NORTH AMERICA ************* North America is third largest of the seven continents, including Canada (the second largest country in area in the world), the United States (4th largest), and Mexico (13th largest). The continental shelf also contains Greenland (the largest island); the large archipelago of Arctic islands; Newfoundland; Nova Scotia; and the small French overseas department of St Pierre and Miquelon. With more than 360 million inhabitants (1991 estimate), North America is the 4th most populous continent; the United States ranks 4th and Mexico 11th in population among the world's countries. Canada and the United States have technologically developed early modern economies, and Mexico, although less technologically developed than its neighbours, contains some of the world's greatest deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Together with Central America, the West Indies, and South America, North America makes up what is sometimes known as the western hemisphere of the earth. North America is sometimes depicted to include Central America and the West Indies. The name America is derived from that of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who may have visited the mainland of North America in 1497 and 1498. The Natural Environment ----------------------- North America is roughly wedge shaped, with its broadest expanse in the north. Most of its bulk is in the middle latitudes, with a considerable northern section in the Arctic and a narrow part around the Tropic of Cancer. The continent sprawls east-west across some 176° of longitude, from about longitude 12° west at Nordost Rundingen (Northeast Foreland) in northeastern Greenland to about longitude 172° east at the western extremity of Attu Island, Alaska. Its northern-southern extent is some 69°, from about latitude 83° north at Cape Morris Jesup in eastern Greenland (the most northerly point of land in the world) to about latitude 14° north in southern Mexico. North America is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The area of the continent is roughly 23.5 million sq km (9.1 million sq mi). The outline of North America is exceedingly irregular; some extensive coastal reaches are relatively smooth, but by and large the coastline is broken and embayed, with many prominent offshore islands. The continent has three enormous coastal indentations-Hudson Bay in the northeast, the Gulf of Mexico in the southeast, and the Gulf of Alaska in the northwest. There are many small islands near the eastern and western coasts, but the most prominent islands are in the far north. Physiographic Regions --------------------- North America can be divided into five major physiographic regions. The eastern half of Canada, as well as most of Greenland and sections of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York in the United States, are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian Plateau), which is a plateau region underlain by ancient crystalline rocks. The region has poor soil, and dense forests cover much of its southern part. A second region is made up of a coastal plain in most of the eastern United States and Mexico. In the United States the coastal plain is bordered on the west by a third region, comprising a relatively narrow cordillera of mountains and hills, notably the rounded Appalachian Mountains. A fourth region consists of the central portion of the continent, from southern Canada to southwestern Texas, which encompasses an extensive lowland that has encountered alternating periods of submergence beneath the sea and uplift, with the result that it is deeply covered with layers of sedimentary rock. It is not an uninterrupted flatland, but includes much undulating and even hilly terrain, such as the Ozark Plateau. The western portion is made up of the Great Plains, which slope upwards to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The fifth, and westernmost, region of North America, taking in most of Mexico, is an active zone of mountain building; its recent geological history is dominated by crustal movements and volcanic activity. Adjacent to the Great Plains in the United States and Canada are the Rocky Mountains, which are geologically related to the Sierra Madre Oriental range of Mexico. To the west is an area of scattered basins and high plateaus, including the Interior Plateau of British Columbia in Canada, the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin of the United States, and the vast central plateau of Mexico. Along the Pacific coast are a number of lofty mountain systems, extending from the Alaska Range to the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur of Mexico. In between are such ranges as the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Interspersed are some low-lying areas, notably the fertile Central Valley of California. The highest point in North America, Mount McKinley, or Denali (6,194 m/20,320 ft), is situated in the Alaska Range, and the lowest point, 86 m (282 ft) below sea level, is in Death Valley, California, a part of the Great Basin. Climate ------- Although North America has considerable climatic variety, five principal climatic regions can be distinguished. The northern two-thirds of Canada and Alaska, as well as all of Greenland, have subarctic and arctic climates, in which