Introduction
Photograph:The Colorado River cuts through Marble Canyon, at the northeastern end of Grand Canyon National …
* The Colorado River cuts through Marble Canyon, at the northeastern end of Grand Canyon National …
The continents of North and South America together make up what was once known as the New World. North America is third in size and fourth in population among Earth's continents. It has an area of more than 9,300,000 square miles (24,100,000 square kilometers) and a population of about 490 million people.
Canada, the United States, and Mexico make up the largest part of North America. Central America, the islands of the West Indies, Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are also considered to be within the North American region.
Land
Mountains
Belts of mountains run along the east and west sides of North America. In the eastern part of the continent are the Laurentians and the Appalachians. The Laurentians are in Canada. The Appalachians run almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from Newfoundland in Canada to central Alabama in the United States. The chain is old and worn down. The highest peak, Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, rises only 6,684 feet (2,037 meters) above sea level.
The western side of the continent is much more mountainous. Mountain ranges extend southward from southern Alaska through Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America. The continent's highest peak at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) is Mount McKinley in the Alaska range. Farther south are the Rocky Mountains, the world's second longest mountain chain, which extend southward from Canada to Mexico. Between the Rockies and the Pacific Ocean are several chains, including the Coast Mountains in Canada, the Cascade Range in Washington State and Oregon, and the Sierra Nevada in California. Mexico has the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east.
Plains
Between the Appalachians and the Atlantic Ocean is a low coastal plain. This plain extends along most of the continent's east coast. It is widest in southeastern United States, along the Gulf of Mexico.
Stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians is a vast lowland region. The famous wheat-growing region called the Great Plains forms the western part of this lowland. A higher and more rugged area of the lowland extends northward, across central and eastern Canada to Labrador. It is known as the Canadian Shield or Laurentian Plateau. Within this area are thousands of lakes formed by Ice Age glaciers. In the south, a high central plateau lies between Mexico's eastern and western mountain systems.
Waterways
The Great Lakes make up the largest area of freshwater in the world. Except for Lake Michigan, which is entirely within the United States, they form a natural boundary between the United States and Canada in the eastern half of the continent. The five lakes are connected to each other. They drain into the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Saint Lawrence River.
Most of the continent's other large lakes are in Canada. They include the Great Bear and Great Slave lakes in the far north, and Lake Winnipeg, which is in southern Canada. In the United States, the Great Salt Lake in Utah contains some of the world's saltiest water.
Photograph:The Mackenzie River flows through northern Canada and empties into the cold waters of the Beaufort …
* The Mackenzie River flows through northern Canada and empties into the cold waters of the Beaufort …
North America's largest river system, and one of the largest in the world, is the Mississippi. On its way to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi picks up the waters of the Missouri and the Ohio. Together, these rivers drain the central United States. Canada's northern river systems include the Mackenzie, which flows into the Arctic Ocean, and the Nelson-Saskatchewan, which flows into Hudson Bay. The Yukon passes through Canada and Alaska on its way to the Bering Sea.
The Columbia is the largest river that flows to the Pacific Ocean from North America. It passes through Canada and the United States. The Rio Grande forms part of the boundary between the United States and Mexico on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Farther west, the Colorado cuts through the spectacular Grand Canyon on its way to the Gulf of California in Mexico.
Climate
Except on the Pacific Coast, winters tend to be colder in North America than in Europe at the same distance from the equator. This is because the continent has broad stretches of land cut off by mountains from warm ocean winds. In the northeast, ocean currents are cold. Much of Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland have a polar climate, with bitterly cold winters and short, cool summers.
Northeastern United States and southeastern Canada are temperate, with warm summers, cold winters, and moderate rainfall. Away from mountains, southern regions are warmer than the north, and eastern regions are wetter than the west. The southeastern United States has hot summers, cool winters, and humidity from the Gulf of Mexico.
West coast regions in the continent's northern half have ample rainfall, creating temperate rain forest conditions in some places. The southwestern coast has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and dry summers. Away from the coast, the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico are very dry, with regions of desert and semidesert. In central Mexico, high altitudes bring cooler temperatures. Central America has hot weather and heavy rainfall throughout the year.
Plants and animals
The mountainous eastern and western parts of North America contain large thickly forested areas. Large forests of Douglas fir, pine, and spruce trees along the Pacific Coast in Alaska, Canada, and northern United States provide much of North America's timber. The redwoods of the West coast are the world's tallest living trees. There is also a valuable pine belt in the southeastern United States, and tropical hardwood forests are found in Mexico and Central America. The central lowlands once had vast grasslands—tallgrass prairies in the east and shortgrass plains in the west. Much of this land is now farmland and pastures. Central America, notably Guatemala, still has areas of tropical grasslands called savanna.
Photograph:Yucca plants grow in the sand of White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico.
* Yucca plants grow in the sand of White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico.
