It is unknown with certainty how and whenfirst human populations first reached North America. People were known to live in theAmericas at least 20,000 years ago,[12] but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates.[13][14] ThePaleo-Indian period in North America followed the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when theArchaic period began. Theclassic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, theNorse were the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America.
Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such asEnglish,Spanish, andFrench, and the cultures of the region commonly reflectWestern traditions. However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions.
A 1621 map of North AmericaA 1908 map of North America, published inThe Harmsworth atlas and Gazetter
TheAmericas were named after the Italian explorerAmerigo Vespucci byGerman cartographersMartin Waldseemüller andMatthias Ringmann.[15] Vespucci exploredSouth America between 1497 and 1502, and was the first European to suggest that the Americas represented a landmass then unknown to the Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map, and placed the word "America" on the continent of present-day South America.[16] The continent north of present-day Mexico was then referred to as Parias.[17] On a 1553 world map published byPetrus Apianus,[18] North America was called "Baccalearum", meaning "realm of the Cod fish", in reference to the abundance ofcod on theEast Coast.[19]
Waldseemüller used theLatinized version of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form of "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia", and "Africa". Americus originated fromMedieval LatinEmericus (seeSaint Emeric of Hungary), coming from the Old High German nameEmmerich. Map makers later extended the name America to North America.
TheSpanish Empire called its territories in North and South America "Las Indias", and the name given to the state body that oversaw the region was called theCouncil of the Indies.
TheUnited Nations and itsstatistics division recognize North America as including three subregions:Northern America,Central America, and theCaribbean.[22] "Northern America" is a term distinct from "North America", excluding the Caribbean andCentral America, which alsoincludes Mexico. In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
North America includes several regions and subregions, each of which have their own respective cultural, economic, and geographic regions. Economic regions include several regions formalized in 20th- and 21st-century trade agreements, includingNAFTA betweenCanada,Mexico, and theUnited States, andCAFTA betweenCentral America, theDominican Republic, and the United States.
The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English-speaking Caribbean nations.[30][31] The north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, which encompasses the whole North American continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to four nations, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the U.S.[32][33][34][35][36] The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition.[37]
The term Northern America refers to the northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S.,Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon.[38][39] Although the term does not refer to a unified region,[40]Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.[41]
Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America, thenatives of North America were divided into many different polities, ranging from smallbands of a few families to large empires. They lived in severalculture areas, which roughly correspond togeographic and biological zones that defined the representative cultures and lifestyles of the indigenous people who lived there, including thebisonhunters of theGreat Plains and the farmers ofMesoamerica. Native groups also are classified by theirlanguage families, which includedAthabaskan andUto-Aztecan languages. Indigenous peoples with similar languages did not always share the samematerial culture, however, and were not necessarily always allies. Anthropologists speculate that theInuit of the highArctic arrived in North America much later than other native groups, evidenced by the disappearance ofDorset culture artifacts from thearchaeological record and their replacement by theThule people.
The first recorded European references to North America are inNorse sagas where it is referred to asVinland.[56] The earliest verifiable instance ofpre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by any European culture with the North America mainland has been dated to around 1000 CE.[57]The site, situated at the northernmost extent of the island namedNewfoundland, has provided unmistakable evidence ofNorse settlement.[58] Norse explorerLeif Erikson (c. 970–1020 CE) is thought to have visited the area.[e] Erikson was the first European to make landfall on the continent (excluding Greenland).[60][61]
During the so-calledAge of Discovery, Europeans explored overseas and staked claims to various parts of North America, much of which was already settled by indigenous peoples. Upon Europeans' arrival in the "New World", indigenous peoples had a variety of reactions, including curiosity, trading, cooperation, resignation, and resistance. Theindigenous population declined substantially following European arrival, primarily due to the introduction of Eurasian diseases, such assmallpox, to which the indigenous peoples lacked immunity, and because ofviolent conflicts with Europeans.[64] Indigenous culture changed significantly and their affiliation with political and cultural groups also changed. Several linguistic groupsdied out, and others changed quite quickly.
