North America

(geography) The northern of the two continents of the New World or Western Hemisphere, extending from narrow parts in the tropics to progressively broadened portions in middle latitudes and Arctic polar margins.

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Continent, Western Hemisphere. The third-largest continent on earth, it lies mostly between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer. It is almost completely surrounded by bodies of water, including the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Strait, the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Area: 9,361,791 sq mi (24,247,039 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 454,225,000. Shaped like an inverted triangle, North America was apparently the first continent to achieve its current approximate size and shape. Its geologic structure is built around a stable platform of Precambrian rock called the Canadian Shield. To the southeast are the Appalachian Mountains and to the west are the younger and much taller Cordilleras. These mountains extend the length of the continent and occupy about one-third of the total land area. The Rocky Mountains constitute the eastern Cordillera. The highest point is Mount McKinley. The Mississippi River basin, including its major tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, occupies more than one-eighth of the continent's total area. Generally temperate climatic conditions prevail. Arable land accounts for about one-eighth of the land area and forests for about one-third. English, the primary language of the U.S., predominates, followed by Spanish; French is spoken in parts of Canada. Most of the continent's population of European descent is found in the U.S. and Canada. Intermarriage between whites and Indians was common in Mexico, and mestizos constitute about three-fifths of the Mexican population. North America has a mixture of developed, partly developed, and developing economies, adequate reserves of most metallic resources, and the world's largest reserves of cadmium, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver, and zinc. It is the world's leading food producer, largely because of mechanized and scientific farming in the U.S. and Canada. Among the continent's democratically governed states are Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the U.S. The nations of North America have sought hemispheric unity as members of the Organization of American States, which also includes South American countries. They also sought stronger economic ties, and in 1992 Canada, the U.S., and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which called for the elimination of most tariffs and other trade barriers between the three countries. The first inhabitants were American Indians, who migrated from Asia about 20,000 years ago. The greatest pre-Columbian civilizations were in Mesoamerica (see Mesoamerican civilization) and included the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec, who were conquered by the Spanish. The continent long remained sparsely settled and undeveloped. Beginning in the 17th century it underwent a profound transformation with the coming of Europeans and the Africans they introduced as slaves. The style of life became Latin American south of the Rio Grande and Anglo-American to the north, with enclaves of French culture in Canada and Louisiana. Slavery, practiced in the 16th – 19th centuries, added a significant minority culture of African origin, especially in the U.S. and the Caribbean (see West Indies). The huge industrial economy of the U.S., its abundant resources, and its military strength give the continent considerable global influence.

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The third largest continent, extending from the narrow isthmus of Central America to the Arctic Archipelago. The physical environments of North America, like the rest of the world, are a reflection of specific combinations of the natural factors such as climate, vegetation, soils, and landforms. See also Continent.

Location

North America covers 9,400,000 mi² (24,440,000 km²) and extends north to south for 5000 mi (8000 km) from Central America to the Arctic. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The Gulf of Mexico is a source of moist tropical air, and the frozen Arctic Ocean is a source of polar air. With the major mountain ranges stretching north-south, North America is the only continent providing for direct contact of these polar and tropical air masses, leading to frequent climatically induced natural hazards such as violent spring tornadoes, extreme droughts, subcontinental floods, and winter blizzards, which are seldom found on other continents. See also Air mass; Arctic Ocean; Atlantic Ocean; Gulf of Mexico; Pacific Ocean.

Geologic structure

The North American continent includes (1) a continuous, broad, north-south-trending western cordilleran belt stretching along the entire Pacific coast; (2) a northeast-southwest-trending belt of low Appalachian Mountains paralleling the Atlantic coast; (3) an extensive rolling region of old eroded crystalline rocks in the north-central and northeastern part of the continent called the Canadian Shield; (4) a large, level interior lowland covered by thick sedimentary rocks and extending from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico; and (5) a narrow coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. These broad structural geologic regions provide the framework for the natural regions of this continent and affect the location and nature of landform, climatic, vegetation, and soil regions.

Canadian Shield

Properly referred to as the geological core of the continent, the exposed Canadian Shield extends about 2500 mi (4000 km) from north to south and almost as much from east to west. The rest of it dips under sedimentary rocks that overlap it on the south and west. The Canadian Shield consists of ancient Precambrian rocks, over 500 million years old, predominantly granite and gneiss, with very complex structures indicating several mountain-building episodes. It has been eroded into a rolling surface of low to moderate relief with elevations generally below 2000 ft (600 m). Its surface has been warped into low domes and basins, such as the Hudson Basin, in which lower Paleozoic rocks, including Ordovician limestones, have been preserved. Since the end of the Paleozoic Era, the Shield has been dominated by erosion. Parts of the higher surface remain at about 1500–2000 ft (450–600 m) above sea level, particularly in the Labrador area. The Shield remained as land throughout the Mesozoic Era, but its western margins were covered by a Cretaceous sea and by Tertiary terrestrial sediments derived from the Western Cordillera. See also Cretaceous; Ordovician; Mesozoic; Paleozoic; Precambrian.

The entire exposed Shield was glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch, and its surface was intensely eroded by ice and its meltwaters, erasing major surface irregularities and eastward-trending rivers that were there before. The surface is now covered by glacial till, outwash, moraines, eskers, and lake sediments, as well as drumlins formed by advancing ice. A deranged drainage pattern is evolving on this surface with thousands of lakes of various sizes. See also Drumlin; Esker; Glacial epoch; Moraine; Pleistocene.

The Canadian Shield extends into the United States as Adirondack Mountains in New York State, and Superior Upland west of Lake Superior.

Southeastern Coastal Plain

The Southeastern Coastal Plain is geologically the youngest part of the continent, and it is covered by the youngest marine sedimentary rocks. This flat plain, which parallels the Atlantic and Gulf coastline, extends for over 3000 mi (4800 km) from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is very narrow in the north but increases in width southward along the Atlantic coast and includes the entire peninsula of Florida. As it continues westward along the Gulf, it widens significantly and includes the lower Mississippi River valley. It is very wide in Texas, narrows again southward in coastal Mexico, and then widens in the Yucatán Peninsula and continues as a wide submerged plain, or a continental shelf, into the sea. See also Coastal plain.

Extending from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Mexico and Central America, the Coastal Plain is affected by a variety of climates and associated vegetation. While a humid, cool climate with four seasons affects its northernmost part, subtropical air masses affect the southeastern part, including Florida, and hot and arid climate dominates Texas and northern Mexico; Central America has hot, tropical climates.

Varied soils characterize the Coastal Plain, including the fertile alluvial soils of the Mississippi Valley. Broadleaf forests are present in the northeast, citrus fruits grow in Florida, grasslands dominate the dry southwest, and tropical vegetation is present on Central American coastal plains.

Eastern Seaboard Highlands

Between the Southeastern Coastal Plain and the extensive interior provinces lies a belt of mountains that, by their height and pattern, create a significant barrier between the eastern seaboard and the interior of North America. These mountains consist of the Adirondack Mountains and the New England Highlands.

The Adirondack Mountains are a domal extension of the Canadian Shield, about 100 mi (160 km) in diameter, composed of complex Precambrian rocks. The New England Highlands consist of a north-south belt of mountains east of the Hudson Valley, including the Taconic mountains in the south and the Green mountains in the north, and continuing as the Notre Dame Mountains along the St. Lawrence Valley and the Chic-Choc Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula. The large area of New England east of these mountains is an eroded surface of old crystalline rocks culminating in the center as the White Mountains, with their highest peak of the Presidential Range, Mount Washington, reaching over 6200 ft (1880 m). This area has been intensely glaciated, and it meets the sea in a rugged shoreline. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have a similar terrain.

