The North American plate, shown in brown

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust. The interior of the main continental landmass includes an extensive granitic core called a craton. Along most of the edges of this craton are fragments of crustal material called terranes, accreted to the craton by tectonic actions over the long span of geologic time. It is believed that much of North America west of the Rockies is composed of such terranes.

Geographic extent[link]

The easterly side of the North American Plate is a divergent boundary with the Eurasian Plate to the north and the African Plate to the south forming the northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The southerly boundary with the Cocos Plate to the west and the Caribbean Plate to the east is a transform fault, represented by the Cayman Trench under the Caribbean Sea and the Motagua Fault through Guatemala. The parallel Septentrional and Enriquillo-Plantain Garden faults, which run through the island of Hispaniola and bound the Gonâve Microplate, are also a part of the boundary. The rest of the southerly margin which extends east to the Mid Atlantic Ridge and marks the boundary between the North American Plate and the South American Plate remains poorly understood and undefined.

On the northerly boundary is a continuation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge called the Gakkel Ridge. The rest of the boundary in the far northwestern part of the plate extends into Siberia. This boundary continues from the end of the Gakkel Ridge as the Laptev Sea Rift, on to a transitional deformation zone in the Chersky Range, then the Ulakhan Fault between it and the Okhotsk Plate, and finally the Aleutian Trench to the end of the Queen Charlotte Fault system.

The westerly boundary is the Queen Charlotte Fault running offshore along the coast of Alaska and the Cascadia subduction zone to the north, the San Andreas Fault through California, the East Pacific Rise in the Gulf of California, and the Middle America Trench to the south.

On its western edge the Farallon Plate has been subducting under the North American Plate since the Jurassic Period. The Farallon Plate has almost completely subducted beneath the western portion of the North American Plate leaving that part of the North American Plate in contact with the Pacific Plate as the San Andreas Fault. The Juan de Fuca, Explorer, Gorda, Cocos and Nazca Plates are remnants of the Farallon Plate.

The boundary along the Gulf of California is complex. The Gulf is underlain by the Gulf of California Rift Zone, a series of rift basins and transform fault segments between the northern end of the East Pacific Rise in the mouth of the gulf to the San Andreas Fault system in the vicinity of the Salton Trough rift/Brawley seismic zone.^[1][2]

It is generally accepted that a piece of the North American Plate was broken off and transported north as the East Pacific Rise propagated northward, creating the Gulf of California. However, it is as yet unclear whether the oceanic crust east of the Rise and west of the mainland coast of Mexico is actually a new plate beginning to converge with the North American Plate, consistent with the standard model of rift zone spreading centers generally.^{[citation needed]}

Hotspots[link]

A few hotspots are thought to exist below the North American Plate. The most notable hotspots are the Yellowstone (Wyoming), Raton (New Mexico), and Anahim hotspots (British Columbia). These are thought to be caused by a narrow stream of hot mantle convecting up the Earth's core-mantle boundary called a mantle plume,^[3] although some geologists prefer upper-mantle convection as a cause.^[4][5] The Yellowstone and Anahim hotspots are thought to have first arrived during the Miocene period and are still geologically active, creating earthquakes and volcanoes. The Yellowstone hotspot is most notable for the Yellowstone Caldera and the many calderas that lie in the Snake River Plain while the Anahim hotspot is most notable for the Anahim Volcanic Belt, currently found in the Nazko Cone area.

Plate motion[link]

For the most part, the North American Plate moves in roughly a southwest direction away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The motion of the plate cannot be driven by subduction as no part of the North American Plate is being subducted, except for a very small section comprising part of the Puerto Rico Trench; thus other mechanisms continue to be investigated.

One recent study suggests that a mantle convective current is propelling the plate.^[6]

See also[link]

• Geologic timeline of Western North America
• Gold in California

References[link]

Notes

v t e Tectonic plates Major African · Antarctic · Eurasian · Indo-Australian · North American · Pacific · South American Minor Arabian · Caribbean · Cocos · Juan de Fuca · Nazca · Philippine · Scotia Other Aegean Sea · Altiplano · Amurian · Anatolian · Apulian · Australian · Balmoral Reef · Banda Sea · Bird's Head · Burma · Capricorn · Caroline · Conway Reef · Easter · Explorer · Falklands · Futuna · Galapagos · Gonâve · Gorda · Greenland · Halmahera · Iberian · Indian · Iranian · Juan Fernández · Kerguelen · Kermadec · Kula · Madagascar · Manus · Maoke · Mariana · Molucca Sea · New Hebrides · Niuafo'ou · North Andes · North Bismarck · North Galapagos · Nubian · Okhotsk · Okinawa · Panama · Pelso · Philippine Mobile Belt · Rivera · Sangihe · Seychelles · Shetland · Solomon Sea · Somali · South Bismarck · South Sandwich · Sri Lanka · Sunda · Timor · Tisza · Tonga · Woodlark · Yangtze All List of tectonic plates

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 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 west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

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 across 23 independent states. North America is the third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Etymology[link]

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[link]

Geologic history[link]

Laurentia is an ancient craton which forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 to 1.0 billion years ago during the Proterozoic eon.^[7] The Canadian Shield is the largest exposure of this craton. From the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic eras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinent Pangaea, with Eurasia to its east. One of the results of the formation of Pangaea was the Appalachian Mountains, which formed some 480 million years ago, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 million years ago, North America became part of Laurasia, before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid-Cretaceous period.^[8] The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from a period of mountain building called the Laramide orogeny, between 80 and 55 million years ago. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama connected the continent to South America about three million years ago, and the Great Lakes (as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago.

