Europe

===Contemporary definition===
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<small>Clickable map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used [[Boundaries between the continents of Earth|continental boundaries]]{{cref2|u}} <br />'''Key:''' <span style="color:blue">'''blue'''</span>: [[List of transcontinental countries|states which straddle the border between Europe and Asia]];
<span style="color:green">'''green'''</span>: countries not geographically in Europe, but closely associated with the continent
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{{Europe and seas labelled map}}
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The prevalent definition of Europe as a geographical term has been in use since the mid-19th century.
Europe is taken to be bounded by large bodies of water to the north, west and south; Europe's limits to the east and north-east are usually taken to be the [[Ural Mountains]], the [[Ural (river)|Ural River]], and the [[Caspian Sea]]; to the south-east, the [[Caucasus Mountains]], the [[Black Sea]], and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref name="Encarta">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia 2007 |title=Europe |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopaedia_761570768/Europe.html |access-date=27 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028013857/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570768/Europe.html |archive-date=28 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Possible definitions of the boundary between Europe and Asia.png|thumb|Definitions used for the boundary between Asia and Europe in different periods of history.]]

[[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|thumb|A medieval [[T and O map]] printed by [[Günther Zainer]] in 1472, showing the three continents as domains of the sons of [[Noah]] – Asia to Sem ([[Shem]]), Europe to Iafeth ([[Japheth]]) and Africa to Cham ([[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]])]]

Islands are generally grouped with the nearest continental landmass, hence [[Iceland]] is considered to be part of Europe, while the nearby island of Greenland is usually assigned to [[North America]], although politically belonging to Denmark. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions based on sociopolitical and cultural differences. Cyprus is closest to [[Anatolia]] (or Asia Minor), but is considered part of Europe politically and it is a member state of the EU. Malta was considered an island of [[Maghreb|North-western Africa]] for centuries, but now it is considered to be part of Europe as well.<ref>Falconer, William; Falconer, Thomas. [https://books.google.com/books?id=B3Q29kWRdtgC&pg=PA50 ''Dissertation on St. Paul's Voyage''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327020614/https://books.google.com/books?id=B3Q29kWRdtgC&pg=PA50 |date=2017 }}, BiblioLife (BiblioBazaar), 1872. (1817.), p. 50, {{ISBN|1-113-68809-2}} ''These islands Pliny, as well as Strabo and Ptolemy, included in the African sea''</ref> "Europe", as used specifically in [[British English]], may also refer to [[Continental Europe]] exclusively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=europe|title=Europe&nbsp;– Noun|publisher=Princeton University|access-date=9 June 2008|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715121246/http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=europe|url-status=live}}</ref>

The term "continent" usually implies the [[physical geography]] of a large land mass completely or almost completely surrounded by water at its borders. Prior to the adoption of the current convention that includes mountain divides, the border between Europe and Asia had been redefined several times since its first conception in [[classical antiquity]], but always as a series of rivers, seas and straits that were believed to extend an unknown distance east and north from the Mediterranean Sea without the inclusion of any mountain ranges. Cartographer [[Herman Moll]] suggested in 1715 Europe was bounded by a series of partly-joined waterways directed towards the Turkish straits, and the [[Irtysh River]] draining into the upper part of the [[Ob River]] and the [[Arctic Ocean]]. In contrast, the present eastern boundary of Europe partially adheres to the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, which is somewhat arbitrary and inconsistent compared to any clear-cut definition of the term "continent".

The current division of Eurasia into two continents now reflects [[East–West dichotomy|East-West]] cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The geographic border between Europe and Asia does not follow any state boundaries and now only follows a few bodies of water. Turkey is generally considered a [[List of transcontinental countries|transcontinental country]] divided entirely by water, while [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]] are only partly divided by waterways. France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain<!--but not the United Kingdom: British Overseas Territories are not part of the UK--> are also transcontinental (or more properly, intercontinental, when oceans or large seas are involved) in that their main land areas are in Europe while pockets of their territories are located on other [[continents]] separated from Europe by large bodies of water. Spain, for example, has territories south of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]—namely, [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]]—which are parts of [[Africa]] and share a border with Morocco. According to the current convention, Georgia and Azerbaijan are transcontinental countries where waterways have been completely replaced by mountains as the divide between continents.
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