New England is a hilly to mountainous region carved out of ancient rocks, eroded by glaciers, and covered by glacial moraines, eskers, kames, erratics, and drumlins, with hundreds of lakes scattered everywhere. It has a cool and moist climate with four seasons, thin and acid soils, and mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests.

Appalachian Highlands

The Appalachian Highlands are traditionally considered to consist of four parts: the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ridge and Valley Section, and the Appalachian Plateau. These subregions are all characterized by different geologic structures and rock types, as well as different geomorphologies.

The northern boundary of the entire Appalachian System is an escarpment of Paleozoic rocks trending eastward along Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Mohawk Valley. The boundary then swings south along Hudson River Valley and continues southwestward along the Fall Line to Montgomery, Alabama. The western boundary trends northeastward through Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, and up to Cleveland, Ohio, where it joins the northern boundary. Together with New England, this region forms the largest mountainous province in eastern United States.

Interior Domes and Basins Province

The southwestern part of the Appalachian Plateau, overlain mainly by the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks, has been warped into two low structural domes called the Blue Grass and Nashville Basins, and a structural basin, drained by the Green River; its southern fringe is called the Pennyroyal Region. The Interior Dome and Basin Province is contained roughly between the Tennessee River in the south and west and the Ohio River in the north.

There is no boundary on the east, because the domes are part of the same surface as the Appalachian Plateau. However, erosional escarpments, forming a belt of hills called knobs, clearly mark the topographic domes and basins. The northern dome, called the Blue Grass Basin or Lexington Plain, has been eroded to form a basin surrounded by a series of inward-facing cuesta escarpments. The westernmost cuesta reaches about 600 ft (180 m) elevation while the central part of the basin lies about 1000 ft (300 m) above sea level, which is higher than the surrounding hills. This gently rolling surface with deep and fertile soils exhibits some solutional karst topography. See also Fluvial erosion landforms.

Ozark and Ouachita Highlands

The Paleozoic rocks of the Pennyroyal Region continue Westward across southern Illinois to form another dome of predominantly Ordovician rocks, called the Ozark Plateau. This dome, located mainly in Missouri and Arkansas, has an abrupt east side, and a gently sloping west side, called the Springfield Plateau. Its surface is stream eroded into hilly and often rugged topography that is developed mainly on limestones, although shales, sandstone, and chert are present. Much residual chert, eroded out of limestone, is present on the surface. There are some karst features, such as caverns and springs. In the northeast, Precambrian igneous rocks protrude to form the St. Francois Mountains, which reach an elevation of 1700 ft (515 m).

Central Lowlands

One of the largest subdivisions of North America is the Central Lowlands province which is located between the Appalachian Plateau on the east, the Interior Domes and Basins Province and the Ozark Plateau on the south, and the Great Plains on the west. It includes the Great Lakes section and the Manitoba Lowland in Canada. This huge lowland in the heart of the continent (whose elevations vary from about 900 ft or 270 m above sea level in the east and nearly 2000 ft or 600 m in the west) is underlain by Paleozoic rocks that continue from the Appalachian Plateau and dip south under the recent coastal plain sediments; meet the Cretaceous rocks on the west; and overlap the crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield on the northeast.

The present surface of nearly the entire Central Lowlands, roughly north of the Ohio River and east of the Missouri River, is the creation of the Pleistocene ice sheets. When the ice formed and spread over Canada, and southward to the Ohio and Missouri rivers, it eroded much of the preexisting surface. During deglaciation, it left its deposits over the Canadian Shield and the Central Lowlands.

The Central Lowlands are drained by the third longest river system in the world, the Missouri-Mississippi, which is 3740 mi (6000 km) long. This mighty river system, together with the Ohio and the Tennessee, drains not only the Central Lowlands but also parts of the Appalachian Plateau and the Great Plains, before it crosses the Coastal Plain and ends in the huge delta of the Mississippi. The river carries an enormous amount of water and alluvium and continues to extend its delta into the Gulf. In 1993 it reached a catastrophic level of a hundred-year flood, claimed an enormous extent of land and many lives, and created an unprecedented destruction of property. This flood again alerted the population to the extreme risk of occupying a river floodplain. See also Floodplain; River.

Great Plains

The Great Plains, which lie west of the Central Lowlands, extend from the Rio Grande and the Balcones Escarpment in Texas to central Alberta in Canada. On the east, they are bounded by a series of escarpments, such as the Côteau du Missouri in the Dakotas. The dry climate with less than 20 in. (50 cm) of precipitation, and steppe grass vegetation growing on calcareous soils, help to determine the eastern boundary of the Great Plains. On the west, the Great Plains meet the abrupt front of the Rocky Mountains, except where the Colorado Piedmont and the lower Pecos River Valley separate them from the mountains.

The Great Plains region shows distinct differences between its subsections from south to north. The southernmost part, called the High Plains or Llano Estacado, and Edwards Plateaus are the flattest. While Edwards Plateau, underlain by limestones of the Cretaceous age, reveals solutional karst features, the High Plains have the typical Tertiary bare cap rock surface, devoid of relief and streams.

The central part of the Great Plains has a recent depositional surface of loess and sand. The Sand Hills of Nebraska form the most extensive sand dunes area in North America, covering about 24,000 mi² (62,400 km²). They are overgrown by grass and have numerous small lakes. The loess region to the south provides spectacular small canyon topography. See also Dune.

The northern Great Plains, stretching north of Pine Ridge and called the Missouri Plateau, have been intensly eroded by the western tributaries of the Missouri River into river breaks and interfluves. In extreme cases, badlands were formed, such as those of the White River and the Little Missouri.

The terrain of the Canadian Great Plains consists of three surfaces rising from east to west: the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta Prairies developed on level Creteceous and Tertiary rocks. Climatic differences between the arid and warm southern part and the cold and moist northern part have resulted in regional differences. The eastern boundary of the Saskatchewan Plain is the segmented Manitoba Escarpment, which extends for 500 mi (800 km) northwestward, and in places rises 1500 ft (455 m) above the Manitoba Lowland. Côteau du Missouri marks the eastern edge of the higher Alberta Plain.

Western Cordillera

The mighty and rugged Western Cordilleras stretch along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. There are three north-south-trending belts: (1) Brooks Range, Mackenzie Mountains, and the Rocky Mountains to the north and Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico; (2) Interior Plateaus, including the Yukon Plains, Canadian Central Plateaus and Ranges, Columbia Plateau, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range Province stretching into central Mexico; and (3) Coastal Mountains from Alaska Range to California, Baja California, and Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.

This subcontinental-size mountain belt has the highest mountains, greatest relief, roughest terrain, and most beautiful scenery of the entire continent. It has been formed by earth movements resulting from the westward shift of the North American lithospheric plate. The present movements, and the resulting devastating earthquakes along the San Andreas fault system paralleling the Pacific Ocean, are part of this process. See also Cordilleran belt; Plate tectonics.

This very high, deeply eroded and rugged Rocky Mountains region comprises several distinct parts: Southern, Middle, and Northern Rockies, plus the Wyoming Basin in the United States, and the Canadian Rockies. The Southern Rockies, extending from Wyoming to New Mexico, include the Laramie Range, the Front Range, and Spanish Peaks with radiating dikes on the east; Medicine Bow, Park, and Sangre de Cristo ranges in the center; and complex granite Sawatch Mountains and volcanic San Juan Mountains of Tertiary age on the west. Most of the ranges are elongated anticlines with exposed Precambrian granite core, and overlapping Paleozoic and younger sedimentary rocks which form spectacular hogbacks along the eastern front. There are about 50 peaks over 14,000 ft (4200 m) high, while the Front Range alone has about 300 peaks over 13,000 ft (3940 m) high. The southern Rocky Mountains, heavily glaciated into a beautiful and rugged scenery with permanent snow and small glaciers, form a major part of the Continental Divide.