The only plants that grow in the desert areas of the western United States and northern Mexico are those that do not require much water. These include creosote bush, saltbush, mesquite, and many species of cactus. The Arctic areas of northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland consist of a vast marshy plain called the tundra. The few plant species that grow there include sedge, moss, lichen, cotton grass, and heath.
Animals native to North America include bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, elk, and caribou in the northern lands. Bison (buffalo) formerly roamed the plains. North America's cats include the mountain lion (puma), the bobcat, and the lynx of the north. Coyotes and wolves represent the dog family. The continent has brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. Deer still thrive in many areas, while the gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, and raccoon have adapted to areas inhabited by humans. Alligators, snakes, wild pigs, colorful birds, and monkeys live in the warmer southern regions.
The plants and animals of the continent have been greatly affected by human activity. By the mid-20th century, the people of the United States had killed much of the nation's wildlife, cut more than half of its timber, plowed up nearly all its grassland, and used up a large amount of its iron and oil. Much of this had been done in the process of clearing the land for towns and cities to develop. The factories that were built in those cities also polluted the land and water. In the second half of the century the countries of North America began to conserve, or protect their land and animals.
People and culture
The original inhabitants of North America were Native Americans. In Mexico and parts of Central America, more than 80 percent of the people have at least some American Indian ancestors. Indian ancestry is much less common in the United States and Canada. This is because the two countries started with smaller Indian populations and then attracted many immigrants from Europe. In the United States, an important minority of the people have ancestors from Africa who were brought to the continent as slaves. Asia is a third continent that has contributed many people to North America. In Canada, the United States, and Mexico more than 70 percent of the people now live in cities. Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles, California, are among the world's largest urban areas.
Language
Native American and Inuit peoples have hundreds of languages. However, these languages are not widely spoken, even in Mexico. Instead, people speak European languages inherited from former colonial powers. In the United States and most of Canada the main language is English. French is spoken in large portions of eastern Canada, particularly Quebec. In Mexico, the official language is Spanish. Spanish is becoming more important in the United States, as many people from Mexico and other areas move to the country. In Central America Spanish is the dominant language, and the West Indies English, French, and Spanish are spoken.
Religion
Native American and Inuit religions claim relatively few followers. All three major countries of North America are mostly Christian. In the United States, all of the world's major religions are represented, though more than half the people follow Protestant faiths. The largest single denomination is Roman Catholicism. Canada has more Catholics than Protestants. In Mexico, Catholicism claims all but a few of the people. The United States and Canada have Jewish, Muslim, and Eastern Orthodox Christian minorities. Christianity is also the main religion in Central America and most of the West Indies.
Education and health
North Americans have high incomes, and in Canada and the United States in particular, the quality of life is high. In those two countries more than 95 percent of the people can read and write. Fine educational facilities, both public and private, are available from the primary grades through college and graduate school. Hospital facilities are second to none. Despite its wealth, however, there is also poverty and unemployment. There is a wide gap between those who are well off and those who have less. In Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles, poverty is more common. Fewer people are wealthy, and health and educational facilities are less available.
Economy
The economy of North America is dominated by the United States. The country is one of the world's largest producers of goods and food, but its citizens also consume more than people in most other countries. The continent as a whole has many valuable natural resources. This includes large areas of fertile farmland. Although farming is no longer a major part of their economies, Canada, the United States, and Mexico still produce much of the world's food. Other natural resources have helped in developing industries. The three major countries now rely heavily on industry and services for their incomes. For the countries of Central America and the West Indies farming continues to be an important part of their economies.
Agriculture
Native Americans grew many plants that are still important—corn (maize), beans, squash, yams, tomatoes, pineapples, chili peppers, and cacao beans (from which chocolate and cocoa are made). Present-day crops are grown where climate, soils, and water are best suited to them. Wheat fields cover the north-central United States and south-central Canada. The dairy and hay belt stretches from Minnesota east to the New England states. Corn and soybeans are the major crops of the United States Midwest, where more rain falls. Cattle are raised in the dry American southwest. Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, and lemons) are grown in Florida, Texas, and southern California. In the Central Valley of California dozens of crops are grown. In Mexico, sugarcane, corn, sorghum, bananas, and other tropical fruits and vegetables are grown.
Forestry
Wood for lumber, pulp, and paper comes from the forests of Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia in Canada. In the United States, the Pacific Northwest coast, California, the Rocky Mountains, the South, and New England are the main sources. Mexico has tropical woods. Because of concerns that too many trees were being cut down, some areas started making an effort to plant new trees. Others placed restrictions on how many trees could be cut in a particular area.
Fishing
The Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland was one of the world's great cod fisheries for many years. However, overfishing reduced supplies during the 20th century. The Pacific Coast is famous for its salmon and tuna catches. Shellfish such as shrimp are caught around the Gulf of Mexico. Overfishing became a problem in these areas as well in the 20th century.
