North America
 |
World map showing North America |
North America is a
continent in the
Earth's
northern hemisphere and almost fully in the
western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the
Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North
Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the
Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North
Pacific Ocean;
South America lies to the southeast. It covers an
area of about 24,480,000
km2 (9,450,000
sq mi), or about 4.8 percent of the planet's surface. As of July 2002, its
population was estimated at more than 514,000,000. It is the third-largest continent in area, after
Asia and
Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and
Europe.
North and South America are widely accepted as having been named after
Amerigo Vespucci by the german cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. Vespucci was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a new world, previously undiscovered by Europeans.
The second and less generally accepted theory is that the continents are named after an English merchant named Richard Amerike from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. A minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of 'Amairick'. Another is that the name is rooted in an American Indian language. [
1]
North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the
New World, the
Western hemisphere,
the Americas, or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow
Isthmus of Panama. (For geopolitical reasons, all of
Panama " including the segment east of the
Panama Canal in the isthmus " is often considered a part of North America alone.) According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with the intervening region called
Central America (or
Middle America if the
Caribbean is included) and resting on the
Caribbean Plate. Before the Central American isthmus was raised, the region had been underwater. The islands of the
West Indies delineate a submerged former
land bridge, which had connected North America and
South America via
Florida.
The continental coastline is long and irregular. With the exception of the
Gulf of Mexico,
Hudson Bay is by far the largest body of water indenting the continent; others include the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the
Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).
There are numerous
islands off the continent's coasts: principally, the
Arctic Archipelago, the
Greater and
Lesser Antilles, the
Alexander Archipelago, and the
Aleutian Islands.
Greenland, a
Danish self-governing island and the
world's largest, is part of North America geographically and on the same
tectonic plate (the
North American Plate) but is not considered to be part of the continent politically.
Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but is an oceanic island formed on the fissure of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The nearest landmass to it is
Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina, and it is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical political and cultural ties to
Virginia and other parts of the continent.
Physical geography
The vast majority of North America is on the
North American Plate. Parts of
California and western
Mexico form the partial edge of the
Pacific Plate, with the two plates meeting along the
San Andreas fault.
The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many sub-regions): the
Great Plains stretching from the
Gulf of Mexico to the
Canadian Arctic; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the
Rocky Mountains, the
Great Basin,
California and
Alaska; the raised but relatively flat plateau of the
Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the
Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the
Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long
plateaus and
cordilleras, falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf.
The western mountains are split in the middle, into the main range of the Rockies and the
coast ranges in California,
Oregon,
Washington, and
British Columbia with the Great Basin – a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts – in between. The highest peak is
Denali in Alaska.
The
United States Geographical Survey states that the geographic center of North America is "6 miles west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota" at approximately 48⁰ 10′ North, 100⁰ 10′ West, approximately 15 miles (25 km) from
Rugby, North Dakota. The USGS further states that "No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as the geographic center of either the 50 States, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent." Nonetheless, there is a 15 foot (4.5
m) field stone
obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center.
Image:North america terrain 2003 map.jpg|North America bedrock and terrain.Image:North america basement rocks.png|North American cratons and basement rocks.Image:North America Tectonic Elements.jpg|Tectonic elements of North AmericaImage:North america craton nps.gif|North American craton.Human geography
Geopolitically,
Northern America is sometimes used to refer to Canada and the United States together (plus Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon), while
Central America is mainland North America south of the U.S.
The
UN geoscheme includes
Mexico in
Central America (subregion) (defined as all mainland states of North America south of the
United States), but the
European Union excludes Belize and Mexico from its definition of the region.
The term
Middle America is sometimes used to refer to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean collectively. The island of
Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory but functions as a
commonwealth with its own representative government.
From a
linguistic and
sociopolitical perspective, the United States, Canada, and the other English-speaking nations of North and
South America (Belize, Guyana, and the
anglophone Caribbean) are sometimes grouped under the term
Anglo-America and included in the
Anglosphere. The remaining nations of North and South America (i.e., including much of the West Indies) where
Romance languages prevail, namely
Spanish,
Portuguese and French, are referred to as
Latin America. This usage has entered into common parlance, although "Anglo-America" remains largely unknown to most people.
The
French language has, historically played a significant role in North America and remains a distinctive presence in some regions. Canada has two official languages; French is the official language of the province of
Quebec, and, along with English, one of the two official languages of the province of
New Brunswick. Other French-speaking locales include:
Haiti,
Dominica,
Saint Lucia, the
French West Indies,
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and
Martinique.
Usage of the term "North America" often depends on context and may mean different things to different people. The term is often taken to mean
the United States and Canada only by many people of those two countries and the other countries of Central America.
In this respect, the term includes other countries only if the context makes it clear that they are to be included. In addition, guides to wild
flora and
fauna published by the
National Audubon Society for "North America" frequently include only
species found in Canada and the United States.
Similarly, Canadians and Americans may often speak of a collective
North American culture to describe only the continent's Anglophone communities.
The United States, has attracted millions of immigrants from
Europe,
Asia,
Latin America and elsewhere.
Canada is also a haven for
immigration in the 20th century.
