The True North

North America is an extremely large continent and is found on the borders of Central Asia and South America. It is also described as the eastern sub continent of the Americas. The largest part of North America lies in the United States and is bordered by Mexico to the south and east, by the Canadian provinces to the north and south, by the Caribbean Sea to the west and, east to a certain degree, by the Arctic Ocean to the south-west. While North America includes a number of countries, the most populous is the United States of America.

This vast continent was created when the last Ice Age ended and then dried up. At that time, it was covered with tundra and forests. Today, you can find mountains and plateaus in the north and desert regions. When the glaciers receded, sea levels rose and submerged large areas of land. In addition, the once mighty Ice Age ended and then came a period of cold climate known as the Medieval Warm Period. At that time, Europe was not an independent continent, but was instead an associate of the collapsing Middle East.

Throughout the centuries, different cultures began to form in North America. There were Native Americans, who occupied the central states and parts of the southern ones. The fur trade brought more fur traders and therefore, more Native Americans. When the Europeans started trading in hardwood products, the north would become a center for the manufacture of firewood. The Native people then constructed many of the earliest houses in the north.

When the Spanish Conquistadors came to the Americas, they brought a different approach to dealing with the north America continent. As the Spaniards conquered areas of what is now the south-central United States, they imposed their will on the people living in the area. They forced their way into the interior and changed the way of life there. They found new crops, animals and even religious practices that would continue to shape life there for decades.

The United States became an expansion of what was already going on in the north. The south, though, remained a backwater. It remained unknown to most of North America and was a place where a variety of cultures were developing. As the slave trade became a way of life in the southern states, so too did the divide between the north and south. Life in the north still focused on the life of the fittest and the south was, for a time, a backwater.

As the world today is aware, the north America continent is not as united as once thought. A variety of ethnic groups and cultures exist in what is now the northern states and parts of the south. North America is not all about ice blue skies and 50-degree temperatures, although the people of these areas may like to think it is. If you are looking to travel, there are few better places than the north.