A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth and Solar System, planets. The ...
or area
Area is the quantity
Quantity is a property that can exist as a multitude or magnitude, which illustrate discontinuity and continuity. Quantities can be compared in terms of "more", "less", or "equal", or by assigning a numerical value in ...
of land
Land is the solid surface of Earth that is not permanently submerged in water. Most but not all land is situated at elevations above sea level (variable over geologic time frames) and consists mainly of Earth's crust, crustal components such a ...
. The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean
The ocean (also the sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water which covers approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth.
or sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water which covers approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth.
, such as a continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of th ...
or a large island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atoll
An atoll (), sometimes known as a coral atoll, i ...
.
In the field of geology
Geology (from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language
Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek
Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek ...
, a landmass is a defined section of continental crust
Continental crust is the layer of igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the ...
extending above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL) (often shortened to sea level) is an average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in th ...
.
See also
*Boundaries between the continents of Earth
: these states are not located on any continent-sized landmass, but they are usually grouped geographically with a neighbouring continent
The boundaries between the continents of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only ...
*Coastline paradox
The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines, i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fra ...
*Landform
A landform is a natural or artificial feature of the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body
A planet is an astronomical body
Astronomy (from el, ἀστρονομία, literally meaning the science that studies the laws ...
*
*List of landforms
Landform
A landform is a natural or artificial feature of the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body
A planet is an astronomical body
Astronomy (from el, ἀστρονομία, literally meaning the science that studies ...
*Mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often human geography, politically, econo ...
*Subcontinent
A continent is one of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these ...
*Supercontinent
In geology
Geology (from the Ancient Greek γῆ, ''gē'' ("earth") and -λoγία, ''-logia'', ("study of", "discourse")) is an Earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the proces ...
References
{{Authority control Landforms Geography terminology Geology terminology