On North America's southeastern coast, Spanish explorerJuan Ponce de León, who had accompanied Columbus's second voyage, visited and named in 1513La Florida.[65] As the colonial period unfolded, Spain, England, and France appropriated and claimed extensive territories in North America eastern and southern coastlines. Spain established permanent settlements on the Caribbean islands ofHispaniola andCuba in the 1490s, building cities, putting the resident indigenous populations to work, raising crops for Spanish settlers and panning gold to enrich the Spaniards. Much of the indigenous population died due to disease and overwork, spurring the Spaniards on to claim new lands and peoples. An expedition under the command of Spanish settler,Hernán Cortés, sailed westward in 1519 to what turned out to be the mainland in Mexico. With local indigenous allies, the Spanishconquered the Aztec empire in central Mexico in 1521. Spain then established permanent cities in Mexico, Central America, and Spanish South America in the sixteenth century. Once Spaniards conquered the high civilization of the Aztecs and Incas, the Caribbean was a backwater of the Spanish empire.
Other European powers began to intrude on areas claimed by Spain, including the Caribbean islands. France took the western half ofHispaniola and developedSaint-Domingue as a cane sugar producing colony worked by black slave labor. Britain tookBarbados andJamaica, and the Dutch and Danes took islands previously claimed by Spain. Britain did not begin settling on the North American mainland until a hundred years after the first Spanish settlements, since it sought first to control nearbyIreland.
With the British victory in the Seven Years' War, France in 1763 ceded to Britain its claims of North American territories east of theMississippi River. Spain, in turn, gained rights to the territories west of Mississippi, which then served as a border between Spain and Britain's territorial claims. French colonists settledIllinois Country after several generations of experience on North America, migrating over the Mississippi River to regions where Spain was not present and where they were able to leverage their earlier Louisiana French settlements around theGulf of Mexico. These early French settlers partnered with midwest indigenous tribes, and their mixed ancestry descendants later followed a westward expansion all the way to thePacific Ocean on the present-dayU.S. West Coast.
In 1776, after various attempts to reconcile differences with theBritish, theThirteen Colonies in British America sent delegates to theSecond Continental Congress inPhiladelphia, who unanimously adopted theDeclaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, written primarily byThomas Jefferson, a member of theCommittee of Five charged by the Second Continental Congress with authoring it. In the Declaration, the thirteen colonies declared their independence from the British monarchy, then governed by KingGeorge III, and detailed the factors that contributed to their decision. With the signing and issuance of the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies formalized and escalated theAmerican Revolutionary War, which had begun the year before at theBattles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. Gathered in Philadelphia following the war's outbreak, delegates from the thirteen colonies established theContinental Army from variouspatriot militias then engaged in resisting the British, and appointedGeorge Washington as the Continental Army's military commander.
As the American Revolutionary War progressed, France and Spain, both then enemies of Britain, began to ultimately see the promise of a potential American victory in the war and began supporting Washington and the American Revolutionary cause. TheBritish Army, in turn, was supported byHessian military units from present-dayGermany.
In 1783, after an eight-year attempt to defeat the American rebellion, King George III acknowledged Britain's defeat in the war, leading to the signing of theTreaty of Paris on 3 September 1783, which solidified the sovereign establishment of the United States.
By the late 18th century, Russia was established on thePacific Northwest northern coastline, where it was engaged inmaritime fur trade and was supported by various indigenous settlements in the region. As a result, the Spanish were showing more interest in controlling the trade on the Pacific coast and mapped most of its coastline. The first Spanish settlements were attempted inAlta California during that period. Numerous overland explorations associated withvoyageurs,fur trade, and U.S. led expeditions, including theLewis and Clark,Frémont andWilkes expeditions, reached the Pacific.
In 1803, during thepresidency of Thomas Jefferson, the thirdU.S. president,Napoleon Bonaparte sold France's remaining North American territorial claims, which included regions west of the Mississippi River, to the U.S., in theLouisiana Purchase. Spain and the U.S. settled their western boundary dispute in 1819 in theAdams–Onís Treaty. Mexico fought a lengthy war for independence from Spain, winning it for Mexico (which included Central America at the time) in 1821. The U.S. sought further westward expansion and fought theMexican–American War, gaining a vast territory that first Spain and then Mexico claimed but which they did not effectively control. Much of the area was in fact dominated by indigenous peoples, which did not recognize the claims of Spain, France, or the U.S. Russia sold its North American claims, which included the present-day U.S. state ofAlaska, to the U.S. in 1867.
