>While they are part of Europe to geographers, the British Isles are
>not considered "continental" by the people who live there.  Brits
>and Scots speak of "going to the continent" when they refer to trips
>across the English Channel.  The divide between the English and
>French scientific communities in the early and mid 1800s was a much
>wider gulf than the English Channel!

The French call it the FRENCH channel... and they have probably been
at it for longer!

>continantal Europe is opposed by the British Islands. Don't ask me what
>sense this makes... it's historical. Of course it's not geologically
>correct, but these days only political correctness is wanted. Although
>regarding territorial rights, geological correctness gets its chance ;)

Unfortunately for them, politics and the LCD (lowest common
denominator) do not define terms. And it is not democratic. Britain
sits firmly on the EURASIAN continent. As do Svalbard, Siberia,
Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

India does NOT... it is on its own plate, which is still in the
process of colliding with Eurasia.

The Poms (of which I am technically one, though I will not admit it)
live in ignorance. One cannot  go "to the continent" when one is
already ON that continent. So how do we educate them??
--
Regards
Andrew

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------