23 Facts About North America

1.

North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere.

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2.

North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

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3.

However, in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central North America, there are indigenous populations continuing their cultural traditions and speaking native languages.

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4.

France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Greece, and the countries of Latin America use a six-continent model, with the Americas viewed as a single continent and North America designating a subcontinent comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Saint Pierre et Miquelon, and often Greenland, and Bermuda.

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5.

Spanish North America was often referred to as Northern America, and this was the first official name given to Mexico.

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6.

In contrast to the common definition of "North America", which encompasses the whole continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used to refer only to Mexico, Canada, the United States, and Greenland.

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7.

Term Northern America refers to the northernmost countries and territories of North America: the United States, Bermuda, St Pierre and Miquelon, Canada, and Greenland.

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8.

North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America .

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9.

North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa.

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10.

However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties to Virginia and other parts of the continent.

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11.

When Pangaea began to rift around 200 million years ago, North America became part of Laurasia, before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid-Cretaceous period.

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12.

North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods.

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13.

The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America is the Morrison Formation of the western United States.

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14.

Central North America is geologically active with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time.

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15.

Central North America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia, and the Cordillera de Talamanca.

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16.

North America is a very large continent that extends from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Tropic of Cancer.

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17.

Notable plants that were domesticated in North America include tobacco, maize, squash, tomato, sunflower, blueberry, avocado, cotton, chile pepperand vanilla.

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18.

The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the domestication of many common crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes, squash, and maize.

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19.

North America is the fourth most populous continent after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

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20.

Yet as cities grow in these warmer regions of North America, they are increasingly forced to deal with the major issue of water shortages.

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21.

North America has been witness to the growth of megapolitan areas.

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22.

Canada's constitution dates to 1867, with confederation, in the British North America Act, but not until 1982 did Canada have the power to amend its own constitution.

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23.

In contrast to largely Protestant Anglo settlers in North America, French-speaking Canadians were Catholic and with the Quebec Act were guaranteed freedom to practice their religion, restored the right of the Catholic Church to impose tithes for its support, and established French civil law in most circumstances.

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