In 1867, colonial settlers north of the United States, unified as the dominion of Canada. The U.S. sought to dig a canal across theIsthmus of Panama in present-dayPanama in Central America, then a part of present-dayColombia. The U.S. aided Panamanians in a war that resulted in its separation from Colombia. The U.S. subsequently carved out thePanama Canal Zone, and claimed sovereignty over it. After decades of work, the Panama Canal was completed, which connected theAtlantic andPacific oceans in 1913 and greatly facilitated global shipping navigation.
North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, theWestern Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America, which, in many countries, is considered a single continent[66][67][68] with North America asubcontinent.[69][70][71] North America is the third-largest continent by area afterAsia andAfrica.[72][73]
Before the Central American isthmus formed, the region had been underwater. The islands of theWest Indies delineate a submerged formerland bridge, which had connected North and South America via what are nowFlorida andVenezuela.
The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico, including Baja California, and ofCalifornia, including the cities ofSan Diego,Los Angeles, andSanta Cruz, lie on the eastern edge of thePacific Plate, with the two plates meeting along theSan Andreas Fault. The southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on theCaribbean Plate, whereas theJuan de Fuca Plate andCocos Plate border the North American Plate on its western frontier.
The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many subregions): theGreat Plains stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to theCanadian Arctic; the geologically young, mountainous west, including theRocky Mountains, theGreat Basin,California, andAlaska; 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 longplateaus andcordilleras, 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 thecoast ranges inCalifornia,Oregon,Washington, andBritish Columbia, with the Great Basin—a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts—in between. The highest peak isDenali (also called Mount McKinley) in Alaska.
A Köppen climate classification map of North America
North America is a very large continent that extends from north of theArctic Circle to south of theTropic of Cancer. Greenland, along with theCanadian Shield, istundra with average temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C (50 to 68 °F), but central Greenland is composed of a very large ice sheet. This tundra radiates throughout Canada, but its border ends near the Rocky Mountains (but still contains Alaska) and at the end of the Canadian Shield, near theGreat Lakes.Climate west of theCascade Range is described as being temperate weather with average precipitation 20 inches (510 millimeters).[84]Climate in coastal California is described to beMediterranean, with average temperatures in cities likeSan Francisco ranging from 57 to 70 °F (14 to 21 °C) over the course of the year.[85]
Stretching from theEast Coast to easternNorth Dakota, and stretching down toKansas, is thehumid continental climate featuring intense seasons, with a large amount of annual precipitation, with places likeNew York City averaging 50 in (1,300 mm).[86]Starting at the southern border of the humid continental climate and stretching to theGulf of Mexico (while encompassing the eastern half of Texas) is thehumid subtropical climate. This area has the wettest cities in thecontiguous U.S., with annual precipitation reaching 67 in (1,700 mm) inMobile, Alabama.[87]Stretching from the borders of the humid continental and subtropical climates, and going west to theSierra Nevada, south to the southern tip ofDurango, north to the border with tundra climate, thesteppe/desert climates are the driest in the U.S.[88] Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, wheresubtropical ortemperate climates occur just below the tropics, as in centralMexico andGuatemala.Tropical climates appear in theisland regions and in the subcontinent's bottleneck, found in countries and states bathed by theCaribbean Sea or to the south of theGulf of Mexico and thePacific Ocean.[89] Precipitation patterns vary across the region, and as suchrainforest,monsoon, andsavanna types can be found, with rains and high temperatures throughout the year.
Laurentia is an ancientcraton which forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 and 1.0 billion years ago during theProterozoic eon.[90] TheCanadian Shield is the largest exposure of this craton. From the LatePaleozoic to EarlyMesozoic eras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinentPangaea, withEurasia to its east. One of the results of the formation of Pangaea was theAppalachian Mountains, whichformed some 480 mya, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 mya, North America became part ofLaurasia, before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid-Cretaceous period.[91] The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from a period of mountain building called theLaramide orogeny, between 80 and 55 mya. The formation of theIsthmus of Panama that connected the continent to South America arguably occurred approximately 12 to 15 mya,[92] and theGreat Lakes (as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by recedingglaciers about 10,000 years ago.
