North America

North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. The Arctic Ocean lies to its north, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, South America and the Caribbean Sea to its southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to its south and west.

North America covers about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles). That is around 16.5% of Earth's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size, after Asia and Africa. It is the fourth-largest continent by population, after Asia, Africa, and Europe. As of 2021^[update], more than 592 million people live there in 23 independent states and territories. That is about 7.5% of the world's population.

The continent has two subregions. Northern America includes Canada, Greenland, and the continental United States, along with the island territories of Bermuda and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. In human geography, the words "North America" and "North American" often mean just Northern America.

No one knows exactly how and when the first human populations reached North America. People are known to have lived in the Americas at least 20,000 years ago, and some evidence points to even earlier dates. The Paleo-Indian period followed the Last Glacial Period and lasted until about 10,000 years ago, when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed, from about the 6th to the 13th centuries. Norse exploration and colonization began in the late 10th century, when the Norse built several settlements in Greenland and at least one settlement in Newfoundland.

Starting in 1492, the voyages of Christopher Columbus began a transatlantic exchange. This included migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period. Today's cultures and peoples reflect the mix of early European colonists, indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, later immigrants from Europe and Asia, and their descendants. Because of European colonization, most North Americans speak European languages, such as English, Spanish, and French. The region's cultures commonly reflect Western traditions. However, many indigenous populations still keep their own pre-colonial cultural and linguistic traditions.

Name

Further information: Naming of the Americas, New Spain, Turtle Island, and Vinland

The Americas were named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by German mapmakers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci explored South America between 1497 and 1502. He was the first European to suggest that the Americas were a landmass that Europeans did not yet know about. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map and placed the word "America" on present-day South America. The land north of present-day Mexico was then called Parias. On a 1553 world map published by Petrus Apianus, North America was called "Baccalearum," which means "realm of the Cod fish." This name referred to the large number of cod on the East Coast.

Waldseemüller used the Latinized form of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form "America," following the examples of "Europa," "Asia," and "Africa." Americus came from Medieval Latin Emericus (see Saint Emeric of Hungary), which came from the Old High German name Emmerich. Mapmakers later extended the name America to North America. In 1538, Gerardus Mercator used the term America on his world map of the whole Western Hemisphere. On his later 1569 map, Mercator called North America "America or New India" (America sive India Nova). The Spanish Empire called its lands in North and South America "Las Indias," and the group that oversaw the region was called the Council of the Indies.

Definition

The United Nations and its statistics division say North America has three subregions: Northern America, Central America (which includes Mexico), and the Caribbean. When people talk about trade deals such as NAFTA, the term refers to three countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the six-continent model, which is common in Latin America, the Romance-speaking world, and Greece, North America is a smaller area made up of Canada, Mexico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States. It often also includes Bermuda, Clipperton Island, and Greenland. North America has also been known by other names, such as New Spain, New France, British North America, and América Septentrional, the first official name given to Mexico.

Further information: List of regions of Canada and List of regions of the United States

North America has many regions, and each has its own culture, economy, and geography. Some economic groups come from trade deals, such as NAFTA between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and CAFTA between Central America, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Culturally and by language, North America is divided into two main regions: Anglo-America and Latin America. Anglo-America includes most of the continent, Belize, and Caribbean islands where people speak English. Places such as Louisiana and Quebec have large Francophone populations, and in Quebec and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, French is the official language. The south includes Central America and Caribbean nations that do not speak English. The region known as Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Canada's subregions, from east to west, are Atlantic Canada, Central Canada, the Canadian Prairies, the British Columbia Coast, Western Canada, and Northern Canada. The United States has New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South Atlantic, East North Central, West North Central, East South Central, West South Central, Mountain, and Pacific states. The Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest include areas in both the U.S. and Canada.

