noncontinental

Noncontinental is an adjective used in geography and related fields to denote something that is not part of a continent. The term is often used to describe landmasses or regions that lie outside the major continental landmasses, such as isolated islands, archipelagos, or territories separated from the nearest continent by sea. In practice, "noncontinental" tends to be context-specific rather than a formal classification; writers may prefer "island," "insular," or "noncontiguous" depending on the precise meaning.

The word derives from non- and continental, with formation typical of English compounding. It can appear in hyphenated form (non-continental) or as a single word in modern usage.

In political geography, the phrase is sometimes used to refer to areas that are not part of the main contiguous landmass of a country. For example, the noncontinental United States describes states not on the North American mainland in relation to the contiguous 48 states, notably Alaska and Hawaii.

In geology or oceanography, "noncontinental" may appear in discussions contrasting continental crust and oceanic crust, or in descriptions of regions beyond the continental shelf, though "continental" and "oceanic" are more common terms.

Related concepts include continental, continental drift, continental shelf, insular areas, and noncontiguous states.