North America is the source of much of what humanity knows aboutgeologic time periods.[93] The geographic area that would later become the United States has been the source of more varieties ofdinosaurs than any other modern country.[93] According topaleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history.[93] Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent.[93] The most significantLate Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America is theMorrison Formation of the western U.S.[94]
Canada is geologically one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting ofPrecambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of thePalaeozoic era.[82] Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive.[82] Across theCanadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel,zinc, copper, gold, lead,molybdenum, anduranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in the Arctic,[95] 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, isSudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that theSudbury Basin is an ancientmeteoriteimpact crater. The nearby, but less-knownTemagami 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.[96] The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.
Each province has its own geologic history and unique features. The geology ofAlaska is typical of that of the cordillera, while the major islands ofHawaii consist ofNeogenevolcanics erupted over ahot spot.
Central America is geologically active withvolcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit bya major earthquake, killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killing about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; oneearthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009, killing at least 34 people; inHonduras a powerful earthquake killed seven people in 2009.
Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968, theArenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in agriculturally productive highland areas.
Central America has manymountain ranges; the longest are theSierra Madre de Chiapas, theCordillera Isabelia, and theCordillera 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.
North America's GDP per capita was evaluated in October 2016 by theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) to be $41,830, making it the richest continent in the world,[108] followed byOceania.[109]
Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. have significant and multifaceted economic systems. The U.S. has the largest economy in the world.[109] In 2016, the U.S. had an estimated per capita gross domestic product (PPP) of $57,466 according to theWorld Bank, and is the most technologically developed economy of the three.[110] The U.S.'s services sector comprises 77% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 22% and agriculture comprises 1.2%.[109] The U.S. economy is also the fastest-growing economy in North America and the Americas as a whole,[108][111] with the highest GDP per capita in the Americas as well.[108]
Canada shows significant growth in the sectors of services, mining and manufacturing.[112] Canada's per capita GDP (PPP) was estimated at $44,656 and it had the 11th-largest GDP (nominal) in 2014.[112] Canada's services sector comprises 78% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 20% and agriculture comprises 2%.[112] Mexico has a per capita GDP (PPP) of $16,111 and as of 2014 is the 15th-largest GDP (nominal) in the world.[113] Being anewly industrialized country,[114] Mexico maintains both modern and outdated industrial and agricultural facilities and operations.[115] Its main sources of income are oil, industrial exports, manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and financial services.[116]
The North American economy is well defined and structured in three main economic areas.[117] These areas are those under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), theCaribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and theCentral American Common Market (CACM).[117] Of these trade blocs, the U.S. takes part in two. In addition to the larger trade blocs there is theCanada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement among numerous otherfree-trade relations, often between the larger, more developed countries and Central American and Caribbean countries.
NAFTA formed one of the four largest trade blocs in the world.[118] Its implementation in 1994 was designed for economic homogenization with hopes of eliminating barriers of trade and foreign investment between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.[119] While Canada and the U.S. already conducted the largest bilateral trade relationship—and to present day still do—in the world andCanada–U.S. trade relations already allowed trade without national taxes and tariffs,[120] NAFTA allowed Mexico to experience a similarduty-free trade. Thefree-trade agreement allowed for the elimination of tariffs that had previously been in place on U.S.–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 US$791 billion.[121] The NAFTA trade bloc GDP (PPP) is the world's largest with US$17.617 trillion.[122] This is in part attributed to the fact that the economy of the U.S. is the world's largest national economy; the country had a nominal GDP of approximately $14.7 trillion in 2010.[123] The countries of NAFTA are also some of each other's largest trade partners. The U.S. is the largest trade partner of Canada and Mexico,[124] while Canada and Mexico are each other's third-largest trade partners.[125][126] In 2018, the NAFTA was replaced by theU.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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 US$96 billion. CARICOM also allowed for the creation of acommon 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 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. The 2006 implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) left the future of the CACM unclear.[127] The Central American Free Trade Agreement was signed by five Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. The focal point of CAFTA is to create a free trade area similar to that of NAFTA. In addition to the U.S., Canada also has relations in Central American trade blocs.
ThePan-American Highway route in the Americas is the portion of a network of roads nearly 48,000 km (30,000 mi) in length which travels through the mainland nations. 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 portion from Mexico to the northern extremity of the highway is roughly 26,000 km (16,000 mi).