The interior Plateaus and Ranges Province of the Western Cordillera lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Coastal Mountains. It is an extensive and complex region. It begins in the north with the wide Yukon Plains and Uplands; narrows into the Canadian Central Plateaus and Ranges; widens again into the Columbia Plateau, Basin and Range Province, and Colorado Plateau; and finally narrows into the Mexican Plateau and the Central American isthmus.

The coastal Lowlands and Ranges extend along the entire length of North America and include Alaskan Coast Ranges, Aleutian Islands, Alaska Range, Canadian Coast Ranges, and a double chain of the Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada on the east, and Coast Ranges on the west, separated by Puget Sound, Willamette Valley, and Great Valley of California. These ranges continue southward as Lower California Peninsula, Baja California, and Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.

The basin-and-range type of terrain of the southwest United States continues into northern Mexico and forms its largest physiographic region, the Mexican Plateau. This huge tilted block stands more than a mile above sea level—from about 4000 ft (1200 m) in the north, it rises to about 8000 ft (2400 m) in the south. The Mexican Plateau is separated from the Southern Mexican Highlands (Sierra Madre del Sur) by a low, hot and dry Balsas Lowland drained by the Balsas River. To the east of the Southern Highlands lies a lowland, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which is considered the divide between North and Central America. Here the Pacific and Gulf coasts are only 125 mi (200 km) apart. The lowlands of Mexico are the coastal plains. The Gulf Coastal Plain trends southward for 850 mi from the Rio Grande to the Yucat'an Peninsula. It is about 100 mi (160 km) wide in the north, just a few miles wide in the center, and very wide in the Yucatan Peninsula. Barrier beaches, lagoons, and swamps occur along this coast. The Pacific Coastal Plains are much narrower and more hilly. North-south-trending ridges of granite characterize the northern part, and islands are present offshore. Toward the south, sandbars, lagoons, and deltaic deposits are common.

East of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec begins Central America with its complex physiographic and tectonic regions. This narrow, mountainous isthmus is geologically connected with the large, mountainous islands of the Greater Antilles in the Carribean. They are all characterized by east-west-trending rugged mountain ranges, with deep depressions between them. One such mountain system begins in Mexico and continues in southern Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. North of this system, called the Old Antillia, lies the Antillian Foreland, consisting of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Bahama Islands. Central American mountains are bordered on both sides by active volcanic belts. Along the Pacific, a belt of young volcanoes extends for 800 mi (1280 km) from Mexico to Costa Rica. Costa Rica and Panama are mainly a volcanic chain of mountains extending to South America. Nicaragua is dominated by a major crustal fracture trending northwest-southeast.

This entry is a subtopic of British Colonies.

English interest in North America began soon after Christopher Columbus's first discoveries when John Cabot (c. 1450–c. 1499), a Venetian sailor, was commissioned by Henry VII in 1497 to find a northwest route to the East. The voyage proved ineffectual and for the next seventy years England remained on the sidelines of westward exploration, largely because of political and religious divisions at home. Interest did not really revive until the fourth quarter of the sixteenth century, when the success of the Spanish and Portuguese empires demonstrated the economic and strategic value of having colonies. Since the North American continent remained largely free of European settlement, the new advocates of colonization, notably English geographer Richard Hakluyt (c. 1552–1616), argued that the settling of these territories would allow the production of valuable tropical products like sugar, silk, olives, spices, hardwoods, and vines. These items had to be purchased from foreign rivals, resulting in a trade deficit and loss of bullion. In addition, Hakluyt argued, the possession of colonies would increase the maritime power of England, making her a force to be reckoned with among the nation-states of Europe.

First Settlements

Since the crown lacked the resources for such ventures, it was initially left to individuals like Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) to fulfill these dreams. Unfortunately, Raleigh's attempt to settle Roanoke Island along the North Carolina coast between 1585 and 1587 proved unsuccessful, mainly because he lacked the necessary resources. However, the development of joint stock companies promised to solve this problem by allowing funds to be pooled on a large scale. Not that these new entities found colonization easy, as the attempts of the Plymouth and Virginia companies proved. The former failed to establish its colony of Sagadahoc in 1607 on the coast of present-day Maine, while the latter had to struggle for twenty years to ensure the success of Jamestown, England's first permanent settlement on the mainland of North America. In reality, too little was known about the Chesapeake region when the first settlers arrived in 1607, and the project came close to collapse several times.

Despite these difficulties, other schemes duly followed, though the impulse was increasingly religious rather than commercial. England, like much of Europe, was experiencing religious turmoil, and America seemingly offered a refuge to those suffering persecution at home. Accordingly, in 1620 a group of Pilgrims led by the Separatist church leader William Brewster (1567–1644) set sail in the May-flower to establish the Plymouth colony, while from 1629 to 1640 twenty thousand Puritans left England to establish the colonies of Massachusetts Bay in 1630, Rhode Island and Connecticut in 1636, and New Haven in 1637. Nor were Protestants alone in this exodus. In 1632 George Calvert, the first baron Baltimore (c. 1580–1632), obtained a charter from Charles I for a colony allowing religious toleration for Roman Catholics, which he called Maryland in honor of the queen.

Baltimore's charter differed from those granted to the Virginia and Massachusetts Bay Companies in that authority was vested in a single proprietor. Otherwise, both types of charter gave the grantees extensive powers, including authority to make local ordinances for the better government of their territories, providing such ordinances were consistent with the laws of England. The crown also retained the right to a fifth of all precious minerals found in their settlements. However, in 1618 the Virginia Company decided to establish a local assembly as a more effective way of involving the inhabitants in the success of the venture. This pattern was soon adopted in other colonies, notably Massachusetts, not least because that colony's charter, based on the joint stock model, required its officers to be elected annually by the shareholders. Even the autocratic second baron Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert, 1605–1675) found it politic to give his settlers an assembly as a means of attracting support. The qualifications for voting varied. In Maryland and Virginia it was generally restricted to freeholders (meaning males with property), but in Massachusetts the Puritan leadership quickly substituted church membership as the criterion for participation in the affairs of the colony.

Second Wave

Although English settlement of North America was interrupted at the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1641, the restoration of Charles II in 1660 allowed a second wave of colonization, beginning in 1664 with the conquest of the Dutch colony of New Netherland in present-day New York. It was seized partly for economic reasons, to secure entry to the northern fur trade; partly to create a patrimony for the duke of York, the king's younger brother; and partly as a strategy: to close a dangerous gap between the New England and Chesapeake Bay settlements. But even before the seizure of the Dutch colony, another scheme was afoot to settle the area south of Virginia. Here, too, the founding of the Carolinas was partly commercial, to tap the possibilities of exotic cash crops in a subtropical climate; partly strategic, to provide a buffer between Virginia and the Spanish in Florida; and partly an attempt to endow the eight proprietors sponsoring the scheme with the privileges of semifeudal palatine princes. Not that religious considerations were entirely forgotten after 1660. In 1682 William Penn (1644–1718) secured a proprietary charter to provide a haven for the Society of Friends, or Quakers, as they were more commonly known. But as was the case with the Carolinas, the colonization of Pennsylvania had a strong economic rationale: to exploit the rich potential of the Delaware River area. It was also intended to enhance the dynastic aspirations of the proprietary family.

For much of the seventeenth century, England's control of its burgeoning empire was necessarily weak, given the distance of the colonies from England and the confused state of the mother country. Compounding the problems was the fact that there was no common system of government in the various settlements. Virginia, the oldest colony, had a governor appointed by the crown, a council appointed by the governor, and an elective assembly representing the propertied classes, and this was to be the model most favored by the crown after 1689 as its best means of maintaining control. However, the New England colonies at this time were largely self-governing commonwealths, while the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and New York were all under proprietary control.

