Eurasia Facts & Worksheets

Eurasia, which includes Europe and Asia, is the world’s biggest continent. Physiographically, Eurasia, according to some geographers, is a single continent. Although the notion of Europe and Asia as different continents date back to antiquity, their borders are arbitrary and have historically changed. 

See the fact file below for more information on Eurasia, or you can download our 31-page Eurasia worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GEOGRAPHY

• Eurasia is a region reaching from Iceland through the Atlantic Ocean, with Spain and Portugal on the west, and to the Bering Strait and the Far East and Far North of Russia. It includes China and Central Asia.
• Africa bounds Eurasia on the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Arctic Ocean on the north, the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Indian Ocean on the south.
• The divide of Europe and Asia as two different continents is a historical, sociological construct, as neither fits the conventional definition; as a result, Eurasia is acknowledged as the biggest of the six continents on Earth in certain regions of the globe.
• Eurasia encompasses around 55 million square kilometers (21 million square miles), or approximately 36.2% of the total area of the Earth. The continent is home to nearly 5 billion people, accounting for around 70% of the world’s population. Humans initially arrived in Eurasia 125,000 years ago from Africa.
• Because of its vast size and latitude variations, Eurasia features Koppen climates, which include the worst forms of extreme temperatures, high and low precipitation, and a wide range of ecosystems.

MOUNTAINS

• The world’s 100 tallest mountains are in Eurasia, in the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Hengduan, and Tian Shan mountain ranges, as are all summits above 7,000 meters.
• The Kunlun, Hindu Raj, and the Caucasus Mountains are three more high ranges. The Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Alborz, Caucasus, and Alps ranges are all part of the Alpide belt, which stretches 15,000 kilometers throughout southern Eurasia from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe. The East Siberian, Altai, Scandinavian, Qinling, Western Ghats, Vindhya, Byrranga, and Annamite Ranges are located outside the Alpide Belt.

ISLANDS

• The largest Eurasian islands by area include Borneo, Sumatra, Honshu, the United Kingdom, Sulawesi, Java, the island of Luzon, Iceland, Mindanao, Ireland, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Sri Lanka.
• The world’s five most populated islands are Java, Honshu, Great Britain, the island of Luzon, and Sumatra. Other Eurasian islands with significant populations include Mindanao, Taiwan, Salsette, the island of Borne Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Kyushu, and Hainan.
• Caubian Gamay Island, Ap Lei Chau, and Navotas Island are the most populous islands in Eurasia. The largest abandoned islands in the Arctic Ocean are Severny Island, Nordaustlandet, October Revolution Island, and Bolshevik Island, while Kotelny Island, Alexandra Land, and Spitsbergen are the least populated.

HISTORY

• Many ancient civilizations, including those in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and China, have called Eurasia home.
• Throughout the Axial Age (mid-first millennium BCE), an uninterrupted chain of civilizations spanned from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Eurasian subtropical zone. This belt was the epicenter of world history for two millennia.

RUSSIAN GEOPOLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• Initially, “Eurasia” was a geographical notion, an enormous continent encompassing Europe and Asia. However, there are numerous geopolitical interpretations of the term that reflect distinct geopolitical objectives.
• Russian “Eurasianism” initially matched roughly to Imperial Russia’s territorial extent in 1914, including areas of Eastern Europe. One of Russia’s primary geopolitical aims is tighter integration with nations it believes to be part of “Eurasia.”
• Eurasia developed a geopolitical repute in George Orwell’s novel 1984, where continual monitoring and propaganda are strategic parts (presented as reflexive adversaries) of the multifarious dispositif such metapolitical structures utilized to manage and wield power.

REGIONAL ORGANIZATION AND ALLIANCES

• Several single markets have arisen across Eurasia, including the Eurasian Economic Space, the European Single Market, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• Additionally, several international organizations and projects work to encourage integration across Eurasia, including:

The Asia-Europe Meeting

• Since 1996, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has brought the majority of Asian and European nations together every two years.

