North America

North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 9,355,000 square miles (24,230,000 square kilometers). In 2001 its population was estimated at 454,225,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Related Topics:
Continent - Arctic Ocean - Atlantic Ocean - Caribbean Sea - Pacific Ocean - Asia - Africa - Europe

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Both North and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a previously undiscovered (by Europeans) New World.

Related Topics:
South America - Amerigo Vespucci - East Indies - New World

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North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow Isthmus of Panama. (For geopolitical reasons, all of Panama ? including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus ? is often considered a part of North America alone.) According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with the intervening region called Central America and resting on the Caribbean Plate. Most, however, tend to see Central America as a region of North America, considering it too small to be a continent on its own.

Related Topics:
New World - Western Hemisphere - The Americas - Isthmus of Panama - Panama - Panama Canal - Isthmus of Tehuantepec - Central America - Caribbean Plate

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