A map showing the continents of Penthara IV
A continent is a large planetary land mass usually separated from other continents by geographical features, like oceans or mountains.
The planet Earth had several continents, namely Antarctica, South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Alternatively, North and South America might be counted as a single American continent, and Europe and Asia combined into Eurasia. It was theorized that the Voth might have evolved on an Earth continent that had since been destroyed.
While on Earth, each continent had its own unique name; it was also common on other planets to name a continent by means of its location on the planet, for example Northern Continent or Western Continent.
Northern continent
On the northern continent of Archer IV
- A memorial on Tarakis equipped with a synaptic transmitter was located on the northernmost continent of the planet. It was the site of a massacre of Nakan colonists in the 21st century. (VOY: "Memorial")
- The away team of the NX-class Enterprise scouting the planet Archer IV in 2151 landed their shuttlepod on the northern continent. They later took refuge in subterranean caves located on that continent in the proximity of their landing site, to escape violent storms. (ENT: "Strange New World")
- One of the major population centers on the Klingon Qu'Vat Colony was located on the northern continent. Malik and his Augments wanted to detonate biogenic weapons on this continent and two other sites on the planet in 2154. (ENT: "The Augments")
- On stardate 38235.3 in the year 2295, an outbreak of the plasma plague on isolated sections of the northern continent was reported on Oby VI. (TNG: "The Child")
A firestorm rages on the northern continent of Bersallis III
- In 2369, a fire storm was heading for the unpopulated northern continent of Bersallis III. The crew of the USS Enterprise-D used the rare opportunity to study the violent storm, as the next chance would present itself seven years later. (TNG: "Lessons")
- Descendants of Humans that were abducted by Briori in 1937 and brought to an unnamed class L planet in the Delta Quadrant built three large cities on a continent in the northern hemisphere after freeing themselves from and driving away their abductors. (VOY: "The 37's")
- When Tau and his pirates stole the main computer processor and many more goods from the USS Voyager, they hid the processor on the northern continent of an unnamed planet in the Delta Quadrant. Captain Kathryn Janeway and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok beamed to the northern continent to retrieve the processor, while Tom Paris and Neelix were ordered to reclaim the remaining goods from another continent of the planet. (VOY: "Concerning Flight")
A hospital ship hovering over the northern continent of Dinaal
- An impact crater was created by the destruction of several intelligent warheads on the northern continent of an unnamed planet in the Delta Quadrant. Minute traces of the destroyed warheads were detected by the crew of the USS Voyager in 2375. (VOY: "Warhead")
- Scattered enclaves on the northern continent of the Brunali homeworld with populations of fewer than 10,000 Brunali were all that was left in 2376 after repeated attacks by the Borg. (VOY: "Child's Play")
- The Dinaali Hospital Ship 4-2 was hovering over a coastal area of the northern continent of Dinaal. (VOY: "Critical Care")
Southern continent
A Bajoran refugee camp on the southern continent of Valo II
- Three large continental islands were located on the southern hemisphere of Terra Nova. The descendants of the original colonists of the Terra Nova colony, the Novans were relocated to one of the islands as "poison rain", caused by an asteroid impact, never fell on those islands. (ENT: "Terra Nova")
- An uninhabited planet planned to be surveyed by the crew of Enterprise NX-01 in 2152 featured a gorge on its southern continent five times deeper than the Grand Canyon, according to Commander Charles Tucker III. They were never able to explore the gorge as Enterprise had to leave orbit quickly due to an approaching neutronic storm. (ENT: "The Catwalk")
- Captain Jonathan Archer told Hernandez that the view he once enjoyed from a mountain range on the southern continent of Archer IV was almost as amazing as the view from a mountain range on Earth that he and Hernandez climbed in 2154. (ENT: "Home")
It is unknown how Archer could have known about the view from a mountain peak on the southern continent, when his away team landed on the northern continent, as described above.
