North America

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10. Payment - ready to pay for your North America, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

North America{| style="background: transparent; text-align: left; table-layout: auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding: 0; font-size: 100%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Area| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Population| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 514,600,000|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Countries| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 23|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Dependencies| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 14|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Languages| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | English language, Spanish language, French language and many others|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Time Zones| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | UTC -3:00 (Nuuk, Greenland) to UTC -10:00 (Hawaii)|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Largest Cities| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | Mexico CityNew York CityLos AngelesChicagoTorontoHouston, Texas|}

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 square mile), 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 Continent#Area and population 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 Italy 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 (e.g. 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 Indigenous peoples of the Americas language. The Naming of America: Fragments We've Shored Against Ourselves. By Jonathan Cohen

History .

Scientists have Models of migration to the New World of the Paleo-Indians. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas themselves have many origin belief, by which they assert that they have been present on the land since its creation.

Pre-Columbian the natives of North America were divided into many different polities, from small Band society of a few families to large empires. They lived in several "Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas", which roughly correspond to Geography of North America and give a good indication of the main lifeway or occupation of the people who lived there (e.g. the Bison hunter-gatherer of the Plains Indian, or the farmers of Mesoamerica). Native groups can also be classified by their Indigenous languages of the Americas (e.g. Athabaskan languages or Uto-Aztecan languages). It is important to note that peoples with similar languages did not 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 are 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 builder (people) (e.g. 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 Crop (agriculture)s now used around the world, such as tomatoes and Squash (plant). 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 Maya script, built Mesoamerican pyramids, had a Maya calendar, and developed the concept of 0 (number) 500 years before anyone in the Old World. The Mayan culture was still present when the Conquistadors 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 Language death, and others changed quite quickly. The name and cultures that Europeans recorded for the natives were not necessarily the same as the ones they had 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, Americas, or simply America (which is sometimes considered a single continent The Olympic symbols. International Olympic Committee. 2002. Lausanne: Olympic Museum and Studies Centre. The five rings of the Olympic flag#Olympic Emblem represent the five inhabited, participating continents ( Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania).Océano Uno, Diccionario Enciclopédico y Atlas Mundial, "Continente", page 392, 1730. ISBN 84-494-0188-7Los Cinco Continentes (The Five Continents), Planeta-De Agostini Editions, 1997. ISBN 84-395-6054-0 and North America a subcontinent). Encarta, "Norteamérica". 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 Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles, the Alexander Archipelago, and the Aleutian Islands. Greenland, a Denmark self-governing island and the list of islands by area, is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate) and is part of North America geographically. Bermuda is not 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 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 , :Image:North america rock volcanic.jpg, :Image:North america rock plutonic.jpg, :Image:North america rock metamorphic.jpg 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 Caribbean lie on the Caribbean Plate, while the Juan de Fuca Plate 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 Northern Canada; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, Geography of 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 American cordillera, 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 Pacific 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, 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 is a 15 foot (4.5 metre) field stone obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center.

Image:North america terrain 2003 map.jpg]s and basement rocks.Image:North america craton nps.gif|North American craton.

Human geography The prevalent languages in North America are English language, Spanish language, and French language. The term Anglo-America is used to refer to the English language 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 language 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 Provinces and territories of Canada 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 Haitian Creole language and French. Although the former language is derived from French, it is not 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 Great Britain 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 Spain colonies. In Central American countries and Mexico where civilizations like the Maya civilization 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 country in the continent; the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are much developing country, while Mexico—a newly industrialized countries—lies between these two extremes. The most important trade blocs are the Caribbean Community, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the recently signed Central American Free Trade Agreement—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 White people, Mestizos and Black people (chiefly African-Americans and American Afro-Caribbean Communitys). There is a significant minority of Amerindians and Chinese people 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. Geophysics, the region starts at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (namely the Political divisions of Mexico of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Central America"). The United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America; conversely, the European Union excludes both Mexico and Belize from the area. geopolitics, Mexico is frequently not reckoned in Central America. The American Heritage Dictionary, "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 (Americas) is sometimes used to collectively refer to Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the Caribbean.