History

Main article: History of North America

Main article: Pre-Columbian era

Main article: European colonization of the Americas

Further information: Timeline of the European colonization of North America, British America, French America, New Spain, and Russian colonization of the Americas

Main article: British America

Main article: Seven Years' War

Main articles: American Revolution and American Revolutionary War

Main article: Westward Expansion Trails

Further information: Lewis and Clark Expedition, Louisiana Purchase, and United States Exploring Expedition

Main articles: Canada and Panama Canal

Long before European explorers arrived, the indigenous peoples of the Americas lived across North America in many different groups, from small bands to large empires. Scientists still study how the first people reached the continent. The traditional theory was that hunters crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia, and a newer view is that people may have sailed there. Over thousands of years, cultures grew and changed. The Mayans built huge pyramids, developed a writing system, and created the idea of zero. The first European known to reach the mainland was Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer, around the year 1000 CE. In 1521, Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire. After European arrival, many indigenous people died, mostly from diseases such as smallpox and from violent conflicts.

European powers, including Spain, England, and France, claimed large parts of North America. The first permanent English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, and the English later formed the Thirteen Colonies. After the Seven Years' War, France gave Britain its claims east of the Mississippi River. In 1776, the Thirteen Colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, and the American Revolutionary War followed. In 1783, Britain acknowledged defeat in the Treaty of Paris, which established the United States. In 1803, France sold its remaining claims to the U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase. Russia sold its North American claims, including Alaska, to the U.S. in 1867. The Panama Canal, which connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was completed in 1913.

Geography

Main article: Geography of North America

North America is the northern part of the landmass often called the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America. In many countries, it is considered a single continent, with North America as a subcontinent. It is the third-largest continent by area, after Asia and Africa. Its only land connection to South America is at the Darien Gap in Panama. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water reaching into the continent, followed by Hudson Bay. Many islands lie off its coasts, including Greenland, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The Rocky Mountains run through the west, and the highest peak is Denali in Alaska.

Most of North America sits on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico and California lie on the Pacific Plate, and the two plates meet along the San Andreas Fault. The continent stretches from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Tropic of Cancer, so its climates vary a lot. Tundra covers Greenland and the Canadian Shield, while tropical climates appear in the island regions. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur from time to time in Central America.

Main article: Geography of Canada

Main articles: Geography of the United States and Physiographic regions of the United States

Main article: Geography of Mexico

See also: Wildlife of Mexico, Fauna of the United States, Flora of the United States, and Wildlife of Canada

Main article: Geology of North America

Main article: Geology of Canada

Main article: Geology of the United States

Main article: Geology of Central America

List of states and territories

Main article: List of sovereign states and dependent territories in North America

Economy

Main article: Economy of North America

See also: List of North American countries by GDP (nominal) and List of North American countries by GDP (PPP)

North America's GDP per capita was estimated in October 2016 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at $41,830, making it the richest continent in the world, followed by Oceania. The United States has the largest economy in the world and is the most technologically developed of the three countries, with services making up most of its GDP. Canada is growing in services, mining, and manufacturing. Mexico, a newly industrialized country, has both modern and outdated industrial and agricultural facilities. The North American economy is organized into three main trade areas: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and the Central American Common Market (CACM). NAFTA, which began in 1994, was replaced in 2018 by the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). CARICOM was formed in 1973 by 15 Caribbean nations and allowed for a common passport. The CACM was agreed to in 1961 as the first attempt to bring Central American nations into stronger financial cooperation.

Main article: Transportation in North America

The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads nearly 48,000 km (30,000 mi) long that runs through the mainland nations, though no official total length exists. The first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. was finished on 10 May 1869 at the famous golden spike event at Promontory Summit, Utah, linking the eastern U.S. railroads with California on the Pacific coast. It helped transform the American western frontier, moving people away from the wagon trains of earlier decades. For communications, the North American Numbering Plan is a shared telephone numbering plan used by 24 countries and territories.

