Why is Australia sometimes considered a continent, but Greenland never is? Aren’t they both large islands that could both pass as continents?

Question

Why is Australia sometimes considered a continent, but Greenland never is? Aren’t they both large islands that could both pass as continents?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

There’s a few defining factors of a “continent,” but just to focus on the point raised in this post, Greenland is big, but it is not Australia big. It’s roughly a third of the size of the Australian mainland.

[Size Comparison](https://www.thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!ODI3Njc1Ng.NDY4MDIyOQ*MzU2NDQ4Mjk(MjcyODIwMzY~!GL*MTQ3NDg0NjY.MTg0NTg3Njc)Mw)