The first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. was built 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 famousgolden spike event atPromontory Summit, Utah, it created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of theAmerican West, catalyzing the transition from thewagon trains of previous decades to a modern transportation system.[128] Although an accomplishment, it achieved the status of first transcontinental railroad by connecting myriad eastern U.S. railroads to the Pacific and was not the largest single railroad system in the world. The CanadianGrand Trunk Railway had, by 1867, already accumulated more than 2,055 km (1,277 mi) of track by connecting Ontario with the Canadian Atlantic provinces west as far asPort Huron, Michigan, throughSarnia, Ontario.
Non-native nations' control and claims over North America,c. 1750 to 2008
Canada and the United States are the wealthiest and mostdeveloped nations on the continent followed by Mexico, anewly industrialized country.[114] 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 higherGDP (PPP) per capita than Mexico due to their smaller populations. Panama and Costa Rica have a significantly higherHuman Development Index and GDP than the rest of the Central American nations.[129] Additionally, despite Greenland's vast resources in oil and minerals, much of them remain untapped, and the island is economically dependent on fishing, tourism, and subsidies from Denmark. Nevertheless, the island is highly developed.[130]
Demographically, North America is ethnically diverse. Its three largest groups areWhites,Mestizos, andBlacks.[131] There is a significant minority of Indigenous Americans andAsians among other less numerous groups.[131]
Languages
Chinatown, Flushing inQueens,New York City has become the present-day global epicenter receivingChinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration, as numerous languages have become entrenched into North American society.[132][133]
The dominant languages in North America are English, Spanish, and French. Danish is prevalent in Greenland alongsideGreenlandic, and Dutch is spoken side by side local languages in theDutch Caribbean. The term Anglo-America is used to refer to theanglophone countries of the Americas: namely Canada (where English and French are co-official) and the U.S., but also sometimes Belize and parts of the tropics, especially theCommonwealth Caribbean. Latin America refers to the other areas of the Americas (generally south of the U.S.) where theRomance languages, derived fromLatin, of Spanish andPortuguese, (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 (exceptGuyana,Suriname,French Guiana [France], and theFalkland Islands [UK]).
The U.S. has anethnically diverse population, and 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members.[134] 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 ofQuebec, where 95% of the people speak it as either their first or second language, and it is co-official with English in the province ofNew Brunswick. Other French-speaking locales include the province ofOntario (the official language is English, but there are an estimated 600,000 Franco-Ontarians), the province ofManitoba (co-official asde jure with English), theFrench West Indies andSaint-Pierre et Miquelon, as well as the U.S. state ofLouisiana, where French is also an official language. Haiti is included with this group based on historical association but Haitians speak bothCreole and French. Similarly, French and French Antillean Creole is spoken in Saint Lucia and theCommonwealth of Dominica alongside English.
Indigenous languages
Native languages of the United States, Canada, Greenland, and Northern Mexico
A significant number ofindigenous languages are spoken in North America, with roughly 6 million in Mexico speaking an indigenous language at home,[135] 372,000 people in the U.S.,[136] and about 225,000 in Canada.[137] In the U.S. and Canada, there are approximately 150 surviving indigenous languages of the 300 spoken prior to European contact.[138]
According to the same study, thereligiously unaffiliated (includingagnostics andatheists) make up about 17% of the population of Canada and the U.S.[143] Those with no religious affiliation make up about 24% of Canada's total population.[144]
Canada, the U.S., and Mexico host communities ofJews (6 million or about 1.8%),[145]Buddhists (3.8 million or 1.1%)[146] andMuslims (3.4 million or 1.0%).[147] The largest number of Jews can be found in the U.S. (5.4 million),[148] Canada (375,000)[149] and Mexico (67,476).[150] The U.S. hosts the largest Muslim population in North America with 2.7 million or 0.9%,[151][152] while Canada hosts about one million Muslims or 3.2% of the population.[153] In Mexico there were 3,700 Muslims in 2010.[154] In 2012,U-T San Diego estimated U.S. practitioners of Buddhism at 1.2 million people, of whom 40% are living inSouthern California.[155]
The predominant religion in Mexico and Central America is Christianity (96%).[156] Beginning with the Spanish colonization of Mexico in the 16th century,Roman Catholicism was the only religion permitted by Spanish crown and Catholic church. A vast campaign of religious conversion, the so-called "spiritual conquest", was launched to bring the indigenous peoples into the Christian fold. TheInquisition was established to assure orthodox belief and practice. The Catholic Church remained an important institution, so that even after political independence, Roman Catholicism remained the dominant religion. Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in other Christian groups, particularlyProtestantism, as well as other religious organizations, and individuals identifying themselves as having no religion. Christianity is also the predominant religion in the Caribbean (85%).[156] Other religious groups in the region areHinduism,Islam,Rastafari (in Jamaica), andAfro-American religions such asSantería andVodou.
