Northerly United states occurs as continent in the northern hemisphere, bordered on the northerly per Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Northerly Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west per Northerly Pacific Ocean. It covers an metropolitan area of 9,355,000 square miles (24,230,000 square km). Inside 2001 its people was calculated at 454,225,000. These are a third big continent inside vicinity, fallowing Asia and Africa, & is quaternary around people when Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Two Northward & South America are named fallowing Amerigo Vespucci, who was a number one European to indicate that a Americas were non a East Indies, but the antecedently undiscovered (by Europeans) New World.

N Us occupies a northern part of a landmass usually known as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or only Usa. N America's exclusively land connection is to South United states at a narrow Isthmus of Panama. (For geopolitical reasons, a lot of Panama – including the section east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is often considered the section of N Us alone.) Based on data from a few authorities, Northerly Us begins non at a Isthmus of Panama however at a Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with a intervening region known as Central America and resting on the Caribbean Plate. Virtually all, yet, tend to look at Central United states of americthe as a area of Northward America, shopping for it as well little to become a continent in its have. Greenland, although a section of N Usa geographically, is non considered to exist as section of the continent politically. Physical features

Plate tectonics recognizes a brobdingnagian majority of N United states when existence the surface of the North American Plate. A portion of California is known for being a edge of the Pacific Plate, with them plates meeting along a San Andreas fault.

A continent may be divided into quatern peachy regions (every of which contains several sub-regions): a Great Plains stretching from a Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic; a geologically immature, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, California and Alaska; the raised however comparatively flat tableland of the Canadian Shield in a northeast; and a varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains, a coastal plain along a Atlantic seaside, & the Florida peninsula. Mexico, by owning its hanker plateaus and cordilleras, falls largely in a american vicinity, although a eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf.

A american mountains come split around a midst, into a independent range of the Rockies & the coast mountains in California, Oregon and Washington, with the Swell Basin – a moo front yard containing little ranges & great-lying deserts – in between. A greatest peak is Denali in Alaska.

Since 1931, Rugby, North Dakota, has officially been recognized as existence at a geographic center of N Us. the location is marked by a Quaternity.Phoebe metre (Xv foot) field stone obelisk.

Image:North united states of america terrain 2003 map.jpg|North America bedrock and terrain. Image:North united states of america basement rocks.png|North American cratons and basement rocks. Image:North United states of america Tectonic Elements.jpg|Tectonic elements of North America Image:North us craton nps.gif|North America craton.

Regional and political divisions
On the independent continent landmass, there are terzetto big & comparatively thickly settled countries: Canada - many big islands off a shore of N Us belong to Canada, including Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands on the west, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island on the east, and Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island, and Victoria Island to the north) Mexico - the Revillagigedo archipelago and numerous smaller islands off its coast belong to Mexico The United States - the 48 contiguous states & Alaska are part of Northward Usa, piece a state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean is not; a Aleutian Islands south of Alaska also belong to the U.S.

At the southern prevent of the continent, inside a comparatively little vicinity called Central America, are a countries of: Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama ¹

At a southeastern prevent of the celibate lies a chain of islands territories known as the Antilles, the Caribbean or the West Indies, which include the countries:

Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago ¹ & a dependencies: Anguilla (British dependency) Aruba ² (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Cayman Islands (British dependency) Guadeloupe (overseas department of France) Martinique (overseas department of France) Montserrat (British dependency) Navassa Island (U.S. territory) Netherlands Antilles ¹ (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) Puerto Rico (U.S. commonwealth) Turks and Caicos Islands (British dependency) British Virgin Islands (British dependency) U.S. Virgin Islands (territory of the USA)

Lying in the Atlantic Ocean but considered part of a continent come the dependencies: Bermuda, a British dependency found all about 1,072 kilometer (670 mi.) southeast of New York City Greenland, the big isl& in the globe and the self-sovereign dependency of Denmark, which is located in the far northerly of the continent to the east of Nunavut. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the in the south coast of Newfoundland, is the last of France's once brobdingnagian possessions inside United states of america northerly of the Caribbean.

^Unity These states & dependencies use at times territory two within Northward & South Usa.
^Deuce These dependencies lie inside South Usa, however come considered Northward Our contries because of ethnic & historical reasons.
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A United States, Canada, & a more English-speaking nations of the Americas (Belize, Guyana, and a Anglophone Caribbean) come for instance grouped under a term Anglo-America, while a left over nations of Northerly & South United states come grouped under a term Latin America.

As an alternative, Northern America is utilized to refer to Canada & a U.S. together, spell Central America is mainland North Us less Northern Us. A West Indies generally include all islands in the Caribbean Sea. In that respect, Latin America generally includes Central United states of america & South America &, another time, a West Indies.

A term "North America" could mean different items to different population. A term around most common usage is typically taken to mean "The United States and Canada, only" by a few population of a United States & Canada, excluding Mexico & a countries of Central United states of america, unless the context makes it clear that it is to exist as involved (like by owning specific information to Mexico, whenever talking all about NAFTA). For instance, guides to uncivilized flora & animal published per National Audubon Society for "North America" oft include lone coinage incurred within Canada & a U.S.

This can be attributed to a fact that unfeeling & economically, the U.S. & Canada come supplementary like to every more than it is to the rest of N America. Mexicans, all the same, come acutely caring that Mexico occurs as a portion of N Usa & object to this usage. Telephone exchange Americans, notwithstanding, come typically content to become known as Exchange Americans – largely because of their divided up history, which includes many tries at supranational integration in the region & where their good deal big northern neighbor was never required.

Political divisions – area and population data