Demographics

See also: List of North American countries by population and List of North American countries by life expectancy

Canada and the United States are the wealthiest and most developed nations on the continent, followed by Mexico, a newly industrialized country. Small Caribbean island-nations such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua and Barbuda have a higher GDP (PPP) per capita than Mexico. Panama and Costa Rica have a significantly higher Human Development Index than the rest of Central America. North America is also ethnically diverse. Its three largest groups are Whites, Mestizos, and Blacks, and there is a significant minority of Indigenous Americans and Asians.

Main article: Languages of North America

The dominant languages are English, Spanish, and French. Canada is officially bilingual, and French is the official language of Quebec, where 95% of people speak it as a first or second language. The U.S. has an ethnically diverse population, and about 6 million people in Mexico speak an indigenous language at home. In the U.S. and Canada, about 150 indigenous languages survive out of the 300 spoken before European contact. Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A 2012 Pew Research Center survey found that 77% of the population considered themselves Christians.

Main article: Religion in North America

See also: Religions of the world

See also: List of North American countries by population, List of North American cities by population, and List of North American metropolitan areas by population

North America is the fourth most populous continent after Asia, Africa, and Europe. The U.S. is its most populous country, with 342.9 million people, followed by Mexico with 126 million and Canada with 41.5 million. Mexico City and New York City are the largest cities on the continent, the only ones with more than eight million people.

Further information: Megaregions of the United States

North America has also seen the growth of megapolitan areas. The United States includes eleven megaregions.

^†2011 Census figures

Culture

Main article: Culture of North America

The cultures of North America are diverse. The United States and English Canada have many cultural similarities. French Canada has a culture that is different from Anglophone Canada, and the law protects it. Canada's constitution dates to 1867, but Canada did not have the power to change its own constitution until 1982. French-speaking Canadians have had their heritage protected by law since the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act in 1774. That law also allowed Catholics to practice their religion, let the Catholic Church collect tithes again, and set up French civil law in most cases. Today, both English and French are official languages in Canada, while the U.S. has no official language, although its national language is English. Canada also limits non-Canadian content in broadcasting to protect Canadian culture, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission watches over this. In Quebec, the Quebec Office of the French Language requires the use of French words and signs, and English speakers often call it the "language police." The Quebec National Assembly has been the name of the province's one-house legislature since 1968. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, on 24 June, is Quebec's national holiday, and French-speaking Canadians celebrate it across the country. Quebec's school system was once split into Catholic and Protestant schools. Mexico and Central America are part of Latin America and are culturally different from English-speaking and French-speaking North America. The Southwest of the U.S. has strong Hispanic traditions and many people speak two languages, because the area was once part of the Spanish Empire and many Spanish speakers have moved there.

Latino culture is strong in the southwestern United States, the New York metropolitan area, and Florida, which attract people from many countries in the Western Hemisphere. Northern Mexico, especially the cities of Monterrey, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Mexicali, is strongly influenced by the culture and way of life of the U.S. Monterrey, a modern city with a large industrial group, is seen as the most Americanized city in Mexico. The Anglophone Caribbean states have seen the decline of the British Empire and its influence in the region, while the economic influence of Northern America there has grown. Many of these countries have more people living abroad than living at home. Greenland has had many waves of immigration from Northern Canada, such as by the Thule people, so it shares some cultural ties with the indigenous peoples of Canada. Greenland is also considered Nordic and has strong Danish ties because of centuries of colonization by Denmark.

Main article: Sport in North America

The United States and Canada have major sports teams that play against each other, including baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer/football. Canada, Mexico, and the United States jointly hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Native American game of lacrosse is considered a national sport in Canada. Curling is an important winter sport in Canada and is included in the Winter Olympics. The English sport of cricket is popular in parts of English-speaking Canada and very popular in parts of the former British Empire, but it is a minor sport in Canada. Boxing is a major sport in some countries, such as Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico, and it is one of the main individual sports in the United States. Canada also has its own Canadian Football League, separate from the U.S. teams.

The table below shows the most prominent sports leagues in North America, ordered by average revenue.