Look at a world map. It shows big lands. Each one is a continent.

There are seven. Asia is one. So is Africa. Look for them on the map.

Asia is the biggest of all. Africa comes next. Only Asia is bigger. Australia is the smallest of all.

Asia has the most people. No other land has more. Lots of people live there.

Most of Antarctica is under ice. The ice is a huge sheet. It is a lot of ice.

Nobody lives there for good. Some scientists stay. They live at research stations. About 5,000 stay in summer. About 1,000 stay in winter.

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth. It sits between Nepal and Tibet.

The Amazon is a river. It is in South America. It has more water than any other river.

So the land is in seven big pieces. Each one is a continent.

Words to know

• continent: big land
• scientists: people who study
• stations: small camps
• tallest: highest of all