The Geography of North America
North America is the planet’s third-largest continent, home to 23 countries and dozens of territories, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and the Caribbean islands. It is bounded in the north by the Arctic Ocean and in the east by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with an opening to the South through the narrow Isthmus of Panama. The region’s landscape and climate offer an abundance of natural resources. People have worked with, and been shaped by, their environment here since the end of the last Ice Age.
During that period, a land bridge existed between modern-day Siberia and Alaska, allowing the first humans to migrate across an expanse of frozen terrain from northeast Asia. As the ice melted, these early inhabitants tended to fan out into the broad landscapes of what is now the United States and Central America. In time, these communities developed complex urban civilizations, such as those of the Olmec and the Maya, in southern Mesoamerica. They were no longer bound to hunt, gather, and forage in their immediate surroundings; they could become engineers, artists, and political leaders.
Today, the region remains diverse. North America’s political geography is influenced by economic trends and regional rivalries. Those trends, in turn, influence immigration. Low- and middle-income people from the region’s lower-income countries (LMICs) often move to high-income countries (HICs), such as those in Europe, the United States, and Canada. This migration has created a permanent population mix, and it is a major reason for the high levels of inequality in these countries.
The continent’s physical geography is equally varied, from tundra in northern Canada and Greenland to semiarid desert in the southwestern United States. North America is rich in water, including the world’s largest river system, and has a variety of soil types that make it an agricultural powerhouse.
The region’s most widely grown crop is corn, which is used in everything from food to fuel and fibers. Other important crops include wheat, soybeans, and cotton. North America is the world’s leading producer of these commodities. A number of natural resources—including minerals, fossil fuels, and timber—are found here as well. These natural resources are key to the economy of North America, and the United States is the largest exporter of them. The nation is also a leader in biotechnology, and is developing new technologies to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing sector. This will lead to more jobs, and more efficient and effective use of natural resources. It will also help reduce pollution and energy costs. This will be a key factor in improving the country’s overall quality of life. As the world’s economy grows more interconnected, it will be important for North American countries to work together to protect the environment and their natural resources. This will require cooperation and innovation from all sides of the region.