Continent Continent A continent is one of several very large landmasses of the world. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, they are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Geologically, the continents largely correspond to areas of continental crust that are found on the continental plates. However, some areas of continental crust are regions covered with water not usually included in the list of continents. Zealandia is one such area (see submerged continents below). Islands are frequently grouped with
Middle-earth and despite the additional expense, work and delays involved. The definitive map of Middle-earth was published in "The Lord of the Rings". This iconic map incorporates all the chief locations of the main story, and also includes places from some of the background histories. This map was also published (with various additions and embellishment) as a stand-alone poster: "A Map of Middle-Earth". It is important to note that this map does not cover all of Middle-earth, but only shows the north-west of the continent. This is made more explicit in the revised version published in "Unfinished Tales", which is titled