{] or
Territory (country subdivision) with flag! List of countries by area
(km²)! List of countries by population
(1 July 2005 est.)! List of countries by population density
(per km²)! Capital ([United Kingdom)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 129.9| The Valley, Anguilla|-| Antigua and Barbuda|-| [Aruba (Netherlands)Depending on definitions, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago have territory in Transcontinental nation North and South America.
]|-| Bahamas|-| [Barbados|-| [Belize|-| [Bermuda (UK)]|-| British Virgin Islands (UK)]|-| Canada|-| [Cayman Islands (UK)]|-| Costa Rica|-| [Cuba|-| [Dominica|-| [Dominican Republic|-| [El Salvador|-| [Greenland (Denmark)]|-| Grenada|-| [Guadeloupe (France)]|-| Guatemala|-| [Haiti|-| [Honduras|-| [Jamaica|-| [Martinique (France)]|-| Mexico|-| [Montserrat (UK)]; Brades, MontserratDue to ongoing activity of the Soufriere Hills volcano beginning 1995, much of Plymouth, Montserrat, Montserrat's de jure capital, was destroyed and government offices relocated to Brades, Montserrat.|-| Navassa Island (United States)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 0| —|-| Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands)]|-| Nicaragua|-| [Panama Panama is generally considered a North American country, though some authorities divide it at the Panama Canal; population and area figures are for the portion west of the Panama Canal.
]|-| Puerto Rico (USA)]|-| Saint Barthélemy (France)]|-| Saint Kitts and Nevis|-| [Saint Lucia|-| [Saint Martin (France) (France)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 622| Marigot, St. Martin|-| Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)]|-| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|-| [Trinidad and Tobago|-| [Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 47.8| Cockburn TownIncludes the [U.S. 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.]|-| U.S. Virgin Islands (USA)]|- style=" font-weight:bold; "! Total| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 21.0|}

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.Burchfield, R. W., ed. 2004. "America." Fowler's Modern English Usage (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 48 -- quotation reads: "the term 'North America' is mostly used to mean the United States and Canada together. Countries to the south of the United States are described as being in Central America (Mexico, Nicaragua, etc.) or South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)"; see also: McArthur, Tom. 1992. "North American." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN 0-19-214183-X) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 707. See also Alternatively, usage may include Mexico the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: refers to "Three nations, on the same continent" (as with North American Free Trade Agreement) and other entities. Countries of North America: includes Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States
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.In Ibero-America, North America is considered a subcontinent containing Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Greenland, Bermuda and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon." Norteamérica (Mexican version)"/ (Spaniard version). Encarta Online Encyclopedia.

See also

Notes and references

" North America"/" Central America". The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2001-6. New York: Columbia University Press.
" North America"/" Central America". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
UN Statistics Division: Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings
GeoHive: The population of continents, regions and countries
" North America"/ " Central America". Encarta.
American Heritage Dictionaries, North America and Central America
Houghton Mifflin Company, "North America"
WordNet Princeton University: Central America
Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, "North America"
Internet World Map Study showing the geographic distribution of the Internet across North America.

North America{| style="background: transparent; text-align: left; table-layout: auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding: 0; font-size: 100%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Area| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Population| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 514,600,000|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Countries| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 23|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Dependencies| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | 14|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Languages| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | English language, Spanish language, French language and many others|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Time Zones| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | UTC -3:00 (Nuuk, Greenland) to UTC -10:00 (Hawaii)|-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Largest Cities| style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top" | Mexico CityNew York CityLos AngelesChicagoToronto Houston, Texas|}

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 square mile), 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 Continent#Area and population 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 Italy 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 (e.g. 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 Indigenous peoples of the Americas language. The Naming of America: Fragments We've Shored Against Ourselves. By Jonathan Cohen

History .

Scientists have Models of migration to the New World of the Paleo-Indians. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas themselves have many origin belief, by which they assert that they have been present on the land since its creation.

Pre-Columbian the natives of North America were divided into many different polities, from small Band society of a few families to large empires. They lived in several "Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas", which roughly correspond to Geography of North America and give a good indication of the main lifeway or occupation of the people who lived there (e.g. the Bison hunter-gatherer of the Plains Indian, or the farmers of Mesoamerica). Native groups can also be classified by their Indigenous languages of the Americas (e.g. Athabaskan languages or Uto-Aztecan languages). It is important to note that peoples with similar languages did not 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 are 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 builder (people) (e.g. 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 Crop (agriculture)s now used around the world, such as tomatoes and Squash (plant). 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 Maya script, built Mesoamerican pyramids, had a Maya calendar, and developed the concept of 0 (number) 500 years before anyone in the Old World. The Mayan culture was still present when the Conquistadors 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 Language death, and others changed quite quickly. The name and cultures that Europeans recorded for the natives were not necessarily the same as the ones they had 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, Americas, or simply America (which is sometimes considered a single continent The Olympic symbols. International Olympic Committee. 2002. Lausanne: Olympic Museum and Studies Centre. The five rings of the Olympic flag#Olympic Emblem represent the five inhabited, participating continents ( Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania).Océano Uno, Diccionario Enciclopédico y Atlas Mundial, "Continente", page 392, 1730. ISBN 84-494-0188-7Los Cinco Continentes (The Five Continents), Planeta-De Agostini Editions, 1997. ISBN 84-395-6054-0 and North America a subcontinent). Encarta, "Norteamérica". 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 Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles, the Alexander Archipelago, and the Aleutian Islands. Greenland, a Denmark self-governing island and the list of islands by area, is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate) and is part of North America geographically. Bermuda is not 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 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 , :Image:North america rock volcanic.jpg, :Image:North america rock plutonic.jpg, :Image:North america rock metamorphic.jpg 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 Caribbean lie on the Caribbean Plate, while the Juan de Fuca Plate 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 Northern Canada; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, Geography of 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 American cordillera, 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 Pacific 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, 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 is a 15 foot (4.5 metre) field stone obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center.