The genome colony on the southern continent of Moab IV
- In 2350, Native American colonists from Earth established a small colony on the southern continent of Dorvan V. (TNG: "Journey's End")
- In 2367, while working undercover preparing to make first contact, William T. Riker, disguised as a Malcorian named "Rivas Jakara", claimed to be from the Marta community on the southern continent of Malcor III. (TNG: "First Contact")
- A Bajoran refugee camp was located on the southern continent of Valo II. Keeve Falor was the spokesperson of the camp and was contacted by Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the planet surface in 2368. (TNG: "Ensign Ro")
- Human settlers on Moab IV constructed an artificial, domed environment on the southern continent to establish their genome colony. (TNG: "The Masterpiece Society")
- In 2369, Tagran engineer Orn Lote noted to the crew of the USS Enterprise-D that his engineers were having difficulties with the power reactor for the barystatic filters on the southern continent of Tagra IV. He advised that they may need to shut the reactor down for repairs. (TNG: "True Q")
- The only agriculturally developed land on Camor V was located on the planet's southern continent. That is where Miranda Vigo and her son Jason lived. (TNG: "Bloodlines")
- Laas once migrated with a herd of volg to breeding grounds on the southern continent of Varala in order to experience the herding animals' way of life and escape the influence of the Varalans. By the next summer, the breeding grounds had been fenced in by Varalans and within two generations, the herd died out. (DS9: "Chimera")
A Kazon settlement on the southern continent of Ocampa
- In 2371, Kazon-Ogla maintained a small encampment on the southern continent of Ocampa, located close north of the foothills of a range of extinct volcanoes. Kes was kept as a prisoner on this encampment which seemed to be have been built on the ruins of an old Ocampan city. (VOY: "Caretaker")
- In 2374, Chakotay's shuttle crash landed on the southernmost continent of a Vori planet. (VOY: "Nemesis")
- It was Iden's plan to install hologenerators on the southern continent of Ha'Dara to found a colony of holograms on the Delta Quadrant planet. (VOY: "Flesh and Blood")
In the first draft script of DS9: "When It Rains...", the Cardassian Liberation Front's base on Avandi Prime was stated to be on the planet's southern continent.
Eastern continent
A map of the Eastern continent of Rutia IV
- The eastern continent of the Akaali homeworld was settled with dozens of cities. The Akaali Riaan lived in one of these cities. In 2151, an away team of Enterprise NX-01 investigated neutrino emissions from that city, caused by a secret Malurian antimatter reactor used for mining operations. (ENT: "Civilization")
- The eastern continent of Rutia IV was controlled by a single government. Ansata separatists spent several generations trying to free themselves from the rule of the government of the eastern continent. They maintained a base approximately three hundred kilometers from a city on the southern tip of the eastern continent. (TNG: "The High Ground")
- The Cardassian Dreadnought threatened to crash on the eastern continent of Rakosa V. This led to the native Rakosans crowding every port on the continent, trying to get off the landmass before the impact. (VOY: "Dreadnought")
Western continent
- The western continent of Rutia IV was, in 2296, denied its independence by the Rutian government on the eastern continent. In a short time, the separatist group Ansata was formed. Their goal was to gain autonomy and self-determination for the western continent. (TNG: "The High Ground")
- In 2366, the moon of Bre'el IV threatened to crash on the western continent of the planet, destroying an area eight hundred kilometers in radius and causing tsunamis and massive earthquake. In response to the threat, people from the coastal areas of the western continent were evacuated to safer ground. (TNG: "Deja Q")
- Former Borg drones, freed from the Collective in 2368, established a small colony on the western continent of an M-class planet in the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Unity")
Further references
An asteroid impacting on the largest continent of a Nezu colony
- The orbital dispersion field of Toroth covered half the continent that Zobral's encampment was located on. (ENT: "Desert Crossing")
- On Denobula, twelve billion Denobulans had to share one continent in 2152. (ENT: "The Catwalk")
- The Didiron mountain range ran through the upper plains of the Great Continent on the Vissian homeworld. (ENT: "Cogenitor")
- An Iconian gateway and a probe-launching facility were located on Iconia's smaller continent. Both were still functioning after two hundred thousand years of disuse. (TNG: "Contagion")
- Tanagra was the name of an island-continent on Shantil III. (TNG: "Darmok")
- An unpopulated continent of Penthara IV was struck by a type C asteroid in 2368. (TNG: "A Matter Of Time")
- In 2373, debris from an asteroid sent by the Etanian Order crashed on the largest continent of a Nezu colony, approximately five hundred kilometers from the southern tip in an area known as the Central Desert. (VOY: "Rise")
The desolate, smaller continent of Iconia
- Commander Chakotay speculated that the Voth could have evolved on an isolated continent of Earth, millions of years ago. That landmass could have been destroyed in the past, erasing any trace of the Voth on Earth. (VOY: "Distant Origin")
- Kendren IV had one of the most beautiful beaches, located on one of its smaller continents. A genome thief, with Tom Paris' appearance, planned to take B'Elanna Torres there for a romantic picnic while the USS Voyager was in orbit of the planet. (VOY: "Vis à Vis")
- Gedrin joked that the Devore wouldn't be willing to negotiate for a continent or two, on one of the planets formerly belonging to the Vaadwaur. (VOY: "Dragon's Teeth")
- After Q Junior shifted the tectonic plates of Bozel Prime, very much to the disagreement of the Bozelians, his father, Q, told him he could shift as many continents as he liked as long as no one was hurt. (VOY: "Q2")