Читать книгу The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers - Various - Страница 73

In comparing the continents, we at once notice certain resemblances. The first is the tapering to the south, which is seen in Greenland, North and South America, Africa, and Australia (Tasmania). Another is the southward-running peninsulas which characterize Europe and Asia. We may notice, too, that the general lines of the Old World, broad in the north, tapering in the south, resemble those of the New World, especially if we include Australia (Tasmania), and compare its position with that of South America. There is also a certain uniformity in the distribution of relief. Notice the so-called Mid-World and Pacific Mountain systems, which may be traced in the mountains of Central Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, the islands of the Pacific from Japan to New Guinea, and the lofty mountains of North, Central, and South America.

DIAGRAM SHOWING AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE CONTINENTS

COMPARISON OF THE CONTINENTS

Continent	Asia	Africa	North America	South America	Europe	Australia	All Land
Area (million square miles)	16	.4	11	.1	7	.6	6	.8	3	.7	3	.0	55	.0
Average Height (feet)	3,	000	2,	500	1,	900	2,	000		940		800	2,	100
Highest Point (feet)	29,	000	18,	800	18,	200	22,	400	18,	500	7,	200	29,	000
Percentage at Various Altitudes (feet)
Below Sea-Level	1	.4	0	.1	0	.05	0	.0	1	.8	0	.0	0	.6
0	to	600 feet	23	.3	12	.5	32	.25	40	.0	53	.8	29	.8	26	.7
600	to	1,500 feet	16	.0	34	.8	32	.1	26	.8	27	.0	64	.3	27	.8
1,500	to	3,000 feet	21	.7	27	.6	13	.3	16	.8	10	.0	4	.1	19	.3
3,000	to	6,000 feet	21	.8	21	.8	13	.2	7	.0	5	.5	1	.5	17	.0
6,000	to	12,000 feet	10	.0	2	.8	8	.4	5	.0	1	.7	0	.3	6	.0
Above 12,000 feet	5	.8	0	.4	0	.7	4	.4	0	.2	0	.0	2	.6