North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods.^[9] The geographic area that would later become the United States has been the source of more varieties of dinosaurs than any other modern country.^[9] According to paleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history.^[9] Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent.^[9] The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America is the Morrison Formation of the western United States.^[10]

Pre-Columbian[link]

The ruins of Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

Anthropologists have a number of models explaining 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. Anthropologists think 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.^[11] The best known evidence that supports this theory is Kennewick Man.^[12]

During the thousands of years of native habitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. One of the oldest cultures yet found is the Clovis culture of modern New Mexico. Later cultures include the Mississippian culture and related Mound building cultures, found in the Mississippi river valley and the Pueblo culture of what is now the Four Corners. 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).

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.^[13] 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.^[14]

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

Post-Columbian[link]

During the Age of Discovery, Europeans began exploring and staking claims in various parts of North America. Upon their arrival 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,^[15] as well as violent conflicts. 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.

Britain, Spain, and France fought over and established extensive territories in North America. In the late 18th century and beginning of the 19th, several independence movements started across the continent, which would create its modern countries. The 13 British colonies on the North Atlantic coast declared independence in 1776, becoming the United States of America. Canada was formed from the unification of northern territories controlled by Britain and France. 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[link]

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^[16][17][18] with North America a subcontinent).^[19] 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.^[20][21][22] 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.^[23] 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).^[24]

Demographics[link]

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 US 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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27] 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[link]

North American cities

Mexico City

New York City

Los Angeles

Chicago

Toronto

The most populous country in North America, over doubling the second largest country in population, is the United States with 303,606,020 persons.^[28] 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.^[29] Canada is the third largest country with a population of 32,623,490.^[30] 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.^{[31][32][33][34][35]}

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.^[36]

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.^[37] 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.^[38] Canada also breaks into the top ten largest metropolitan areas with the Toronto metropolitan area having five and half million citizens.^[39] 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.^[40][41]

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.^[42] 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.^[43]

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.

1. Figures are 2011 census figures.

Geology[link]

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

Canadian geology[link]

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.^[44] Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive.^[44] 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,^[45] 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.^[46] The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.

U.S. geological provinces[link]

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

1. The American cordillera.
2. The Canadian Shield.^[44]
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[link]

  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[link]

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.^[47] 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.^[47] 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%.^[47] Canada's economic trends are similar to that of the United States, with significant growth in the sectors of services, mining and manufacturing.^[48] Canada's GDP (PPP) was estimated at $39,400 in 2010.^[48] Canada's services sector comprises 78% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 20% and agriculture comprises 2%.^[48] Mexico has a GDP (PPP) of $15,113 per capita and as of 2010 is the 11th largest economy in the world.^[49] Being a newly industrialized country,^[25] Mexico maintains both modern and outdated industrial and agricultural facilities and operations.^[50] Its main sources of income are oil, industrial exports, manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and financial services.^[51]

The North American economy is well defined and structured in three main economic areas.^[52] These areas are the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and the Central American Common Market (CACM).^[52] 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.^[53] Its implementation in 1994 allowed for strong economic cooperation with hopes of eliminating barriers of trade and foreign investment between the three northern nations.^[54] 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,^[55] 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.^[56] The NAFTA trade bloc GDP (PPP) is the world's largest with $17.617 USD trillions.^[57] 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.^[58] 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;^[59] while Canada and Mexico are each others third largest trade partners.^[60][61]

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.^[62] 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[link]

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

Transportation[link]

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 10 May 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[link]

Many of the nations of North America cooperate 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[link]

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.^[63][64] 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.^{[65][66][67][68][69]}

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.^[70][71] 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.^[72]

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[link]

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.^[73][74][75]

Country or territory	Area (km²)[76]	Population (2008 est.)[77]	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[78]	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[78]	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[79]	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[80]	352.6	Fort-de-France
Montserrat (UK)	&10000000000000102000000102	&100000000000060000000006,000	58.8	Plymouth; Brades[note 5]
Navassa Island (USA)	&100000000000000050000005[81]	&100000000000000000000000[82]	0.0	—
Puerto Rico (USA)	&100000000000088700000008,870	&100000000039820000000003,982,000	448.9	San Juan
Saba (Neth.)	&1000000000000001300000013	&100000000000015370000001,537[78]	118.2	The Bottom
Saint Barthélemy (Fr.)	&1000000000000002100000021[81]	&100000000000074480000007,448[82]	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[81]	&1000000000002982000000029,820[82]	552.2	Marigot
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	&10000000000000389000000389	&10000000000109000000000109,000	280.2	Kingstown
Sint Eustatius (Neth.)	&1000000000000002100000021	&100000000000027390000002,739[78]	130.4	Oranjestad
Sint Maarten (Neth.)	&1000000000000003400000034	&1000000000004000900000040,009[78]	1176.7	Philipsburg
Trinidad and Tobago[83]	&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[83][note 7]	&1000000000007541700000075,417	&100000000034540000000003,454,000	45.8	Panama City
Total	&1000000002450099500000024,500,995	&10000000541720440000000541,720,440	22.9

[edit] 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.^[84] Alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland^[67][68][69] and Mexico (as in the North American Free Trade Agreement),^{[65][68][73][74][75]} 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.^[85]

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.^[86]

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).^[87]

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about North America on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• 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 t 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 t e Countries and dependencies of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Colombia San Andrés and Providencia Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador France Guadeloupe Martinique Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Iceland 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 Navassa Island Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Venezuela Isla Aves v t 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 t 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 Guianan States Anglo Latin (Hispanic) 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