as the restricted region treated in this paper, but for comparative purposes, in the table only, it is also considered in a broad sense as including New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Antipodes, and Galapagos.
- ^ a b Terry, James P. (1998). Climate and Environmental Change in the Pacific. The University of Michigan. p. 5. ISBN 9789820103580. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
The British added the Ellice, Pitcairn and portions of the Phoenix Islands; the Australians consolidated their claims to Papua; and the French consolidated their claims to Clipperton islands; Easter and adjacent islands were claimed by Chile, Cocos Island was claimed by Costa Rica, and the Galapagos claimed by Ecuador. By 1900 there were virtually no remaining islands in Oceania unclaimed by foreign powers.
- ^ Steadman, David W. (2006). Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press. p. 7. ISBN 9780226771427. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ Sues, Hans-Diete; MacPhee, Ross D.E (1999). Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences. Springer US. p. 29. ISBN 9780306460920. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
The human colonization of remote Oceania occurred in the late Holocene. Prehistoric human explorers missed only the Galápagos and a very few out-of-the-way places as they surged east out of the Solomons, island-hopping thousands of kilometers through the Polynesian heartland to reach Hawaii to the far north, Easter Island over 7500km to the east and, New Zealand to the south
- ^ a b Flett, Iona; Haberle, Simon (2008). "East of Easter: Traces of human impact in the far-eastern Pacific" (PDF). In Clark, Geoffrey; Leach, Foss; O'Connor, Sue (eds.). Islands of Inquiry. ANU Press. pp. 281–300. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.593.8988. hdl:1885/38139. ISBN 978-1-921313-89-9. JSTOR j.ctt24h8gp.20.
- ^ Janick, Jules (2010). Horticultural Reviews, Volume 36. Wiley. p. 146. ISBN 9780470527221. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
Oceania is a broadly applied term for the thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They range from extremely small, uninhabited islands, to large ones, including Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. Oceania is further grouped into three regions, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. There a few other Pacific island groups that do not fit into these groupings, such as Galapagos.
- ^ Coffey, Luke. "Broadening U.S. Ties With Greenland Is a Smart Move". The Heritage Foundation.
- ^ a b c "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". United Nations Statistics Division.
- ^ "Greenland: the only country to have left the EU". ABC News. November 8, 2016 – via www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Clipperton Island Country data, links and map by administrative structure".
- ^ "Country selection - North America".
- ^ Hutt, Graham (2010). North Africa. Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson Limited. p. 265. ISBN 9781846238833.
- ^ Ryan, Peter (2017). Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN 9781775845201. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ Abram, Simone; Macleod, Don; Waldren, Jackie (2021). Tourists and Tourism: Identifying with People and Places. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000324143. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
The Canary Islands are politically part of Spain, but geographically part of Africa, being islands of volcanic origin situated around one hundred miles off the coast of North-West Africa.
- ^ Birmingham, David (1995). The Decolonization Of Africa. Taylor & Francis. p. 16. ISBN 9781135363673. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
The offshore Canary Islands, although historically and geographically part of Africa, remained culturally, economically and politically part of Spain.
- ^ "Socotra". Britannica.com. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ Evans, Mike. "Islands east of the Horn of Africa and south of Yemen". WorldWildlife.org. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "2016 Census: Christmas Island" (PDF). Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Australian Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ Egan, Colleen (11 December 1999). "Bad tidings on Christmas". The Weekend Australian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Prehistoric Marine Resource Use in the Indo-Pacific Regions - ANU". Press-files.anu.edu.au. 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ Thomson, Lex; Doran, John; Clarke, Bronwyn (2018). Trees for life in Oceania: Conservation and utilisation of genetic diversity (PDF). Canberra, Australia: Australian Center for International Agricultural Research. p. 16. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
In a number of cases, human exploitation of certain high-value tree species, including sandalwoods and other highly prized timbers, has led to their extinction—such as the sandalwood species Santalum fernandezianum, in Juan Fernández Islands; and others to the brink of extinction, such S. boninensis in Ogasawara Islands, Japan; or is an ongoing threatening factor in the examples of S. yasi in Fiji and Tonga, Gyrinops spp. in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Intsia bijuga throughout the Pacific Islands.
- ^ "小笠原諸島の歴史". www.iwojima.jp.