North America is thefourth most populous continent after Asia, Africa, and Europe.[157] Its most populous country is the U.S. with 329.7 million persons. The second-largest country is Mexico with a population of 112.3 million.[158] Canada is the third-most-populous country with 37.0 million.[159] The majority of Caribbean island-nations have national populations under a million, though Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico (a territory of the U.S.), Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago each have populations higher than a million.[160][161][162][163][164] Greenland has a small population of 55,984 for its massive size (2.166 million km2 or 836,300 mi2), and therefore, it has the world's lowest population density at 0.026 pop./km2 (0.067 pop./mi2).[165]
While the U.S., Canada, and Mexico maintain the largest populations, large city populations are not restricted to those nations. There are also large cities in theCaribbean. The largest cities in North America, by far, are Mexico City and New York City. 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,Toronto,[166] Chicago, Havana, Santo Domingo, andMontreal. Cities in theSun Belt regions of the U.S., such as those in Southern California andHouston,Phoenix, Miami,Atlanta, andLas Vegas, are experiencing rapid growth. These causes included warm temperatures, retirement ofBaby Boomers, large industry, and the influx of immigrants. Cities near the U.S. border, particularly in Mexico, are also experiencing large amounts of growth. Most notable isTijuana, 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 ofwater shortages.[167]
North America has also been witness to the growth ofmegapolitan areas. The United States includes eleven megaregions.
The top ten largest North Americanmetropolitan areas by population as of 2013, based on national census numbers from theU.S. and census estimates fromCanada andMexico
The cultures of North America are diverse. The United States and English Canada have many cultural similarities, while French Canada has a distinct culture from Anglophone Canada, which is protected by law. Since the United States was formed from portions previously part of the Spanish Empire and then independent Mexico, and there has been considerable and continuing immigration of Spanish speakers from south of the U.S.–Mexico border. In the southwest of the U.S. there are many Hispanic cultural traditions and considerable bilingualism. Mexico and Central America are part ofLatin America and are culturally distinct from anglophone and francophone North America. However, they share with the United States the establishment of post-independence governments that are federated representative republics with written constitutions dating from their founding as nations. Canada is a federated parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy.
Canada'sconstitution dates to 1867, with confederation, in the British North America Act, but not until 1982 did Canada have the power to amend its own constitution. Canada's Francophone heritage has been enshrined in law since the British parliament passed theQuebec Act of 1774. In contrast to largely Protestant Anglo settlers in North America, French-speaking Canadians were Catholic and with the Quebec Act were guaranteed freedom to practice their religion, restored the right of the Catholic Church to imposetithes for its support, and established French civil law in most circumstances.
The distinctiveness of French language and culture has been codified in Canadian law, so that both English and French are designated official languages. The U.S. has no official language, but its national language is English.
The Canadian government took action to protectCanadian culture by limiting non-Canadian content in broadcasting, creating theCanadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission to monitor Canadian content. In Quebec, the provincial government established theQuebec Office of the French Language, often called the "language police" by Anglophones, which mandates the use of French terminology and signage in French.[173] Since 1968 the unicameral legislature has been called theQuebec National Assembly.Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, 24 June, is the national holiday of Quebec and celebrated by francophone Canadians throughout Canada. In Quebec, theschool system was divided into Catholic and Protestant, so-called confessional schools. Anglophone education in Quebec has been increasingly undermined.[174]
LGBT culture is prominently displayed in moretolerant regions of North America. This is most significantly exemplified atpride parades in cities across the continent, the two largest being held inNew York City andToronto, respectively.
