NCERT Book Class 6 Social Science Oceans and Continents

Let us return to our globe and rotate it gently. Or look at the picture of the Earth seen from the Moon. What is the most widespread colour you see? Blue, obviously, but what does it represent? You must have guessed the answer — it is ‘water’. This means that most of the Earth’s surface is actually covered with water — almost three-fourths of the surface, in fact. That is why, when seen from outer space, the Earth appears mostly blue. Indeed, early astronauts lovingly called the Earth the ‘blue planet’.

The largest water bodies we see on the globe are called ‘oceans’.

But in the picture of the Earth (Fig. 2.1), you can see at least one other colour, brown. This colour is that of land, which covers a little over one-fourth of the globe. A large body of land is called a ‘landmass’, and a large continuous expanse of land is called a ‘continent’.

Both oceans and continents play a vital role in shaping the climate of the Earth. They affect all aspects of life, including all plants and animals, and therefore, human life too. We see their impact throughout our history and culture, and in our daily lives.