Even so, the period was not without some tightening of the imperial reins. In 1651 the first Navigation Act was passed to protect England's growing trade with its empire in the West Indies and mainland North America, and this was followed by several similar such laws in the next twenty-five years. Then in 1680 New Hampshire was separated from Massachusetts and made into a royal colony on the Virginia model. More grandiosely, in the mid-1680s James II attempted to merge the northern colonies into one entity, the Dominion of New England, to allow a more effective defense and use of scarce resources. That scheme proved too unpopular and was discarded during England's 1689 Glorious Revolution, which limited sovereign power and ended the concept of the divine right of kings. Nevertheless, some changes were effected. Massachusetts now had to accept a charter on the Virginia model, albeit with the concession that the lower house still helped nominate the governor's council, as had been required under the old charter of 1629. The crown also had a further success in East and West Jersey in the early 1700s, when the proprietors decided to surrender their governmental rights over the territory. Finally, in the 1720s the crown, with Parliament's help, engineered a similar outcome in the Carolinas, after the proprietary government failed to defend those colonies successfully from Spanish and Indian attacks. However, Pennsylvania and Maryland remained proprietary colonies while Connecticut and Rhode Island anomalously retained their corporate charters, which had originally been granted by Parliament during the English Civil War.

Denominations and Diversity

During the seventeenth century the colonies' population was overwhelmingly English in origin, with only a few pockets of non-English stock, most importantly in Pennsylvania, where Penn settled a group of lower Rhineland Pietists at Germantown in 1686, and in New York, where the Dutch remained a distinct group. But already there was a growing number of African slaves, especially in the South, and this trend toward a more diverse population continued during the eighteenth century, aided by the absence of any restrictive immigration laws. In 1707 the Act of Union between England and Scotland officially opened the way to Scottish emigration, while the cessation of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe in 1714 permitted further German emigration from the Palatinate and Rhineland areas. In addition, large numbers of Scots Irish began to arrive after 1717 following the termination of their leases in Ireland. All these European peoples came seeking a better life where land was plentiful and religious discrimination was minimal. Prior to 1715 the New England region had been uniformly Congregational, the South largely Anglican, with the Dutch Reformed and Society of Friends preeminent in the Hudson and Delaware Valleys. Now, outside New England, there were Presbyterians, Baptists, Moravians, and German Reformed and Lutheran churches, all adding to the multireligious and multicultural nature of the colonies and establishing a trend that has continued ever since.

Economy

The economy of Britain's North American colonies was similarly varied, primarily as the result of differences in the climate and soil. The relatively temperate climate of the New England and Mid-Atlantic colonies allowed their inhabitants to practice European-style farming in cereals, root crops, and animal husbandry. And as in Europe, most northern farms relied on their families to meet their labor requirements. In the South, on the other hand, the longer and warmer growing season permitted the cultivation of more exotic cash crops like tobacco in the Chesapeake Bay area and Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina and rice in the lower part of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (after 1733). Since these crops were labor-intensive, their production presented a problem, not least because most Native Americans refused to acculturate to European-style production methods and were in any case too few in number. Initially the labor problem was solved in the Chesapeake region by the system of indentured servitude. However, indentured servants served for only a few years, after which they were free to compete with their former masters. As a result, southern planters began increasingly to use African slave labor, especially when the cost of doing so dropped toward the end of the seventeenth century. The early settlers in South Carolina, in any case, deployed African slaves, being familiar with their use from their previous experience as sugar planters in Barbados.

Another difference between the northern and southern economies was the North's greater diversification. The northern colonies had no high-value commodities to export other than those obtained through the extractive pursuits of fishing and lumbering. Consequently, they had to be more self-sufficient, which led to the development of craft industries and the beginnings of manufacturing in pottery and iron ware. Shipbuilding was also widespread, and commerce generally flourished, which in turn stimulated urban growth. By the mid-eighteenth century, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia all had populations of more than ten thousand, with Philadelphia ranking as the second-largest city in the British Empire. The South, by contrast, had only one town of any consequence: Charleston in South Carolina.

By 1750 the thirteen British mainland colonies had a population around 1.5 million (including 250,000 persons of African descent) who provided a third of all British trade.

The Causes of Revolt

Thus, although the British had been late to enter the race for overseas colonies (compared to Spain and Portugal), their settlements now constituted perhaps the most valuable possessions of any European nation. It was this realization that led Britain to attempt a strengthening of the imperial ties after the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Among the more important initiatives were the Proclamation of 1763, which attempted to limit westward expansion; the Sugar Act of 1764, to raise revenue and strengthen the laws of trade; and the Stamp Act of 1765, to raise additional revenue for the running of the empire. But far from strengthening imperial control, these measures antagonized the colonial population and led to disputes over the sovereignty of Parliament and the rights of the colonists, especially on matters of taxation. It was failure to resolve these issues, among others, that led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and creation of the United States, signaling an end to the first British Empire.

Bibliography

Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. 4 vols. New Haven, 1934–1938. Reprint, vols. 1–3, 2001.

Bailyn, Bernard. The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction. New York, 1986.

Bonwick, Colin. The American Revolution. Charlottesville, Va., 1991.

Butler, Jon. Becoming America: The Revolution before 1776. Cambridge, Mass., 2000.

Egnal, Marc. New World Economies: The Growth of the Thirteen Colonies and Early Canada. New York, 1998.

Kammen, Michael. Deputyes & Libertyes: The Origins of Representative Government in Colonial America. New York, 1969.

Meinig, Donald William. The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History. 3 vols. New Haven, 1986–1993. Volume one is Atlantic America, 1492–1800.

Middleton, Richard. Colonial America: A History, 1565– 1776. 3rd ed. Oxford, 2002.

Nash, Gary B. Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early America. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1974.

Vickers, Daniel. A Companion to Colonial America. Oxford, 2003.

Wood, Betty. The Origins of American Slavery: Freedom and Bondage in the English Colonies. New York, 1997.

—RICHARD MIDDLETON

Third-largest continent (after Asia and Africa), comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America.

• Maps and Cartography - North America: third largest continent, extending from Atlantic to Pacific oceans and from Arctic to Panama

"North American" redirects here. For other uses, see North American (disambiguation).

North America

Area	24,709,000 km2 (9,540,000 sq mi)
Population	528,720,588 (2008, 4th)
Pop. density	22.9/km2 (59.3/sq mi)[note 1]
Demonym	North American, American[1]
Countries	23 (list of countries)
Dependencies	see List of North American countries
Languages	English, Spanish, French, Greenlandic and many others
Time Zones	UTC-10 to UTC
Largest cities	List of North American cities by population

North America (Spanish: América del Norte or Norteamérica; French: Amérique du Nord; Dutch: Noord-Amerika; Papiamento: Nort Amerika; Kalaallisut: Amerika Avannarleq) is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas.^[2] It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean.

North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 529 million people. It is the third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Geologic history 2.2 Prehistory 2.3 History 3 Geography and extent 4 Demographics 4.1 Populace 5 Geology 5.1 Canadian geology 5.2 U.S. geological provinces 5.3 Central American geology 6 Economy 7 Infrastructure 7.1 Transportation 7.2 Communications 8 Regions 9 Countries, territories, and dependencies 10 Usage of the term North America 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 External links

Etymology

Map of North America, from the 16th century

The Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann.^[3] Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a world map, in which he placed the word "America" on the continent of South America, in the middle of what is today Brazil. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio,

ab Americo inventore ... quasi Americi terram sive Americam (from Americus the discoverer ... as if it were the land of Americus, thus America).^[4]

For Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespucci's name (Americus Vespucius), but in its feminine form "America", following the examples of "Europa" and "Asia".

