North America

Map of North America

North America is a continent. It is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and almost completely in the Western Hemisphere. North America has 23 countries and 22 territories.

It is bound by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South America to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

History

North America was reached by its first human populations during the Last Glacial Period, via crossing the Bering land bridge approximately 20,000 to 17,000 years ago. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago (the beginning of the Archaic or Meso-Indian period).

Countries

North America

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States

Central America

• Belize
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama

Islands

• Antigua and Barbuda
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Grenada
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

Territories

North America

• Of the United Kingdom
  • Bermuda
• Of Denmark
  • Greenland
• Of France
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Islands

• Of France
  • Clipperton Island
  • Guadeloupe
  • Saint Barthélemy
  • Saint Martin
• Of the Netherlands
  • Aruba
  • Bonaire
  • Curaçao
  • Saba
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Sint Maarten
• Of the United Kingdom
  • Anguilla
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Montserrat
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
• Of the United States
  • Navassa Island
  • Puerto Rico
  • United States Virgin Islands

Languages

Languages of the Americas

English and Spanish are the most widely spoken languages in North America.

English is spoken in Canada, the United States, and many island countries and territories. Spanish is spoken in Mexico, almost all of Central America (except Belize), Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and a few island countries and territories.

French is mostly spoken in Quebec, Canada and French territories. Danish is spoken in Greenland (a territory of Denmark). Haitian Creole (based on French) is spoken in Haiti.

Various native languages are spoken by minorities throughout North America.

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