Bordered by the Pacific on the western side and the Atlantic on the eastern side, is the world’s third largest continent, North America. This continent is monopolized by three major countries, which are The United States, Canada, and Mexico. Although many people may see the Caribbean and the Central America as regions on a different continent, it is interesting to learn that they are also part of the North America. The discovery of this place in 1492 is accredited to the Famous Christopher Columbus, an Italian Explorer. He called this place ‘The new world’. However, the name America is a female version of Amerigo, a name that was derived from Amerigo Vespucci, a well known Italian Explorer; he was the one who discovered that America was not part of the East Indies. In the 1600s, the Europeans, particularly the French, the British and the Spaniards arrived in America. They colonized America and took over much of the land from the native Americas and Aztec civilization (Mexico). And when these regions began campaigning for independence, a formation of various countries was the result. For instance, the United States was formed from the combination of thirteen of the Britain colonies. Canada, on the other hand, was the outcome of the unification of British and French colonies. In the later years of the 1700s, this place became the common location, where people with different cultures, from all over the globe immigrated.

Geographical Facts

North America has a landmass area of, 9,540,198 square miles. It is bordered by major water bodies such as the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Besides, it is not short of rivers and lakes: Lake Superior is considered to be the biggest freshwater lake in the world and borders the USA and Canada. The continent is also the third most populated continent with a population of about 528,720,558 people. This place has also been blessed with natural attractions such as mountains, ranges, and plains, which include: The Appalachian Mountains with its highest peak being Mount Mckinley, the Great Plains and coastal plain and the coastal range, just to name a few. It also has all the major ecosystems of the world such as arid areas and the temperate forests. Its time zone is, UTC-10 to UTC. The core of this continent is estimated to be around 1-1.5 billion years old.

North America is made up to 23 countries in total, the biggest being Canada. There are about a 1000 different species of mammals on land there are some of the largest animals such as bears, and cougars. Its oceans also have a variety of creatures which include famous dolphins and sharks. There are over 100 languages spoken in this continent with English as the primary language especially in the USA, followed by Spanish and French. The major cities include; Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Houston in the USA, Toronto in Canada and Ecatepec de Morelos and Mexico City in Mexico.

Interesting Facts

Well, for those with limited knowledge on this continent, Greenland is part of North America and is the largest island on the planet. The Longest River in the world is the Mississippi-Missouri. Canada comes in second after Russia as the biggest country in the world. Interestingly, North America has one of the world’s wealthiest economies, with Mexico at the lead. The Olympic games have been hosted a total of 12 times on this continent, the first being in 1904. The best place and the worst to live in the world is also on this continent. The best is Vancouver Canada with its cultural diversity, best quality of medical care and there are over 200 parks to visit while the worst is Death Valley that receives less that a cup of coffee rainfall yearly, making it the hottest and driest part of the environment.

Above all, North America is a fun place, full of history that warrants a visit.