Later, when other mapmakers added North America, they extended the original name to it as well: in 1538, Gerard Mercator used the name America to all of the Western Hemisphere on his world map.^[5]

Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty and so a derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" could be problematic.^[6] Ricardo Palma (1949) proposed a derivation from the "Amerrique" mountains of Central America—Vespucci was the first to discover South America and the Amerrique mountains of Central America, which connected his discoveries to those of Christopher Columbus.

Alfred E. Hudd proposed a theory in 1908 that the continents are named after a Welsh 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 a Native American language.^[5]

History

Main article: History of North America

Geologic history

North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods.^[7] The geographic area that would later become the United States has been the source of more varieties of dinosaurs than any other modern country.^[7] According to paleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history.^[7] Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent.^[7] The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America is the Morrison Formation of the western United States.^[8]

Prehistory

The ruins of Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

Scientists have several theories as to the origins of the early human population of North America. The indigenous peoples of North America have many creation myths by which they assert that they have been present on the land since its creation. The consensus is that indigenous North Americans first arrived from Asia during the last Ice Age, most likely through the Bering Land Bridge and possibly by primitive boats also.

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 (e.g. the bison hunters of the Great Plains, or the farmers of Mesoamerica). Native groups can also be classified by their language family (e.g. Athapascan or Uto-Aztecan). 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.

It is possible that North America had several peoples among its early settlers.^[9] The best known evidence that may support this theory is probably Kennewick Man.^[10]

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 were 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 (e.g. the Fort Walton Culture), found in the Mississippi river valley. They flourished from 300 BC to the 150s 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).

History

Benjamin West's The Death of General Wolfe (1771) depicting the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

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 and temples, had a complex calendar, and developed the concept of zero around 400 CE, a few hundred years after the Mesopotamians.^[11] The Mayan culture was still present in southern Mexico and Guatemala when the Spanish explorers arrived, but political dominance in the area had shifted to the Aztec Empire whose capital city Tenochtitlan was located further north in the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés.^[12]

Upon the arrival of the Europeans in the "New World", the Native American population declined substantially, primarily due to the introduction of European diseases to which the Native Americans lacked immunity.^[13] 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 names 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.

In the late 18th century and beginning of the 19th, several independence movements started across North America. The 13 British colonies on the North Atlantic coast declared independence in 1776, becoming the United States of America. New Spain, a territory that stretched from modern-day southern U.S. to Central America, declared independence in 1810 becoming the First Mexican Empire. In 1823 the former Captaincy General of Guatemala, then part of the Mexican Empire, became the first independent state in Central America, officially changing its name to the United Provinces of Central America.

Geography and extent

Further information: Geography of North America

Satellite imagery of North America.

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, less commonly, is considered by some as a single continent^[14][15][16] with North America a subcontinent).^[17] North America's only land connection to South America is at the Isthmus of Panama. The continent is delimited on the southeast by most geographers at the Darién watershed along the Colombia-Panama border, placing all of Panama within North America.^[18][19][20] Alternatively, less common views would end North America at the man-made Panama Canal^{[citation needed]}, and some geologists physiographically locate its southern limit at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, with Central America extending southeastward to South America from this point.^[21] The Caribbean islands, or West Indies, are considered part of North America.^[2]

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 what are now 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 Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Aleutian Islands (some of which are in the Eastern Hemisphere proper), the Alexander Archipelago, the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, and Newfoundland. Greenland, a self-governing Danish island, and the world's largest, is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate) and is part of North America geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but 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. However, Bermuda 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.

Moraine Lake in Banff National Park

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 southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on the Caribbean Plate, whereas 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 subregions): 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 48°10′N 100°10′W / 48.167°N 100.167°W / 48.167; -100.167, approximately 15 miles (24 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. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located 1,650 km (1,030 mi) from the nearest coastline, between Allen and Kyle, South Dakota at 43°22′N 101°58′W / 43.36°N 101.97°W / 43.36; -101.97 (Pole of Inaccessibility North America).^[22]

Demographics

Non-Native American Nation's control and claims over North America circa 1750–2008

Languages spoken in the Americas

Native languages of North America (Map of U.S., Canada and Greenland)

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 Canada (where English and French are co-official) and the United States, but also sometimes Belize and parts of the Caribbean. Latin America refers to the other areas of the Americas (generally south of the United States) where the Romance languages, derived from Latin, of Spanish and Portuguese (but French speaking countries are not usually included) predominate: the other republics of Central America (but not always Belize), part of the Caribbean (not the Dutch, English or French speaking areas), Mexico, and most of South America (except Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana (FR), and The Falkland Islands (UK)).

The French language has historically played a significant role in North America and now retains a distinctive presence in some regions. Canada is officially bilingual. French is the official language of the Province of Quebec, where 95% of the people speak it as either their first or second language, and it is co-official with English in the Province of New Brunswick. Other French-speaking locales include the Province of Ontario (the official language is English, but there is an estimated 600,000 Franco-Ontarians), the Province of Manitoba (co-official as de-jure with English), the French West Indies and Saint-Pierre et 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 historical association but Haitians speak both Creole and French. Similarly, French and French Antillean Creole is spoken in Saint Lucia and the Commonwealth of Dominica alongside English.

Economically, Canada and the United States are the wealthiest and most developed nations in the continent, followed by Mexico, a newly industrialized country.^[23] The countries of Central America and the Caribbean are at various levels of economic and human development. For example, small Caribbean island-nations such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda have a higher GDP (PPP) per capita than Mexico due to their smaller populations. Panama and Costa Rica have a significantly higher Human Development Index and GDP than the rest of the Central American nations.^[24]

Demographically, North America is a racially and ethnically diverse continent. Its three main racial groups are Caucasians, Mestizos and Blacks.^{[citation needed]} There is a significant minority of Indigenous Americans and Asians among other less numerous groups.^{[citation needed]}

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 Mexico and the Central American countries 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 they won independence from Spain.

Northern Mexico, particularly in the cities of Monterrey, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Mexicali, is strongly influenced by the culture and way of life of the United States. Of the a fore mentioned cities, Monterrey has been regarded as the most Americanized city in North America.^[25] Immigration to the United States and Canada remains a significant attribute of many nations close to the southern border of the U.S. The Anglophone Caribbean states have witnessed the decline of the British Empire and its influence on the region, and its replacement by the economic influence of Northern America. In the Anglophone Caribbean this influence is partly due to the relatively small populations (less than 200,000) of the majority of English-speaking Caribbean countries, and the fact that many of these countries now have expatriate diasporas living abroad that are larger than those remaining at home.

