Geography of North America

North America is actually a part of an extremely large continent, the Northern Hemisphere, and quite extensively within the Northern Hemisphere. It can be best defined as the northern mid-Pacific sub-continent of an otherwise very large and very diverse continent, the Earth. It is the most southern continent by the mid-peninsula. This means that North America is on one edge of the circle that represents the latitudes of the Earth, the inner edge being the Pacific Ocean.

North America, as indicated by its southernmost tip, shares a border with what is commonly known as the Laurent eene/ Laurentian Islands. These are the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. The eastern boundary of this country is the United States border, which goes all the way to the very southern tip of Alaska. Another important consideration is that, because of its southerly orientation, this part of the continent experiences an ocean-front extension that stretches all the way from Labrador to Georgian Islands (which are not actually part of Canadian territory). Therefore, this part of north America experiences the long and cold winters as well as humid hot summers, which affects the Native American cultures particularly badly.

Unlike the South American continent and the Asian landmass, North America does not experience an ice-free summer. Although it is technically a land mass, due to its long continental distance, it experiences an extreme warm-up and cold-down pattern. In summer, there is less moisture and humidity, whereas in winter, it is frozen solid. This geographic feature is the result of the Gulf Stream, which brings warm water southwards to its coastlines.

Contrary to popular belief, North America is not really a continent but is a political subdivision of the American country states. Canada is the most northern of these states. The forty-two American states span over the lower part of the continent. When including the District of Columbia, the total area of the United States is longer by nine percent than the width of Canada, which is only about one percent.

Unlike some other regions around the world, North America experiences very little natural boundaries. It borders both Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, the eastern section of the United States and three countries that were formerly part of the former United States (Algeria, Morocco and Honduras). The political geography of North America makes it an extremely successful continent when it comes to being the location of a crossroads of ethnic and cultural communities.

The population of North America represents a great variety of ethnically and genetically diverse people. However, there are a few key demographic characteristics that can be seen in all North American populations. First, a higher percentage of Native Americans lives in this landmass than any other country in the world. Second, a much higher number of Hispanics live in this country than any other country in the world. Lastly, a great number of Native Americans live in the territories of Mexico, the Caribbean Islands or the northern section of the United States.