North America is a
continent in the
Earth's
northern hemisphere and (chiefly)
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 24,490,000
square kilometers (9,450,000
sq mi), about 4.8 percent of the planet's surface or about 16.4% of its land area. As of October 2006, its
population was estimated at over 514,600,000. It is the
third-largest continent in area, following
Asia and
Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and
Europe. North America and South America are collectively known as the
Americas.
Etymology
North and South America are popularly accepted as having been named after
Italian explorer
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. Vespucci was the first to discover South America and the
Amerique mountains of Central America, which connected his discoveries to those of
Christopher Columbus. The etymology is further complicated by the need of cartographers to come up with a name that paralleled the feminine names of the other continents (for example Europa, Asia, Africa etc.). The convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty and so a derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" may be problematic.
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.
History
Scientists have
several theories as to the origins of the
early human population of the North America. The
indigenous peoples of North America themselves have many
creation stories, by which they assert that they've been present on the land since its creation.
Before contact with Europeans the natives of North America were divided into many different
polities, from small
bands of a few families to large
empires. They lived in several "
culture areas", which roughly correspond to
geographic and biological zones and give a good indication of the main
lifeway or occupation of the people who lived there (for example the
Bison hunters of the
Great Plains, or the
farmers of
Mesoamerica). Native groups can also be classified by their
language family (for example
Athapascan or
Uto-Aztecan). It is important to note that peoples with similar languages didn't always share the same
material culture, nor were they always
allies.
Scientists believe that the
Inuit people of the high
Arctic came to North America much later than other native groups, as evidenced by the disappearance of
Dorset culture artifacts from the
archaeological record, and their replacement by the
Thule people.
During the thousands of years of native inhabitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. Archaeologists often name different cultural groups they discover after the site where they're first found. One of the oldest cultures yet found is the
Clovis culture of modern
New Mexico. A more recent example is the group of related cultures called the
Mound builders (for example the
Fort Walton Culture), found in the
Mississippi river valley. They flourished from 3000 BC to the 1500s AD.
The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the
domestication of many common
crops now used around the world, such as
tomatoes and
squash. Perhaps most importantly they domesticated one of the world's major staples,
maize (corn).
As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many important cultural advances were made there. For example, the
Maya civilization developed a
writing system, built
huge pyramids, had a
complex calendar, and developed the concept of
zero 500 years before anyone in the
Old World. The Mayan culture was still present when the
Spanish arrived in
Central America, but political dominance in the area had shifted to the
Aztec Empire further north.
Upon the arrival of the Europeans in the "New World", native peoples found their culture changed drastically. As such, their affiliation with political and cultural groups changed as well, several linguistic groups went
extinct, and others changed quite quickly. The name and cultures that Europeans recorded for the natives were not necessarily the same as the ones they'd used a few generations before, or the ones in use today.
Geography and extent
]
North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the
New World, the
Western Hemisphere,
the Americas, or simply America (which is sometimes considered a single
continent and North America a
subcontinent). North America's only land connection is to
South America at the
Colombia-
Panama border according to most authorities, or at the
Panama Canal by some and even at the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
Mexico by a few who separate
Central America (or
Middle America if the
Caribbean is included) which rests mostly 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 and
Venezuela.
The continental coastline is long and irregular. The
Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed by
Hudson Bay. Others include the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the
Gulf of California.
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 on the same
tectonic plate (the
North American Plate) and is part of North America geographically.
Bermuda isn't part of the Americas, but is an oceanic island which was formed on the fissure of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 100 million years ago. The nearest landmass to it's
Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina, and it's 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
,,, rock types of North America. ]]
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 southern-most portion of the continent and much of the
West Indies lie on the
Caribbean Plate, while the
Juan de Fuca and
Cocos Plates border the North American Plate on its western frontier.
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, 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's 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 craton nps.gif|North American craton.
Human geography
The prevalent
languages in North America are
English,
Spanish, and
French. The term
Anglo-America is used to refer to the
anglophone countries of the Americas: namely the
United States and
Canada (where English and French are co-official), but also sometimes
Belize and parts of the Caribbean.
Latin America refers to the other areas of the Americas (generally south of the U.S.) where
Romance languages derived from
Latin predominate: the other republics of
Central America,
Mexico, much of the Caribbean, and most of South America.
The French language has historically played a significant role in North America and remains a distinctive presence in some regions. Canada is officially bilingual; French is the official language of the
Canadian province of
Quebec and is co-official with English in the province of
New Brunswick. Other French-speaking locales include the
French West Indies and
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, as well as the
U.S. state of
Louisiana, where French is also an official language.
Haiti is included with this group based on past historical association but Haitians speak
Creole and French. Although the former language is derived from French, it isn't French.
Socially and culturally, North America presents a well-defined entity. Canada and the United States have a similar culture and similar traditions as a result of both countries being former
British colonies. A common cultural and economic market has developed between the two nations because of the strong economic and historical ties. Spanish-speaking North America shares a common past as former
Spanish colonies. In Central American countries and Mexico where civilizations like the
Maya developed, indigenous people preserve traditions across modern boundaries. Central American and Spanish-speaking Caribbean nations have historically had more in common due to geographical proximity and the fact that, after winning independence from Spain, Mexico never took part in an effort to build a Central American Union.
Economically, Canada and the United States are the wealthiest and most
developed nations in the continent; the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are much
less developed, while
Mexico—a
newly industrialized country—lies between these two extremes. The most important
trade blocs are the
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the recently signed
Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)—the last of these being an example of the economic integration sought by the nations of this subregion as a way to improve their financial status.
Demographically, North America is a racially and ethnically diverse continent. Its three main ethnic groups are
Whites,
Mestizos and
Blacks (chiefly
African-Americans and
Afro-Caribbeans). There is a significant minority of
Amerindians and
Chinese among other less numerous groups.
Countries and territories
North America is often divided into subregions but no universally accepted divisions exist. Central America comprises the southern region of the continent, but its northern terminus varies between sources.
Geophysically, the region starts at the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (namely the
Mexican states of
Campeche,
Chiapas,
Tabasco,
Quintana Roo, and
Yucatán). The
United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America; conversely, the
European Union excludes both Mexico and
Belize from the area.
Geopolitically, Mexico is frequently not reckoned in Central America.
Northern America is used to refer to the northern countries and territories of North America: Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. They are often considered distinct from the southern portion of the Americas, which largely comprise
Latin America. The term
Middle America is sometimes used to collectively refer to Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the
Caribbean.
See Also:
List of North American countries by population
Usage
The term
North America may mean different things to different people in the world according to the context. Usage other than that of the entire continent includes:
- In English, North America is often used to refer to the United States and Canada exclusively. Alternatively, usage may include Mexico (as with North American Free Trade Agreement) and other entities.
- In Latin America, Iberia, and some other parts of Europe, North America usually designates a subcontinent (subcontinente in Spanish) of the Americas containing Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, and often Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Bermuda.
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