Landmass

File:Earth Seen From DSCOVR.jpg

An image of Afro-Eurasia, the largest landmass on Earth

A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land that is in one piece and not noticeably broken up by oceans.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or a large island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental crust extending above sea level.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Continents are often thought of as distinct landmasses and may include any islands that are part of the associated continental shelf. When multiple continents form a single contiguous land connection, the connected continents may be viewed as a single landmass. Earth's largest landmasses are (starting with largest):<ref name="Dempsey 2013">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="DunnMitchell2016">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="McColl">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

1. Afro-Eurasia (main landmass of the geoscheme region of the same name and its continental parts Africa and Eurasia - or Europe and Asia; the center of Earth's land hemisphere, comprising more than half of Earth's landmass)
2. Americas (main landmass of the geo-region of the same name and its continental parts North and South America; comprising most of the landmass of the Western Hemisphere)
3. Antarctica (main landmass of the geo-region and continent of the same name)
4. Mainland Australia (main landmass of the geo-region Oceania, its sub-region Australasia, the continent Australia and the country Australia)

See also

• Coastline paradox
• Continent
  • Boundaries between the continents of Earth
• Island
  • List of islands by area
• Landform
  • Glossary of landforms
• Mainland
• Supercontinent
• Pangaea