Continents

The seven continental land masses this atlas anchors its whole geographic frame to: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Every region, country, city, landform, body of water and physical process this atlas documents ultimately sits on or within one of these seven, so this band is the widest possible entry point into the atlas, the shelf a reader starts from before narrowing to a continent's own regions, countries and features. Seven is the atlas's own real-world ceiling for this type; it is a closed set by definition, not a curated sample.