North America

Author: Yu Guohong, Chief Editor: Changzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: North America, commonly known as North America. Location: Located in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and is separated from South America to the south by the Panama Canal. Range: East to Cape St. Charles (55°40′ W, 52°13′ N), south to Cape Maria Toa (81°05′ W, 7°12′ N), west to Prince Wales Cape (168°05′ W, 65°37′ N), and north to Murchison Point on the Baffin Peninsula (94°26′ W, 71°59′ N). North America includes the Americas north of the Panama Canal and the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. Area: 24.288 million square kilometers (including nearby islands), accounting for about 16.2% of the total land area of the world, making it the third largest continent. The geographical regions are divided into nine areas: Eastern Region (areas east of the Labrador Plateau and Appalachian Mountains), Central Region (between the Labrador Plateau, Appalachian Mountains, and Rocky Mountains), Western Region (part of the North American Cordillera, the Rocky Mountains are the backbone of this region), Alaska, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Greenland, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies.
[Inhabitants]: Population of 462 million, accounting for about 8% of the world's total population. The population distribution across the continent is highly uneven, with the majority concentrated in the southeastern region. Among them, the population density near New York and around Lake Erie is the highest, with over 200 people per square kilometer. In contrast, the vast northern region and the inland western United States have sparse populations, with less than one person per square kilometer.
Ethnicity: Most residents are descendants of European immigrants, with the Anglo-Saxons being the largest group. Others include Native Americans, Black people, and mixed-race individuals. Additionally, there are Inuit, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Japanese, and Chinese, among others.
Languages: English and Spanish are widely spoken, followed by French, Dutch, and Native American languages.
Religion: The majority of residents adhere to Christianity and Catholicism.
[Natural Environment]: The continental coastline is approximately 60,000 kilometers long. The western northern, northern, and eastern coasts are relatively, with numerous islands and fjords; the southern coast is more straight.
Peninsulas and Islands: The total area of the peninsulas is about 2.1 million square kilometers. The total area of the islands is about 4 million square kilometers, the highest among all continents, with Greenland being the largest island in the world.
Terrain: About 20% of the continent is plains below 200 meters in elevation, 22% are plains and hills between 200 and 2,000 meters, and 58% are plateaus and mountains above 500 meters. The average elevation of the continent is 700 meters. The basic features of the continental terrain are mountain ranges running north-south on both sides of the east-west coastlines, with the Great Plains located in the middle. The terrain is clearly divided into three regions:
Eastern Mountains and Plateaus: North of the St. Lawrence River is the Labrador Plateau, and south of it is the Appalachian Mountains. The terrain slopes downward from south to north, with an average elevation of 300–500 meters. A narrow coastal plain runs along the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, gradually descending to meet the central plains on the western side.
Central Plains: Located between the Labrador Plateau, Appalachian Mountains, and Rocky Mountains, stretching from Hudson Bay in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The northern part of the plain has many lakes and rapids, while the southern part is part of the Mississippi River Plain. The western part of the plain is the world-famous Great Plains.
Western Mountains and Plateaus: Part of the North American Cordillera, extending from Alaska to the south of Mexico. It mainly includes three parallel mountain ranges: the eastern belt is the Rocky Mountains, over 2,000 meters in elevation, extending 5,000 kilometers north-south and serving as an important climatic boundary for North America; the western belt runs from the coastal mountains of the United States to the sea, forming the coastal islands of western Canada, with an average elevation of 1,000–5,000 meters; the middle belt includes the Alaska Mountains in the north, the Canadian coastal mountains, the Nevada Mountains, and the Cascades in the United States. Mount McKinley in Alaska, at 6,194 meters, is the highest peak in North America. The eastern and middle belts are separated by plateaus and basins. The bottom of the Great Basin is 1,300–800 meters below sea level, while Death Valley in the southern basin is 86 meters below sea level, making it the lowest point on land in the Western Hemisphere.