Populace

North American cities

Mexico City

New York City

Los Angeles

Chicago

Toronto

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

The most populous country in North America, over doubling the second largest country in population, is the United States with 303,606,020 persons.^[26] The second largest country, and only other country to maintain a populace above 100 million persons is Mexico with a population of 112,322,757.^[27] Canada is the third largest country with a population of 32,623,490.^[28] The majority of Caribbean island-nations have national populations under one million, though Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico - a territory of the United States, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago have populations higher than ten million.^{[29][30][31][32][33]}

While the United States, Canada, and Mexico maintain the largest populations, large city populations are not restricted to those nations. There are also large cities in the Caribbean. The largest cities in North America, by far, are Mexico City and New York. These cities are the only cities on the continent to exceed eight million, and two of three in the Americas. Next in size are Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Havana, Santo Domingo, and Montreal. Cities in the sunbelt regions of the United States, such as those in Southern California and Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, are experiencing rapid growth. These causes included warm temperatures, retirement of Baby Boomers, large industry, and the influx of immigrants. Cities near the United States border, particularly in Mexico, are also experiencing large amounts of growth. Most notable is Tijuana, a city bordering San Diego that receives immigrants from all over Latin America and parts of Europe and Asia. Yet as cities grow in these warmer regions of North America, they are increasingly forced to deal with the major issue of water shortages.^[34]

Eight of the top ten metropolitan areas are are located in the United States. These metropolitan areas all have a population of above 5.5 million and include the New York City metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Chicago metropolitan area, and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.^[35] Whilst the majority of the largest metropolitan areas are within the United States, Mexico is host to the largest metropolitan area by population in North America: Greater Mexico City.^[36] Canada also breaks into the top ten largest metropolitan areas with the Toronto metropolitan area having five and half million citizens.^[37] The proximity of cities to each other on the Canada - United States border and Mexico - United States border has led to the rise of international metropolitan areas. These urban agglomerations are observed at their largest and most productive in Detroit–Windsor and San Diego–Tijuana and experience large commercial, economic, and cultural activity. The metropolitan areas are responsible for millions of dollars of trade dependent on international freight. In Detroit-Windsor the Border Transportation Partnership study in 2004 concluded USD $13 billion was dependent on the Detroit–Windsor international border crossing while in San Diego-Tijuana freight at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry was valued at USD $20 billion.^[38][39]

The North America continent has also been witness to the growth of megapolitan areas. In the United States exists eleven megaregions that transcend international borders and comprise Canadian and Mexican metropolitan regions. These are the Arizona Sun Corridor, Cascadia, Florida, Front Range, Great Lakes Megaregion, Gulf Coast Megaregion, Northeast, Northern California, Piedmont Atlantic, Southern California, and the Texas Triangle.^[40] Canada and Mexico are also the home of megaregions. These include the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, Golden Horseshoe - both of which are considered part of the Great Lakes Megaregion - and megalopolis of Central Mexico. Traditionally the largest megaregion has been considered the Boston-Washington, D.C. Corridor, or the Northeast, as the region is one massive contiguous area. Yet megaregion criterion have allowed the Great Lakes Megalopolis to maintain status as the most populated region, being home to 53,768,125 people in 2000.^[41]

The top ten largest North American metropolitan areas by population as of 2010, based on national census numbers from the United States of America, and census estimates from Canada and Mexico.

Metro Area	Population	Area	Country
Mexico City	21,163,226 1	7,346 square kilometres (2,836 sq mi)	Mexico
New York	18,897,109	17,405 square kilometres (6,720 sq mi)	USA
Los Angeles	12,828,837	12,562 square kilometres (4,850 sq mi)	USA
Chicago	9,461,105	24,814 square kilometres (9,581 sq mi)	USA
Dallas-Fort Worth	6,371,773	24,059 square kilometres (9,289 sq mi)	USA
Delaware Valley	5,965,343	13,256 square kilometres (5,118 sq mi)	USA
Houston	5,946,800	26,061 square kilometres (10,062 sq mi)	USA
Toronto	5,593,212 1	7,124 square kilometres (2,751 sq mi)	Canada
Washington, D.C.	5,582,170	14,412 square kilometres (5,565 sq mi)	USA
Miami	5,564,635	15,896 square kilometres (6,137 sq mi)	USA

1. Figures are estimates for 2009, not official census figures.

Geology

Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America.

Main article: Geology of North America

Canadian geology

Geologically, Canada is one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting of precambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of the Palaeozoic era.^[42] Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive.^[42] Across the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, and uranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in the Arctic,^[43] making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater. The nearby, but less known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to the Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater.^[44] The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.

U.S. geological provinces

The lower 48 U.S. states can be divided into roughly five physiographic provinces:

1. The American cordillera.
2. The Canadian Shield.^[42]
3. The stable platform.
4. The coastal plain.
5. The Appalachian orogenic belt.

The geology of Alaska is typical of that of the cordillera, while the major islands of Hawaii consist of Neogene volcanics erupted over a hot spot.

North America bedrock and terrain

North American cratons and basement rocks

Central American geology

  Central America rests in the Caribbean Plate.

Central America is geologically active with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake, killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killed about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009 killing at least 34 people; in Honduras a powerful earthquake killed 7 people in 2009.

Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968 the Arenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.

Central America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans and other crops.

Economy

Main article: Economy of North America

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

Rank	Country	GDP (PPP, 2010) millions of USD
1	United States	14,657,800
2	Mexico	1,629,917
3	Canada	1,330,272
4	Cuba	125,500
5	Dominican Republic	85,391
6	Guatemala	69,958
7	Costa Rica	51,130
8	Panama	43,725
9	El Salvador	43,640
10	Honduras	33,537

Canada, Mexico and the United States have significant and multifaceted economic systems. The United States has the largest economy in North America, and in the world.^[45] In 2011, the US has an estimated per capita gross domestic product (PPP) of $47,200, and is the most technologically developed economy in North America.^[45] The United States' services sector comprises 76.7% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 22.2% and agriculture comprises 1.2%.^[45] Canada's economic trends are similar to that of the United States, with significant growth in the sectors of services, mining and manufacturing.^[46] Canada's GDP (PPP) was estimated at $39,400 in 2010.^[46] Canada's services sector comprises 78% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 20% and agriculture comprises 2%.^[46] Mexico has a GDP (PPP) of $15,113 per capita and as of 2010 is the 11th largest economy in the world.^[47] Being a newly industrialized country,^[23] Mexico maintains both modern and outdated industrial and agricultural facilities and operations.^[48] Its main sources of income are oil, industrial exports, manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and financial services.^[49]

The North American economy is well defined and structured in three main economic areas.^[50] These areas are the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and the Central American Common Market (CACM).^[50] Of these trade blocs, the United States takes part in two. In addition to the larger trade blocs there is the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement among numerous other free trade relations; often between the larger, more developed countries, and Central American and Caribbean countries.

The North America Free Trade Agreement forms one of the four largest trade blocs in the world.^[51] Its implementation in 1994 allowed for strong economic cooperation with hopes of eliminating barriers of trade and foreign investment between the three northern nations.^[52] While Canada and the United States already conducted the largest bilateral trade relationship - and to present day still do - in the world and Canada - United States trade relations already allowed trade without national taxes and tariffs,^[53] NAFTA allowed Mexico to experience a similar duty free trade. The free trade agreement allowed for the elimination of tariffs that had previously been in place on United States-Mexico trade. Trade volume has steadily increased annually and in 2010, surface trade between the three NAFTA nations reached an all-time historical increase of 24.3% or USD $791 billion.^[54] The NAFTA trade bloc GDP (PPP) is the world's largest with $17.617 USD trillions.^[55] This is in part attributed to the fact that the economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy; the country had a nominal GDP of approximately $14.7 trillion in 2010.^[56] The countries of NAFTA are also some of each others largest trade partners. The United States is the largest trade partner of Canada and Mexico;^[57] while Canada and Mexico are each others third largest trade partners.^[58][59]

The Caribbean trade bloc - CARICOM - came into agreement in 1973 when it was signed by 15 Caribbean nations. As of 2000, CARICOM trade volume was USD $96 billion. CARICOM also allowed for the creation of a common passport for associated nations. In the past decade the trade bloc focused largely on Free Trade Agreements and under the CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) free trade agreements have been signed into effect.

Integration of Central American economies occurred under the signing of the Central American Common Market agreement in 1961; this was the first attempt to engage the nations of this area into stronger financial cooperation. Recent implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has left the future of the CACM unclear.^[60] The Central American Free Trade Agreement was signed by five Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. The focal point of CAFTA is to created a free trade area similar to that of NAFTA. In addition to the United States, Canada also has relations in Central American trade blocs. Currently under proposal, the Canada – Central American Free Trade Agreement (CA4) would operate much the same as CAFTA with the United States does.