TheAnglophone Caribbean states have witnessed and participated in the decline of theBritish Empire and its influence on the region, and its replacement by the economic influence of Northern America in the Anglophone Caribbean. This is partly due to the relatively small populations of the English-speaking Caribbean countries, and also because many of them now have more peopleliving abroad than those remaining at home.[176]
The United States and Canada have major sports teams that compete against each other, including baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer/football. Canada, Mexico, and the United Stateswill host the2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Native American game oflacrosse is considered a national sport in Canada.Curling is an important winter sport in Canada, and the Winter Olympics includes it in the roster. The English sport ofcricket is popular in parts of anglophone Canada and very popular in parts of the former British empire, but in Canada is considered a minor sport. Boxing is also a major sport in some countries, such as Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico, and it is considered one of the main individual sports in the United States. Canada has a separateCanadian Football League from the U.S. teams.
The following table shows the most prominent sports leagues in North America, in order of average revenue.[178][179]
^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 million km2.
^Because of ongoing activity of theSoufriere Hills volcano beginning in July 1995, much of Plymouth was destroyed and government offices were relocated to Brades. Plymouth remains thede jure capital.
^Panama is generally considered a North American country, though some authorities divide it at thePanama Canal. Figures listed here are for the entire country.
^Includes the states of Hawaii and Alaska which are both separated from theUS mainland, with Hawaii distant from the North American landmass in the Pacific Ocean and therefore more commonly associated with the other territories of Oceania while Alaska is located betweenAsia (Russia) andCanada.
^H. J. de Blij and Peter O. Muller. pGeography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, Wiley, 12th ed., 2005, pp. 30–31, (ISBN0-471-71786-X.)
^Lewis, Martin W.;Wigen, Karen E. (1997). "Chapter One, The Architecture of Continents".The Myth of Continents. University of California Press. p. 168.ISBN0-520-20742-4.
^"Amerigo Vespucci".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved7 July 2011.
^Herbermann, Charles George, ed. (1907).The Cosmographiæ Introductio of Martin Waldseemüller in Facsimile. Translated by Edward Burke and Mario E. Cosenza, introduction by Joseph Fischer and Franz von Wieser. New York: The United States Catholic Historical Society. p. 9.Latin:"Quarta pars per Americum Vesputium (ut in sequentibus audietur) inventa est, quam non video, cur quis jure vetet, ab Americo inventore sagacis ingenii viro Amerigen quasi Americi terram sive Americam dicendam, cum et Europa et Asia a mulieribus sua sortita sint nomina."
^Division, United Nations Statistics."UNSD — Methodology".unstats.un.org.Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved1 November 2018.The continent of North America (numerical code 003) comprises Northern America (numerical code 021), Caribbean (numerical code 029), and Central America (numerical code 013).
^"Norteamérica" [North America] (in Spanish). Archived fromthe original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved30 January 2007.In Ibero-America,North America is considered a subcontinent containing Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Bermuda and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
^"Six or Seven Continents on Earth". Archived fromthe original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved18 December 2016.In Europe and other parts of the world, many students are taught of six continents, where North and South America are combined to form a single continent of America. Thus, these six continents are Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
^"Continents".Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved18 December 2016.six-continent model (used mostly in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Greece, and Latin America) groups together North America+South America into the single continent America.
^"AMÉRIQUE" (in French). 24 February 2000.Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved18 December 2016.
^"America" (in Italian).Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved18 December 2016.
^Parsons, Alan; Schaffer, Jonathan (May 2004).Geopolitics of oil and natural gas. Economic Perspectives. U.S. Department of State.[full citation needed]
^Cite error: The named referenceLoCmap was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
^Massimo Livi Bacci, Malden (2001).A Concise History of World Population: An Introduction to Population Processes (3rd ed.). Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 42–46.ISBN978-0-631-22335-1.
^"Map And Details Of All 7 Continents". worldatlas.com.Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved2 September 2016.In some parts of the world, students are taught that there are only six continents, as they combine North America and South America into one continent called the Americas.
^"Americas".Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49). United Nations Statistics Division.Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved3 February 2014.