- ^ Oceania in the 21st Century - Color. St. John's School, Guam, USA. 2010. ISBN 9780557445059. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
The Bonin Islands, now known as the Ogasawara Islands, are a group of subtropical islands located roughly equidistant between the Tokyo, Japan and the Northern Mariana Islands. This group of islands is nowhere near Tokyo, but it is still considered to be a part of Tokyo! The Ogasawara Islands consist of 30 subtropical islands made The Bonin Islands were said to be discovered first by Bernardo de la Torre, a Spanish explorer, who originally called the islands "Islas del Arzobispo" [,,,]
- ^ "Spatial Data Infrastructure Work in Japan 2000 − 2003" (PDF). Bulletin of the Geographical Survey Institute. 50: 9–25. March 2004.
- ^ Ernst, Manfred; Anisi, Anna (1 February 2016). "The Historical Development of Christianity in Oceania". Sanneh/Wiley: 588–604 – via www.academia.edu.
- ^ "The Australian Continent". www.virtualoceania.net.
- ^ "South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands". Central Intelligence Agency. March 3, 2022 – via CIA.gov.
- ^ West, Jacqueline (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9781857431384. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ Whitley, David (14 January 2015). "Advance Australia far: Our most remote outposts". Traveller.
- ^ "Bouvet Island". Central Intelligence Agency. July 27, 2022 – via CIA.gov.
- ^ "Heard Island and McDonald Islands". Central Intelligence Agency. July 18, 2022 – via CIA.gov.
- ^ "Did you know that seven countries have claims in Antarctica?". Norwegian Polar Institute. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ Parley, Peter (1866). Tales about Europe, Asia, Africa, America, & Oceania. Oxford University. p. 2. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Oceania consists of Australasia, Polynesia and Malaysia. Australasia means South Asia. It comprises New Holland or Australia, Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania, Papua or New Guinea, Norfolk Island, New Zealand and some smaller islands. Polynesia is the term given to the various islands in the Pacific Ocean, which, as you may see on the map, are situated to the eastward of Australia, including the Philippine Islands. Malaysia is the name given to the islands of the Malay Archipelago, which are principally inhabited by the Malay race, comprising Borneo, the Sunday Isles, Celebes, Moluccas [...]
- ^ Cornell, Sophia S. (1859). Cornell's First Steps in Geography. The University of Michigan. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Chambers's New Handy Volume American Encyclopædia: Volume 9. The University of Virginia. 1885. p. 657. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
the whole region has sometimes been called Oceania, and sometimes Australasia—generally, however, in modern times, to the exclusion of the islands in the Indian archipelago, to which certain writers have given the name of Malaysia [...] we have the three geographical divisions of Malaysia, Australasia and Polynesia, the last mentioned of which embraces all the groups and single islands not included under the other two. Accepting this arrangement, still the limits between Australasia and Polynesia have not been very accurately defined; indeed, scarcely any two geographers appear to be quite agreed upon the subject; neither shall we pretend to decide in the matter. The following list, however, comprises all the principal groups and single island not previously named as coming under the division of Australasia: 1. North of the equator—The Ladrone or Marian islands. the Pelew islands, the Caroline islands, the Radack and Ralick chains, the Sandwich islands, Gilbert's or Kingstnill's archipelago. and the Galapagos. 2. South of the equator—The Ellice group, the Phoenix and Union groups. the Fiji islands, the Friendly islands, the Navigator's islands. Cook's or Harvey islands, the Society islands. the Dangerous archipelago, the Marquesas islands, Pitcairn island, and Easter island.
- ^ "Papua New Guinea asks RP support for Asean membership bid". GMA News. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ^ "The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) | Coopération Régionale et Relations Extérieures de la Nouvelle-Calédonie". Cooperation-regionale.gouv.nc. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Japan, U.S. Increase cooperation to enhance Pacific islands' security | Indo-Pacific Defense Forum".
- ^ a b Todd, Ian (1974). Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama. Angus & Robertson. p. 197. ISBN 9780207127618. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
Mexico controls two small groups of Pacific Ocean islands — Islas Revilla Cigedo and Guadalupe — both less than 500 miles ... They have no indigenous population and are geographically part of Oceania
- ^ Mueller-Dombois, Dieter; Fosberg, Frederic R. (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Romero-Torres, Mauricio; Treml, Eric A.; Acosta, Alberto; Paz-García, David A. (19 June 2018). "The Eastern Tropical Pacific coral population connectivity and the role of the Eastern Pacific Barrier". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 9354. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.9354R. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27644-2. PMC 6008413. PMID 29921956.
External links
- Transcontinental states according to World Gazetteer at archive.today (archived 2012-12-18)