North America

In their 1507 book Cosmographiae Introductio, Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringman published a map of the New World, and were the first to associate it with the name America. It was named after Amerigo (in Latin, Americus) Vespucci, an explorer who visited the continent twice and claimed Christopher Columbus’s discovery was actually a new continent. Since continents were referred to in the feminine form, Americus became America on the Cosmographiae Introductio map.

Occupying 9.5 million square miles and extending into both the Northern and Western Hemispheres, North America is the world’s third largest continent, after Asia and Africa respectively. Its western border is the Pacific Ocean while the east borders the Atlantic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is in the north while South America and the Caribbean Sea are in the south. The world’s longest highway, the Pan-American Highway, stretches from Alaska to Panama and travels through fourteen countries.

The twenty-three nations and additional territories and provinces of North America are home to 565 million people, or 7.6 percent of the world’s population. It is the fourth-most populous continent after Asia, Africa, and Europe. The largest country in North America is Canada, while the smallest is the island country of Saint Christopher and Nevis in the West Indies.

The first people to occupy America were Paleo-Indians from Asia, who first crossed the Bering Strait between 15,000 and 18,000 years ago. Over time they branched into every region of both North and South America. European colonists began arriving early in the sixteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century they had dominated the native populations.

Much of North America’s flora and fauna is unique to the continent. However, the invasion of foreign plants and animals and the destruction of habitat threaten thousands of species.

Geography and Climate

North America is a continent of extreme geographical and climatic diversity. Stretching from the Aleutian Islands in the north to the Isthmus of Panama in the south, the continent’s climate varies from tropical to temperate to bitter cold. Active volcanoes, powerful hurricanes, and scores of annual tornados are some of North America’s natural extremes.

Vast expanses of dry prairie and desert, rich forests, majestic watersheds, and lofty mountains characterize much of North America’s terrain. Among the continent’s geographic regions are the Caribbean, the Great Plains, the eastern region, and the Canadian Shield. An array of flora and fauna is unique to each biome.

Some of North America’s longest rivers include the Río Coco, the Missouri, the Yukon, the Columbia, the Mississippi, and Río Lempa. Lake Superior in the upper Midwest of the United States and southern Canada is the world’s largest in surface area and contains one-tenth of world’s supply of fresh water. Other major lakes include Lake Chapala, Lake Nicaragua, and Lake Enriquillo.

Some of the world’s oldest biomes exist in North America. For example, the southern Appalachians have the world’s second most diverse population of flora and fauna in the world. Unique plants and animals are found in the tropical forests of Central America.

Urban sprawl, pollution, and deforestation have wreaked havoc on the habitats of thousands of native plants and animals. Canada and the United States, especially, have undertaken conservation and restoration efforts.

Economy

For more than 140 years, the United States has been dominant among world economies. The disparity between it and other North American countries is sometimes extreme. The per capita gross domestic product for the United States was $55,800 according to a 2015 estimate; in Mexico it was $17,500 and in Nicaragua it was $5,000.

Economic activity in North America ranges from subsistence farming to the most advanced technologies in the world, especially in such sectors as healthcare, aerospace, and digital technologies. Infrastructure is most advanced in the United States.

The two major economic regions of North America are well-defined. The largely English-speaking countries of Canada and the United States have highly advanced economies with high standards of living, while many in Latin nations live in poverty.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a major ongoing effort to increase trade within the participant nations. The Central American Free Trade Agreement and the Caribbean Community and Common Market are two other important trade agreements among North American countries.

Dairy and meat products, grains, fruits, and vegetables are North America’s primary agricultural products. Lumber and wood products remain a major export in spite of the destruction associated with over-harvesting of timber.

One of the world’s leading producers of coal, North America also drills for and produces a significant quantity of the world’s oil and gas. These industries are especially important in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The continent also produces and exports large amounts of bauxite, copper, and nickel.

Manufacturing has been in a steady decline in the United States, supplanted by a massive service industry. Thanks partly to NAFTA, the manufacturing sector has grown in many of the Latin states, especially Mexico.

The financial center of the world is New York City, with London a close second and Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore rapidly growing in importance. The US dollar remains the world’s most popular currency, while investment and foreign aid from the United States benefit nations around the world.

Demographics

The US population comprises nationalities and cultures from practically everywhere in the world. Canada and some Caribbean countries are somewhat diverse. Most of Latin America’s populations are more homogenous.

More than 323 million people live in the United States, and although whites make up the largest single demographic group, the number of combined minorities exceeds their number. Mexico, the second most populous country in North America, has about 123 million people.

Except for Canada and some sections of the United States, population density is high in most regions of North America. Two of the world’s largest cities, Mexico City and New York City, are in North America.

French and English share official-language status in Canada, and English and Spanish are the two principal languages spoken in the United States. Spanish predominates in most other countries.

Population growth is a major challenge for the poorer countries that can least afford it. Conversely, flat growth in the United States and Canada equate to an expected loss of tax revenues. These two countries also have the fastest-growing populations of older adults, and the shrinking tax base threatens the funding of pensions and social welfare programs.

Bibliography

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