definition
strict definition
continent tier
The top of the region hierarchy, holding the seven landmasses everything else sits on.
The continent tier is the highest level of the region hierarchy. It holds the seven continents, and every other region descends from one of them.
The tier exists to anchor the hierarchy rather than to administer anything. No authority governs a continent, and its boundary follows geography and long-standing convention rather than a decision, which is why the count of seven is a convention and not a fact.
A country spanning two continents belongs to one of them here, because the hierarchy gives each region a single parent. The exception is recorded on the region, not by splitting the tier.
Related definitions
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1st level district tier
The first level of subdivision inside a municipality, holding the quarters residents name. -
2nd level district tier
The second level of subdivision inside a municipality, below a first-level district. -
3rd level district tier
The third level of subdivision inside a municipality, below a second-level district. -
city block tier
The tier for the smallest built unit, the ground enclosed by streets on every side. -
country or territory tier
The sovereign level of the hierarchy, holding states and the dependencies administered by them. -
group of countries tier
The tier for sets of countries treated as one unit, sitting under a continent. -
group of primary country divisions tier
The tier for areas that group several first-level divisions of one country into one named unit. -
land parcel tier
The lowest tier, holding the individual plot as the land register records it. -
metropolitan area tier
The tier for a city and the municipalities around it that function as one place. -
municipality tier
The tier of local self-government, from the smallest village to the largest city. -
primary country division tier
The first level of subdivision inside a country, whatever that country calls it. -
secondary country division tier
The second level of subdivision inside a country, below the first and above the municipality. -
street tier
The tier holding streets, the reference an address is built on rather than an area of land. -
zone tier
The tier for named areas that cross the hierarchy instead of sitting in it.