North American nations also take part in inter-continental trade blocs. Mexico takes a part in the G3 Free Trade Agreement with Colombia and Venezuela and has a trade agreement with the EU. The United States has proposed and maintained trade agreements under the Transatlantic Free Trade Area between itself and the European Union; the US-Middle East Free Trade Area between numerous Middle Eastern nations and itself; and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership between Southeast Asian nations, Australia, and New Zealand.

Infrastructure

The full Pan American Highway, (including South America), from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Transportation

Main article: Pan-American Highway (North America)

See also: List of North American ports, Rail transport in the United States, Oldest railroads in North America, and First Transcontinental Railroad

The Pan-American Highway route in North America is the portion of a network of roads nearly 48,000 km in length which travels through the mainland nations of the Americas. No definitive length of the Pan American Highway exists because the U.S. and Canadian governments have never officially defined any specific routes as being part of the Pan-American Highway, and Mexico officially has many branches connecting to the U.S. border. However, the total length of the North American portion of the highway is roughly 16,000 miles (26,000 km).

Map of the North American Class I railroad network from 2006

The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built across North America in the 1860s, linking the railroad network of the eastern U.S. with California on the Pacific coast. Finished on May 10, 1869 at the famous Golden spike event at Promontory Summit, Utah, it created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of the American West, catalyzing the transition from the wagon trains of previous decades to a modern transportation system. Although an accomplishment, it achieved the status of first transcontinental railroad by connecting myriad eastern US railroads to the Pacific and was not the largest single railroad system in the world. The Canadian Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) had, by 1867, already accumulated more than 2,055 kilometres (1,277 mi) of track by connecting Portland, Maine, and the three northern New England states with the Canadian Atlantic provinces west as far as Port Huron, Michigan, through Sarnia, Ontario.

Communications

Main article: North American Numbering Plan

Many of the nations of North America cooperate together on a shared telephone system known as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) which is an integrated telephone numbering plan of 24 countries and territories: the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 17 Caribbean nations.

Regions

See also: List of regions of Canada, List of regions of Mexico, and List of regions of the United States

Geographically the North American continent is composed of many regions and subregions. These included regions formed by cultural, economic, and geographic standards. Economic regions included those formed by trade blocs; among notable inclusionss, the North American Trade Agreement bloc and Central American Trade Agreement. Linguistically and culturally, the continent could be divided into Anglo-America and Latin America. Anglo-America includes most of Northern America, Belize, and Caribbean islands with English speaking populations - though sub-national entities such as Louisiana and Quebec are Francophone in composition.

The southern North American continent is often recognized as being composed of two regions. These recognized regions are Central America and the Caribbean.^[61][62] The north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, that which encompasses the whole continent, the term North America is also used to refer to Canada, Mexico, the United States, and Greenland.^{[63][64][65][66][67]}

The term Northern America, originating in reference to the northern-most countries and territories of North America, is used in reference to Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon.^[68][69] Although rarely used,^{[citation needed]} the term Middle America - not to be confused with the Midwestern United States - groups the regions of Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.^[70]

The largest countries of the continent, Canada and the United States, also maintain well-defined and recognized regions. In the case of Canada these are the British Columbia Coast, Canadian Prairies, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada. These regions also maintain numerous subregions. In the case of the United States - and in accordance with the U.S. Census Bureau definitions - these regions are: New England, Mid-Atlantic, East North Central States, West North Central States, South Atlantic States, East South Central States, West South Central States, Mountain States, and Pacific States. Regions shared between both nations included the Great Lakes Region. Megalopolis' have also formed between both nations in the case of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes Megaregion.

Countries, territories, and dependencies

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

A political map of North America

Political map of Central America

A political map of the Caribbean

Below is a table of North American countries and territories divided into three basic regions.^[71][72][73]

Country or territory	Area (km²)[74]	Population (2008 est.)[75]	Population density (per km²)	Capital
North America[note 2]
Bermuda (UK)	&1000000000000005400000054	&1000000000006500000000065,000	1203.7	Hamilton
Canada	&100000000099846700000009,984,670	&1000000003357300000000033,573,000	3.4	Ottawa
Greenland (Den.)	&100000000021660860000002,166,086	&1000000000005700000000057,000	0.026	Nuuk (Godthåb)
Mexico	&100000000019643750000001,964,375	&10000000112322757000000112,322,757	57.1	Mexico City
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Fr.)	&10000000000000242000000242	&100000000000060000000006,000	24.8	Saint-Pierre
United States[note 3]	&100000000096290910000009,629,091	&10000000311630000000000311,630,000	32.7	Washington, D.C.
Caribbean
Anguilla (UK)	&1000000000000009100000091	&1000000000001500000000015,000	164.8	The Valley
Antigua and Barbuda	&10000000000000442000000442	&1000000000008800000000088,000	199.1	St. John's
Aruba (Neth.)	&10000000000000180000000180	&10000000000107000000000107,000	594.4	Oranjestad
Bahamas, The[note 4]	&1000000000001394300000013,943	&10000000000342000000000342,000	24.5	Nassau
Barbados	&10000000000000430000000430	&10000000000256000000000256,000	595.3	Bridgetown
Bonaire (Neth.)	&10000000000000294000000294	&1000000000001209300000012,093[76]	41.1	Kralendijk
British Virgin Islands (UK)	&10000000000000151000000151	&1000000000002300000000023,000	152.3	Road Town
Cayman Islands (UK)	&10000000000000264000000264	&1000000000005600000000056,000	212.1	George Town
Cuba	&10000000000109886000000109,886	&1000000001120400000000011,204,000	102.0	Havana
Curaçao (Neth.)	&10000000000000444000000444	&10000000000140794000000140,794[76]	317.1	Willemstad
Dominica	&10000000000000751000000751	&1000000000006700000000067,000	89.2	Roseau
Dominican Republic	&1000000000004867100000048,671	&1000000001009000000000010,090,000	207.3	Santo Domingo
Grenada	&10000000000000344000000344	&10000000000104000000000104,000	302.3	St. George's
Guadeloupe (Fr.)	&100000000000016280000001,628	&10000000000401784000000401,784[77]	246.7	Basse-Terre
Haiti	&1000000000002775000000027,750	&1000000001003300000000010,033,000	361.5	Port-au-Prince
Jamaica	&1000000000001099100000010,991	&100000000027190000000002,719,000	247.4	Kingston
Martinique (Fr.)	&100000000000011280000001,128	&10000000000397693000000397,693[78]	352.6	Fort-de-France
Montserrat (UK)	&10000000000000102000000102	&100000000000060000000006,000	58.8	Plymouth; Brades[note 5]
Navassa Island (USA)	&100000000000000050000005[79]	&100000000000000000000000[80]	0.0	—
Puerto Rico (USA)	&100000000000088700000008,870	&100000000039820000000003,982,000	448.9	San Juan
Saba (Neth.)	&1000000000000001300000013	&100000000000015370000001,537[76]	118.2	The Bottom
Saint Barthélemy (Fr.)	&1000000000000002100000021[79]	&100000000000074480000007,448[80]	354.7	Gustavia
Saint Kitts and Nevis	&10000000000000261000000261	&1000000000005200000000052,000	199.2	Basseterre
Saint Lucia	&10000000000000539000000539	&10000000000172000000000172,000	319.1	Castries
Saint Martin (Fr.)	&1000000000000005400000054[79]	&1000000000002982000000029,820[80]	552.2	Marigot
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	&10000000000000389000000389	&10000000000109000000000109,000	280.2	Kingstown
Sint Eustatius (Neth.)	&1000000000000002100000021	&100000000000027390000002,739[76]	130.4	Oranjestad
Sint Maarten (Neth.)	&1000000000000003400000034	&1000000000004000900000040,009[76]	1176.7	Philipsburg
Trinidad and Tobago[81]	&100000000000051300000005,130	&100000000013390000000001,339,000	261.0	Port of Spain
Turks and Caicos Islands[note 6] (UK)	&10000000000000948000000948	&1000000000003300000000033,000	34.8	Cockburn Town
United States Virgin Islands (USA)	&10000000000000347000000347	&10000000000110000000000110,000	317.0	Charlotte Amalie
Central America
Belize	&1000000000002296600000022,966	&10000000000307000000000307,000	13.4	Belmopan
Costa Rica	&1000000000005110000000051,100	&100000000045790000000004,579,000	89.6	San José
El Salvador	&1000000000002104100000021,041	&100000000061630000000006,163,000	293.0	San Salvador
Guatemala	&10000000000108889000000108,889	&1000000001402700000000014,027,000	128.8	Guatemala City
Honduras	&10000000000112492000000112,492	&100000000074660000000007,466,000	66.4	Tegucigalpa
Nicaragua	&10000000000130373000000130,373	&100000000057430000000005,743,000	44.1	Managua
Panama[81][note 7]	&1000000000007541700000075,417	&100000000034540000000003,454,000	45.8	Panama City
Total	&1000000002450099500000024,500,995	&10000000541720440000000541,720,440	22.9