Minerals
North America has rich mineral resources. Iron ore is found in the Great Lakes region and Labrador. Copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals are chiefly in southeastern Canada and west-central United States. There are gold and silver in the mountainous regions.
Energy resources
Power sources are also abundant in North America. Large deposits of coal lie in the eastern, central, and western parts of the United States. Oil is found in the south-central United States and Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Mexico. Dams have been built on rivers such as the Columbia, Tennessee, and Missouri to harness the power of the water. Uranium is used in nuclear power plants in the United States, but this source of energy was decreasing in importance by the end of the 20th century.
Industry
In the United States and Canada, manufacturing has long been more important than agriculture as a way of making a living. The abundant natural resources provided the raw materials to be made into products in the factories, and the coal and oil were used to power the factories. Chemicals, food products, electrical and electronic equipment, transportation equipment, and other machinery are North America's leading products.
In the United States and Canada, factories were long concentrated along the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes, and the Saint Lawrence River valley. Mexico and the countries of Central America were slower to develop. In the late 20th century industry grew quickly in Mexico, especially in the cities along the border with the United States and in the Mexico City region. Although manufacturing remains important, the service industries such as banking, health care, communications, and tourism grew to be an even more significant part of the economy in the late 20th century.
Transportation
North America has a highly developed road network, especially in the United States and southern Canada. The National Interstate Highway System links all major U.S. cities. In addition, the North American section of the Pan-American Highway runs from Alaska and Canada through Panama.
North America has an extensive rail network, though travelers no longer depend as much on trains to get from place to place. To serve populations that are spread over large areas, Canada and the United States have developed advanced air travel systems instead.
Many great seaports have grown around fine Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coast harbors. The Saint Lawrence Seaway, completed in 1959, allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to Great Lakes ports. Rivers such as the Mississippi also serve as important highways for the transportation of goods in bulk.
History
North America's first human inhabitants came from Asia during the Ice Age, between 20,000 and 35,000 years ago. They crossed a land bridge that existed in the Arctic where the Bering Strait now separates the continents of Asia and North America. The people who became the Native Americans came first and eventually moved toward the south. The Inuit came later and remained in the north.
In the broad sections of the continent the new arrivals spread out and lived as wandering hunters and gatherers. But where the continent narrows at its southern end, groups were thrown together, and civilizations formed. As early as 3,500 BC, settlers began growing corn and establishing farming. The Olmec were the first to establish a civilization, beginning in about 1200 BC. They built trading villages with large temple complexes and developed a system of writing as well as a calendar. The Maya and the Aztec later built other cities, pyramids, and monuments of art.
Colonial era
A Viking seafarer named Leif Eriksson is believed to have been the first European to arrive in North America. He landed in Newfoundland in about 1,000 AD. However, the Vikings did not make any permanent settlements on the continent. North America was not really touched by European culture until the Age of Exploration at the end of the 15th century. The continent is named in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, an early explorer. The Spanish captured the Aztec capital city in 1521. In general, the Spanish took control of the south (present-day Mexico), the French settled in the north (present-day Canada), and the English established colonies in the middle (present-day United States). (See Americas, Discovery and Colonization of the.)
Creation of nations
The United States was formed in 1776, when the 13 British colonies declared their independence. Thousands of colonists who did not want to be Americans moved north around this time, into what is now Canada. That land had been taken by the British from the French in the French and Indian War, which ended in 1763. Only the tiny islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, off the southern coast of Newfoundland, remained in French hands. The Dominion of Canada was formed within the British Empire in 1867. Both Canada and the United States gradually gained new territory over the next century.
Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821. Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and then joined the United States in 1846. In the war that followed, Mexico lost much of its northwestern territory. With the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, the boundary between the United States and Texas was set. The line between the western United States and Canada was drawn in 1818. The colonies of Central American and the West Indies gradually gained independence from Spain, France, and England as well. At the beginning of the 21st century only a few islands in the West Indies, including Martinique and Guadeloupe, remained territories of European nations.
Modern nations
The United States and Canada both developed rapidly in the last half of the 19th century. By 1918 the United States, in particular, with its resources and its multicultural population, had made itself a world power. National growth came at a heavy cost to the Native American way of life, however. Most of the peoples who had survived fighting and diseases brought by Europeans lost their homelands and were left only with confined areas called reservations in the United States and reserves in Canada.
The United States and Canada shared a British heritage, and the two countries took pride in having the wold's longest border not defended by armies. Late in the 20th century, some French speakers sought to break Quebec away from Canada.
Mexico remained more in touch with its Amerindian heritage, but it was less developed economically. In the second half of the 20th century, the United States attracted many emigrants from Mexico. In 1992 Canada, the United States, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. The agreement was meant to promote trade among the three countries. All three countries are also members of the Organization of American States.