Image:North america terrain 2003 map.jpg]s and basement rocks.Image:North america craton nps.gif|North American craton.

Human geography The prevalent languages in North America are English language, Spanish language, and French language. The term Anglo-America is used to refer to the English language 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 language 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 Provinces and territories of Canada 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 Haitian Creole language and French. Although the former language is derived from French, it is not 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 Great Britain 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 Spain colonies. In Central American countries and Mexico where civilizations like the Maya civilization 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 country in the continent; the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are much developing country, while Mexico—a newly industrialized countries—lies between these two extremes. The most important trade blocs are the Caribbean Community, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the recently signed Central American Free Trade Agreement—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 White people, Mestizos and Black people (chiefly African-Americans and American Afro-Caribbean Communitys). There is a significant minority of Amerindians and Chinese people 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. Geophysics, the region starts at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (namely the Political divisions of Mexico of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Central America"). The United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America; conversely, the European Union excludes both Mexico and Belize from the area. geopolitics, Mexico is frequently not reckoned in Central America. The American Heritage Dictionary, "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 (Americas) is sometimes used to collectively refer to Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the Caribbean.

{] or
Territory (country subdivision) with flag! List of countries by area
(km²)! List of countries by population
(1 July 2005 est.)! List of countries by population density
(per km²)! Capital ([United Kingdom)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 129.9| The Valley, Anguilla|-| Antigua and Barbuda|-| [Aruba (Netherlands)Depending on definitions, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago have territory in Transcontinental nation North and South America.
]|-| Bahamas|-| [Barbados|-| [Belize|-| [Bermuda (UK)]|-| British Virgin Islands (UK)]|-| Canada|-| [Cayman Islands (UK)]|-| Costa Rica|-| [Cuba|-| [Dominica|-| [Dominican Republic|-| [El Salvador|-| [Greenland (Denmark)]|-| Grenada|-| [Guadeloupe (France)]|-| Guatemala|-| [Haiti|-| [Honduras|-| [Jamaica|-| [Martinique (France)]|-| Mexico|-| [Montserrat (UK)]; Brades, MontserratDue to ongoing activity of the Soufriere Hills volcano beginning 1995, much of Plymouth, Montserrat, Montserrat's de jure capital, was destroyed and government offices relocated to Brades, Montserrat.|-| Navassa Island (United States)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 0| —|-| Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands)]|-| Nicaragua|-| [PanamaPanama is generally considered a North American country, though some authorities divide it at the Panama Canal; population and area figures are for the portion west of the Panama Canal.
]|-| Puerto Rico (USA)]|-| Saint Barthélemy (France)]|-| Saint Kitts and Nevis|-| [Saint Lucia|-| [Saint Martin (France) (France)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 622| Marigot, St. Martin|-| Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)]|-| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|-| [Trinidad and Tobago|-| [Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom)| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 47.8| Cockburn TownIncludes the [U.S. 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.]|-| U.S. Virgin Islands (USA)]|- style=" font-weight:bold; "! Total| align="right" | | align="right" | | align="right" | 21.0|}

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.Burchfield, R. W., ed. 2004. "America." Fowler's Modern English Usage (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 48 -- quotation reads: "the term 'North America' is mostly used to mean the United States and Canada together. Countries to the south of the United States are described as being in Central America (Mexico, Nicaragua, etc.) or South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)"; see also: McArthur, Tom. 1992. "North American." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN 0-19-214183-X) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 707. See also Alternatively, usage may include Mexico the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: refers to "Three nations, on the same continent" (as with North American Free Trade Agreement) and other entities. Countries of North America: includes Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States
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.In Ibero-America, North America is considered a subcontinent containing Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Greenland, Bermuda and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon." Norteamérica (Mexican version)"/ (Spaniard version). Encarta Online Encyclopedia.