Usage of the term North America

The term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In English, North America may be used to refer to the United States and Canada together.^[82] Alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland^[65][66][67] and Mexico (as in the North American Free Trade Agreement),^{[63][66][71][72][73]} as well as offshore islands.

In Ibero-America and other parts of Europe,^[which?] North America usually designates a subcontinent of the Americas containing Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and often Greenland, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, and Bermuda.^[83]

North America has been historically referred to by other names. Spanish North America (New Spain) was often referred to as Northern America, and this was the first official name given to Mexico.^[84]

Outside of North America, going into the twentieth century, the whole American continent (North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean) was referred simply as "America" or "The Americas", one of the "Five Continents" (the other four being, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania).^[85]

See also

Americas (terminology) European colonization of the Americas Fortress North America Mountain peaks of North America Nearctic ecozone Turtle Island (North America) Voyages of Christopher Columbus

Organizations and agreements: Caribbean Community North American Aerospace Defense Command Organization of American States

• North America portal
• Caribbean portal
• Latin America portal
• Geography portal

Notes

1. ^ This North American density figure is based on a total land area of 23,090,542 km² only, considerably less than the total combined land and water area of 24,709,000 km².
2. ^ This definition of North America includes only the four northernmost territorial entities of Canada, the United States, Greenland, Mexico, and the nearby islands of Bermuda - off the coast and east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina - and Saint Pierre and Miquelon - off the coast and south of Newfoundland and Labrador. References include ^[71][72][73]
3. ^ Includes the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is distant from the North American landmass in the Pacific Ocean and therefore more commonly associated with the other territories of Oceania.
4. ^ Since the Lucayan Archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean rather than Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas are part of the West Indies but are not technically part of the Caribbean, although the United Nations groups them with the Caribbean.
5. ^ Due to ongoing activity of the Soufriere Hills volcano beginning in July 1995, much of Plymouth was destroyed and government offices were relocated to Brades. Plymouth remains the de jure capital.
6. ^ Since the Lucayan Archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean rather than Caribbean Sea, the Turks and Caicos Islands are part of the West Indies but are not technically part of the Caribbean, although the United Nations groups them with the Caribbean.
7. ^ Panama is generally considered a North American country, though some authorities divide it at the Panama Canal. Figures listed here are for the entire country.

References

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78. ^ "Insee - Populations légales 2008 - 972-Martinique". Insee.fr. http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/recensement/populations-legales/departement.asp?dep=972&annee=2008. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
79. ^ ^{a b c} Land area figures taken from "The World Factbook: 2010 edition". Government of the United States, Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html. Retrieved 2010-10-14. 
80. ^ ^{a b c} These population estimates are for 2010, and are taken from "The World Factbook: 2010 edition". Government of the United States, Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html. Retrieved 2010-10-14. 
81. ^ ^{a b} Depending on definitions, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago have territory in either or both of North and South America.
82. ^ 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.
83. ^ In Ibero-America, North America is considered a subcontinent containing Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Bermuda and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon."(Mexican version) (archived from Norteamérica the original on 2009-01-30)
84. ^ "Acta Solmente de la Declaración de Independencia de la América Septentrional". Archivos de la Independencia. Archivo General de la Nación. http://www.agn.gob.mx/independencia/documentos.html. Retrieved 8 July 2011. 
85. ^ Lewis, Martin W.; Wigen, Kären (1997). The myth of continents: a critique of metageography. University of California Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780520207431. http://books.google.com/books?id=C2as0sWxFBAC. 

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	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Wikimedia Commons category - North America
  • Wikimedia Commons category - Atlas of North America
• 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
• Houghton Mifflin Company, "North America"
• Council on Hemispheric Affairs
• Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration
• Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, "North America"

Links to related articles v d e North America Outline of North America Culture · History · Demographics · Economy · Geography · Politics Culture Art (Architecture · Cinema · Music · Painting · Sculpture) · Cuisine · Languages (Endangered) · Philosophy · Religion (Christianity · Islam · Judaism) · Sport · Symbols · Universities History Settlement of the Americas · Paleo-Indians · Pre-Columbian era · European colonization (New Spain · New France · British North America) · 19th century · 20th century Demographics Ethnic groups (Indigenous peoples · Classification) · Immigration · Life expectancy · Population · Population density Economy GDP (nominal) (per capita) · GDP (PPP) (per capita) · GNI (nominal) per capita · GNI (PPP) per capita · budget revenues (per capita) · HDI · Corruption Perceptions Index · Minimum wages · CARICOM · NAFTA Geography Area and population · Countries and dependent territories · Cities · Villages · Geology · Islands · Lakes · Mountains · Rivers · Extreme points Politics American imperialism · Anglosphere · North American Union · Organization of American States · Transatlantic Other Financial and social rankings · Internet users · Maps Portal v d e Countries and dependencies of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador France Guadeloupe Martinique Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Netherlands Bonaire Saba Sint Eustatius Panama St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies Denmark Greenland France Clipperton Island St. Barthélemy St. Martin St. Pierre and Miquelon Netherlands Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten United Kingdom Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands United States Bajo Nuevo Bank Navassa Island Puerto Rico Serranilla Bank U.S. Virgin Islands v d e Continents     Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe North America South America     Afro-Eurasia Americas Eurasia Oceania Geological supercontinents Historical continents Afro-Eurasia-America Gondwana Laurasia Pangaea Pannotia Rodinia Columbia Kenorland Nena Ur Vaalbara Arctica Asiamerica Atlantica Avalonia Baltica Cimmeria Congo craton Euramerica Kalaharia Kazakhstania Laurentia North China Siberia South China East Antarctica India Submerged continents Possible future supercontinents Mythical and theorized continents Kerguelen Plateau Zealandia Pangaea Ultima Amasia Novopangaea Atlantis Kumari Kandam Lemuria Meropis Mu Terra Australis See also Regions of the world v d e Regions of the World Africa Northern Middle East Sub-Saharan Central Southern Western Eastern Oceania Australasia Australia Zealandia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia America North Northern Middle Central Caribbean South Southern Northern Western Anglo Latin Polar Regions Arctic Antarctic Asia Central Eastern Northeastern Northern Southeastern Mainland Maritime Southern Indian subcontinent Western Middle East Oceans World Arctic Atlantic Indian Pacific Southern Europe Central Eastern Northern Southeastern Middle East Southern Western Seas List of seas Related Continents of the world List of seas Physical Earth

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