Commonwealth of Independent States

• Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, ten post-Soviet countries in Eurasia founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a political and economic alliance.
• An estimated 239,796,101 people live there. The CIS promotes cooperation in military, political, and economic matters and has some authority to coordinate commerce, finance, legislation, and security.
• Six CIS countries joined the 1992-founded Collective Security Treaty Organization, an international military alliance.

Eurasian Union

• The Eurasian Union, founded in 2015 and consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Cuba, is an economic union with a similar structure to the European Union.
• Its headquarters are in Minsk, Belarus, and Moscow, Russia. The Union encourages economic cooperation among its members and, in theory, is willing to expand to include any nation in Asia or Europe.
• With a population of almost half a billion and a geographic reach that includes three-fifths of the Eurasian continent, it is the biggest regional organization in the world.

HISTORY OF THE EUROPE-ASIA DIVISION

• Europe, named after the mythical Phoenician princess Europa, and Asia, which to the Greeks initially encompassed Africa (named after Asia, a figure in Greek mythology), were considered different “lands” in antiquity.
• The location of the boundary between the two zones is still up for debate. It is debatable whether the Kuma-Manych Depression or the Caucasus Mountains constitute Europe’s southeast border, as Mount Elbrus—rather than Mont Blanc—would be the continent’s tallest mountain under the latter scenario.
• The border created in the 18th century by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg is possibly the most generally recognized. The dividing line was drawn by the Sea of Aegean, Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, the Kuma-Manych Depression, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains.
• However, several analytical geographers, like Halford Mackinder, who found little validity in the Ural Mountains as a barrier between continents, have criticized at least part of this classification.

SOVIET STATES AFTER DECENTRALIZATION

• Russian scholar Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia in the eighteenth century as a realm distinct from Europe and Asia, encompassed by the Himalayas, the Caucasus Mountains, the Alps, the Polar Region, the Asia-Pacific region, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean region, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. This definition has had a significant impact on Russia and the other former Soviet Union countries.
• The word “Eurasia” is now occasionally used to refer to the post-Soviet sphere, particularly Russia, the Central Asian republics, and the Transcaucasian republics, as well as periodically to neighboring territories like Turkey and Mongolia, partially due to this usage.

Eurasia Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Eurasia across 31 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Eurasia. Physiographically, Eurasia, according to some geographers, is a single continent. Although the notion of Europe and Asia as different continents date back to antiquity, their borders are arbitrary and have historically changed. 

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Eurasia Facts
2. Presenting Eurasia
3. Did GEO Know?
4. Mountains of Eurasia Work
5. No Man is an Island
6. Once Upon a Time in Eurasia
7. Russ-Geopoli-DEA-ology
8. Naming that Ally
9. Setting Boundaries
10. Eurasia vs. the Rest of the World
11. So-ve-it. State It

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Eurasia?

Eurasia is a geographical region that encompasses the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. It is the largest contiguous landmass on Earth and is home to a significant portion of the world’s population.

What countries are part of Eurasia?

The countries that are part of Eurasia vary depending on the definition used. However, some of the countries commonly considered part of Eurasia include Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, China, India, and several countries in Eastern Europe.

What are the major geographic features of Eurasia?

Eurasia is characterized by diverse geographic features. It includes vast plains, such as the Eurasian Steppe and the Great Hungarian Plain, as well as mountain ranges, like the Himalayas, the Ural Mountains, and the Caucasus Mountains. It also encompasses major rivers such as the Volga, Danube, and Yangtze.

What is the historical significance of Eurasia?

Eurasia has played a significant role in human history and civilization. It has been a crossroads of cultures, facilitating trade, migration, and the exchange of ideas. The region has witnessed the rise and fall of numerous empires, including the Roman, Persian, Mongol, Ottoman, and Russian empires.

How does Eurasia contribute to global geopolitics and economics?

Eurasia’s geographical location and resources make it a vital region for global geopolitics and economics. It is a major hub for international trade, connecting Europe and Asia. The region is rich in natural resources, including oil, natural gas, minerals, and agricultural land, which influence global energy markets and economic dynamics.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

<a href="https://kidskonnect.com/geography/eurasia/">Eurasia Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com</a> - KidsKonnect, June 4, 2023

Link will appear as Eurasia Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 4, 2023