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North
America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop.
365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq
km), the northern of the two continents of the
Western Hemisphere. North America includes all
of the mainland and related offshore islands lying
N of the Isthmus of Panama (which connects it
with South America). The term “Anglo-America”
is frequently used in reference to Canada and
the United States combined, while the term “Middle
America” is used to describe the region
including Mexico, the republics of Central America,
and the Caribbean. |
| People:
The first human inhabitants of North America are
believed to be of Asian origin; they crossed over
to Alaska from NE Asia roughly 20,000 years ago,
and then moved southward through the Mackenzie River
valley. European discovery and settlement of North
America dates from the 10th cent., when Norsemen
settled (986) in Greenland. Although evidence is
fragmentary, they probably reached E Canada c.1000
at the latest. Of greater impact on the subsequent
history of the continent were Christopher Columbus's
exploration of the Bahamas in 1492 and later landings
in the West Indies and Central America, and John
Cabot's explorations of E Canada (1497), which established
English claims to the continent. Spanish and French
expeditions also explored much of North America.
Although the population of Canada
and the United States is still largely of European
origin, it is growing increasingly diverse with
substantial immigration from Asia, Latin America,
and Africa; it is also highly urbanized (about
74% live in urban areas); much of the population
is centered in large conurbations and coalescing
urban belts along the southern margin of Canada
and in the northeastern quadrant of the United
States around the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic
coast. Mexico's population, about 60% mestizo
(of European and Native American descent), is
increasingly urbanized (about 72%). People of
European descent are a minority in most Central
American and Caribbean countries, and the population
outside the major cities is largely rural. The
largest urban agglomerations on the continent
are Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, and
Chicago.
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| Resources and Economy:
North America's extensive agricultural lands (especially
in Canada and the United States) are a result of
the interrelationship of favorable climatic conditions,
fertile soils, and technology. Irrigation has turned
certain arid and semiarid regions into productive
oases. North America produces most of the world's
corn, meat, cotton, soybeans, tobacco, and wheat,
along with a variety of other food and industrial
raw material crops. Mineral resources are also abundant;
the large variety includes coal, iron ore, bauxite,
copper, natural gas, petroleum, mercury, nickel,
potash, and silver. The manufacturing that provided
a high standard of living for the people of Canada
and the United States has significantly declined,
and formerly abundant factory jobs are increasingly
replaced by those in the service sector. Much of
this manufacturing has moved to Mexico (especially
in the border zone adjoining the United States),
which offers a large and inexpensive labor force. |
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