^abcWallace, Stewart W. (1948).Geology Of Canada. The Encyclopedia of Canada. Vol. III. Toronto: University Associates of Canada. pp. 23–26. Archived fromthe original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved1 June 2011 – via Marianopolis College.
^Bautista, Francisco (2023).El Kast de México [The Karst of Mexico] (in Spanish). Ciudad de México: Asociación Mexicana de Estudios sobre el Karst. p. 47.
^University of Washington."Cascades weather".University of Washington.Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved7 June 2015.
^abcdDodson, Peter (1997). "American Dinosaurs". In Currie, Phillip J.; Padian, Kevin (eds.).Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press. pp. 10–13.
^Weishampel, David B. (2004). Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Halszka, Osmólska (eds.).Dinosaur distribution (Late Jurassic, North America). The Dinosauria. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 543–545.ISBN978-0-520-24209-8.
^"SPP Background".CommerceConnect.gov. Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Archived fromthe original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved14 November 2010.
^abcPopulation estimates are taken from theCentral Bureau of Statistics Netherlands Antilles."Statistical information: Population". Government of the Netherlands Antilles. Archived fromthe original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved14 October 2010.
^abThese population estimates are for 2010, and are taken from"The World Factbook: 2010 edition". Government of the United States, Central Intelligence Agency. Archived fromthe original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved14 October 2010.
^abLand area figures taken from"The World Factbook: 2010 edition". Government of the United States, Central Intelligence Agency. Archived fromthe original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved14 October 2010.
^abWaugh, David (2000). "Manufacturing industries (chapter 19), World development (chapter 22)".Geography, An Integrated Approach (3rd ed.). Nelson Thornes Ltd. pp. 563,576–579, 633, and 640.ISBN978-0-17-444706-1.
^"Mexico, Economy". U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved1 June 2011.
^abDe la Torre, Miguel; Benavides, Benigno; Saldaña, José; Fernández, Jesús (2008). "Las profesiones en México: condiciones económicas, culturales y sociales".Sociología y Profesión [Sociology and Profession] (in Spanish). Monterrey: Nuevo León Autonomous University (UANL). p. 116.ISBN978-970-24-0051-6.La economía de América del Norte se encuentra bien definida y estructurada en tres principales áreas económicas: el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN), el CARICOM y el Mercado Común Centroamericano
^Sullivan, Eileen (24 November 2023)."Growing Numbers of Chinese Migrants Are Crossing the Southern Border".The New York Times. Retrieved24 November 2023.Most who have come to the United States in the past year were middle-class adults who have headed to New York after being released from custody. New York has been a prime destination for migrants from other nations as well, particularly Venezuelans, who rely on the city's resources, including its shelters. But few of the Chinese migrants are staying in the shelters. Instead, they are going where Chinese citizens have gone for generations: Flushing, Queens. Or to some, the Chinese Manhattan..."New York is a self-sufficient Chinese immigrants community," said the Rev. Mike Chan, the executive director of the Chinese Christian Herald Crusade, a faith-based group in the neighborhood.
^"Ancestry 2000"(PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. June 2004.Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 December 2004. Retrieved2 December 2016.
^"Religiously Unaffiliated".Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 18 December 2012. Archived fromthe original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved22 February 2015.
^"Anuario Estadístico de Cuba 2009" (in Spanish) (2010 ed.). Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas, República de Cuba. Archived fromthe original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved6 November 2010. Note: An exchange rate of 1 CUC to US$1.08 was used to convert GDP.[1]Archived 2 December 2021 at theWayback Machine
^Emmot, Robert (1 June 2011). "Special report: If Monterrey falls Mexico falls – Reuters". Reuters.
^Kirton, Claremont (2005). "Remittances: The Experience of the English-speaking Caribbean". In Terry, Donald; Wilson, Steven (eds.).Beyond Small Change: Making Migrant Remittances Count. Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America: Inter-American Development Bank. pp. 261–296.
^"BAG OM GRØNLAND".Arctic Friend (in Danish).Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved18 April 2020.
McIlwraith, T. F.; Muller, E. K.; Conzen, M. P.; DeVorsey, L.; Earle, C.; Grim, R. E.; Groves, P. A.; Guelke, J. K.; Harris, C.; Harris, R. (2001).North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-4616-3960-2.LCCN2020740684.
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