Volcanoes and Earthquakes: The western coastal region of North America is part of the Pacific coastal volcanic belt. North America has over 90 active volcanoes, including 28 in the Aleutian Islands, 20 in Alaska, and over 40 in Central America. The western part of North America is also one of the most seismically active and powerful earthquake zones in the world.
Water Systems: The external drainage area of North America accounts for about 88% of the continent's total area, with the Atlantic drainage basin covering about 48% and the Pacific drainage basin covering about 20%. All major rivers except the St. Lawrence River originate in the Rocky Mountains. Rivers east of the Rocky Mountains flow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, while those west of the Rocky Mountains flow into the Pacific Ocean. The internal drainage area (including endorheic basins) accounts for about 12% of the continent's total area, mainly distributed in the western United States' Great Basin and Greenland. The Mississippi River is the largest river in North America, the fourth longest river in the world by length. Others include the Mackenzie River, Yukon River, St. Lawrence River, and Grand River. North American rivers are known for their numerous waterfalls, with the most spectacular being Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park in the western United States, with a drop of 700 meters. Niagara Falls has a drop of 51 meters and a width of 1,240 meters. North America is a continent with many lakes, with a total freshwater lake area of about 400,000 square kilometers, the highest among all continents. Lakes are mainly distributed in the northern part of the continent. The five Great Lakes in the central highland region: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, cover a total area of 245,273 square kilometers, the largest freshwater lake system in the world, known as the "North American Mediterranean." Among them, Superior is the largest, the largest freshwater lake in the world.
[Natural Resources]: Most areas of North America have been explored. The main minerals are oil, natural gas, coal, iron, copper, nickel, uranium, lead, and zinc. The forest area of North America accounts for about 30% of the continent's total area and about 18% of the world's total forest area. They are mainly distributed in the western mountains and are rich in Douglas fir, giant sequoia, Nootka cypress, sugar maple, pine, redwood, and fir. The grassland area accounts for 14.5% of the continent's total area and about 11% of the world's grassland area. North America has an exploitable hydropower potential of about 2.48 billion kilowatts, accounting for 8.9% of the world's total hydropower potential. The developed hydropower capacity is 536 million kilowatts, accounting for 34.7% of the world's total. The fishing grounds along the coast of North America account for about 20% of the world's total coastal fishing grounds. The marginal seas in the west and eastern Canada are the main fishing grounds, rich in salmon, cod, haddock, mackerel, eel, herring, sardine, flounder, and salmon. In the marginal seas of eastern Canada, whales are also produced. The northern coast has walruses, seals, and polar bears.
[Economic Overview]: The United States and Canada are developed countries with a strong industrial foundation, high production capacity, and advanced science and technology. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery industries are also highly developed. Other countries in North America, except Mexico which has some industrial foundation, are mostly single-industry economies. The mining industry in North America is relatively large, mainly extracting coal, crude oil, natural gas, iron, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and sulfur. However, important strategic materials such as tin, manganese, chromium, cobalt, bauxite, diamonds, nitrate, antimony, tantalum, niobium, and natural rubber are almost entirely or mostly imported. The proportion of major industrial output in the world's total output is: pig iron, steel, copper, and zinc account for about 20% each, aluminum accounts for more than 40%, and automobiles account for about 37%.
Agriculture: North American agricultural production is highly specialized, commercialized, and mechanized. The central plains are one of the world's most famous agricultural regions, with crops such as corn, wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans, and tobacco. The production of soybeans, corn, and wheat in North America ranks among the top in the world. Central America, the West Indies, and other countries and regions mainly produce tropical crops such as sugar, bananas, coffee, and cocoa.
Transportation: The total length of railways in North America is over 420,000 kilometers. The navigable length of inland rivers is about 55,000 kilometers. Roads are well-developed. The northeastern United States is the most developed transportation area, followed by the central, southeastern, and coastal western regions of the United States; the southeastern part of Canada; and the eastern part of Mexico, primarily relying on road and rail transport. Cuba has relatively developed railways dedicated to sugar factories. The summer river transport in the central part of Canada and winter sled transport are also important. The northern coastal region primarily uses sled transport.