long, dark, bitterly cold winters alternate with brief, mild summers. Most of the region, which receives relatively little precipitation, is covered with snow and ice during much of the year. A second climatic region is made up of the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southern Canada. It is characterized by a humid climate in which all four seasons are evident, and weather changes are frequent. The southern part of this region has a warmer average temperature. A third region includes the western interior of the United States and much of northern Mexico. It is mostly mountain and desert country, generally receiving small amounts of precipitation, but with significant local variations due to altitude and exposure. A fourth climatic region is made up of a narrow zone along the Pacific Ocean from southern Alaska to southern California. It has relatively mild but wet winters and almost rainless summers. Most of southern Mexico has a tropical climate, with year-round warmth and considerable precipitation, especially in summer. Vegetation ---------- The natural vegetation of North America has been significantly modified by human activity, but its general nature is still apparent over much of the continent. The most notable forest is the taiga, or boreal forest, an enormous expanse of mostly coniferous trees (especially spruce, fir, hemlock, and larch) that covers most of southern and central Canada and extends into Alaska. In the eastern United States a mixed forest, dominated by deciduous trees in the north and by various species of yellow pine in the southeast, has mostly been cleared or cut over, but a considerable area has regrown since the 1940s. In the western portion of the continent, forests are primarily associated with mountain ranges, and coniferous trees are dominant. In California, the redwood and giant sequoia grow to enormous size. A great mixture of species characterizes the tropical forests of Mexico. The vegetation cover in the drier parts of the continent is made up mainly of grassland and shrubland. The central plains and prairies of the United States and southern Canada were initially grass covered, but much of the natural flora has been replaced by commercial crops. The dry lands of the western United States and northern Mexico are sparsely covered with a variety of shrubs and many kinds of cactus. Beyond the tree line in the far north is a region of tundra, containing a mixture of low-growing sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Animal Life ----------- The native wildlife of North America was once numerous and diverse, but the spread of human settlement has resulted in contracting habitats and diminishing numbers. In general, the fauna of North America is similar to that of the northern areas of Europe and Asia. Notable large mammals include several kinds of bear, the largest being the grizzly; bighorn sheep; bison, now only in protected herds; caribou; moose, called elk in Europe; musk-ox; and wapiti. Large carnivores include the puma and, in southernmost regions, the jaguar; the wolf and its smaller relative, the coyote; and, in the far north, the polar bear. One species of marsupial, the common opossum, is indigenous to the continent. A few of the many reptiles are poisonous, including the coral snake, pit vipers such as the rattlesnake and copperhead, and the Gila monster and beaded lizard of the southwestern United States and Mexico, the only poisonous lizards in the world. A great variety of finfish and shellfish live in the marine waters off North America, and many kinds of fish are found in its freshwater rivers and lakes. The People ---------- North America was sparsely populated until relatively recent times. With the conspicuous exception of the inhabitants of the Mexican heartland (the plateaus and valleys around present-day Mexico City), the indigenous peoples of the continent were geographically scattered and culturally diverse. The settlement of the continent by Europeans began an almost total change in its human geography; Europeans decimated and displaced the indigenous peoples, and the living patterns of most were greatly altered. The contemporary population of North America is mostly European in background, but the continent's population also contains many other significant groups. Languages --------- English is the principal language for some 90 per cent of the people of the United States and for about two-thirds of all Canadians. Spanish is spoken by the majority of Hispanic people in the United States, and French is the chief tongue for about one-quarter of the Canadian population. Many of the native peoples and Inuit of the United States, Canada, and Greenland use their traditional languages. Spanish is the dominant language of Mexico, but several million Mexicans speak a Native American language. Religion -------- Christianity is the predominant religion of North America. The great majority of Mexicans are Roman Catholics, and some 45 per cent of Canadians and 26 per cent of US inhabitants profess Roman Catholicism. About 39 per cent of Canada's people are Protestants of which some 11 per cent are Anglicans. In the United States, Protestants comprise 60 per cent of the population. Canada and the United States also have substantial communities of Jews and Eastern Orthodox Christians.