Both nations are increasingly
multicultural and millions of their residents can speak one of the total of 319 languages other than English, but the
English language is universally used and unites the national culture. But for
Canada, the mostly French speaking province of
Quebec is where social and political issues over the dominance of French instead of traditional
bilingualism has affected the country.
In the Southwest
United States, a developed Spanish-speaking minority is growing as a result of
immigration and close cultural ties to
Mexico. The region's large ethnic group,
Mexican Americans, a large cross-section of
Latinos seek to preserve their language, customs and traditions in
Texas,
California and
New Mexico.
African Americans in the Southern U.S., although are English-speaking, had an unique dialect spoken by some members in their communities known as
Ebonics. General usage of Ebonics declined in the 20th century, but it has an impact on American pop culture like in music genres of
jazz,
rhythm and blues,
Motown,
hip hop and
rock and roll.
|
Political highlights of North America |
Name of region[Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map.]
and
territory, with flag | Area
(km²) | Population
(1 July 2002 est.) | Population density
(per km²)! Capital |
|---|
| Caribbean: |
| Anguilla (UK) | 102 | 13,254 | 129.9 | The Valley |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 443 | 68,722 | 155.1 | St. John's |
Aruba (Netherlands)[Depending on definitions, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago have territory in one or both of North and South America.]
| 193 | 71,566 | 370.8 | Oranjestad |
| Bahamas | 13,940 | 301,790 | 21.6 | Nassau |
| Barbados | 431 | 279,254 | 647.9 | Bridgetown |
| British Virgin Islands (UK) | 153 | 22,643 | 148.0 | Road Town |
| Cayman Islands (UK) | 262 | 44,270 | 169.0 | George Town |
| Cuba | 110,860 | 11,346,670 | 102.4 | Havana |
| Dominica | 754 | 69,029 | 91.6 | Roseau |
| Dominican Republic | 48,730 | 8,950,034 | 183.7 | Santo Domingo |
| Grenada | 344 | 89,502 | 260.2 | St. George's |
| Guadeloupe (France) | 1,780 | 448,713 | 252.1 | Basse-Terre |
| Haiti | 27,750 | 8,121,622 | 292.7 | Port-au-Prince |
| Jamaica | 10,991 | 2,731,832 | 248.6 | Kingston |
| Martinique (France) | 1,100 | 432,900 | 393.5 | Fort-de-France |
| Montserrat (UK) | 102 | 9,341 | 91.6 | Plymouth; Brades[Due to ongoing activity of the Soufriere Hills volcano beginning 1995, much of Plymouth, Montserrat's de jure capital, was destroyed and government offices relocated to Brades.] |
| Navassa Island (USA) | 5 | " | " | " |
Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) | 960 | 219,958 | 229.1 | Willemstad |
| Puerto Rico (USA) | 9,104 | 3,916,632 | 430.2 | San Juan |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 261 | 38,958 | 149.3 | Basseterre |
| Saint Lucia | 616 | 166,312 | 270.0 | Castries |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 389 | 117,534 | 302.1 | Kingstown |
Trinidad and Tobago | 5,128 | 1,088,644 | 212.3 | Port of Spain |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) | 430 | 20,556 | 47.8 | Cockburn Town |
| U.S. Virgin Islands (USA) | 352 | 108,708 | 308.8 | Charlotte Amalie |
| Central America: |
| Belize | 22,966 | 279,457 | 12.2 | Belmopan |
| Costa Rica | 51,100 | 4,016,173 | 78.6 | San José |
| El Salvador | 21,040 | 6,704,932 | 318.7 | San Salvador |
| Guatemala | 108,890 | 14,655,189 | 134.6 | Guatemala City |
| Honduras | 112,090 | 6,975,204 | 62.2 | Tegucigalpa |
| Mexico | 1,972,550 | 106,202,903 | 53.8 | Mexico City |
| Nicaragua | 129,494 | 5,465,100 | 42.2 | Managua |
Panama[Panama is generally considered a transcontinental country in Central America (UN region) and South America; population and area figures are for North American portion only, west of the Panama Canal.]
| 52,853 | 2,498,717 | 47.3 | Panama City |
| Northern America: |
| Bermuda (UK) | 53 | 65,365 | 1,233.3 | Hamilton |
| Canada | 9,984,670 | 32,805,041 | 3.3 | Ottawa |
| Greenland (Denmark) | 2,166,086 | 56,375 | 0.026 | Nuuk |
| Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (France) | 242 | 7,012 | 29.0 | Saint-Pierre |
United States[Includes the US state of Hawaii, which is distant from the North American landmass in the Pacific Ocean and is, thus, commonly included with the other territories of Oceania.] | 9,629,091 | 295,734,134 | 30.7 | Washington |
| Total | 24,481,177 | 514,144,046 | 21.0 |
Notes:
*
Americas (terminology)*
Discoverer of the Americas*
Economy of North America*
European colonization of the Americas*
History of North America*
Birds of North America*http://www.america-norte.com/america-norte-mapa.htm
*
http://www.earth-puzzle.com clickable map with links to related Wikipedia articles
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