Maritime Continent of which contribute to the development of the Tropical Warm Pool, which is the warmest large area of ocean on Earth. Coined by Colin Ramage in 1968, the name combines the terms "maritime" and "continent" normally used as opposites in the description of climate. Maritime air is humid, and continental air is dry. In the Southeast Asia region, land masses and bodies of water are, roughly-speaking, evenly distributed. Moreover, the land masses are characterized by high mountains, and the seas are among the warmest on the earth. This produces a widespread area of diurnal thunderstorms which pump huge quantities of
Continent periphery of the North American Plate, is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. This is a significant departure from the more conventional view of a subcontinent as comprising a very large peninsula on the fringe of a continent. Where the Americas are viewed as a single continent (America), it is divided into two subcontinents (North America and South America) or three (with Central America being the third). When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Europe is treated as a subcontinent. Some areas of continental crust are largely covered by the sea and may be considered submerged continents. Notable examples