North, Central and South America: area, population, location. Main "Belts" of the USA

North America is one of the 6 continents of the planet Earth, located in the north of the Western Hemisphere of the Earth. The area of North America without islands is 20.36 million km², with islands 24.25 million km². The islands of North America include Greenland (2.176 million km²), the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the West Indies, the Aleutian Islands and others. The population of North America is over 500 million people.

Etymology

It is believed that America was named after the Italian traveler Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringman. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that America was not the East Indies, but a new hitherto unknown continent. In 1507, Waldseemüller mapped the world, where he put the name "America" on the South American continent in the region of present-day Brazil.

He explained the name in the book Cosmographiae Introductio that came with the map:

Today, these parts of the world (Europe, Africa and Asia) have already been fully explored, and the fourth part of the world has been discovered by America Vesputius. And since Europe and Asia are named after women, I see no obstacles to calling this new region Ameriga, Amerigo Land, or America, after the wise man who discovered it.

Later, when North America appeared on the maps, this name extended to it: in 1538, Gerard Mercator used the toponym "America" to designate the entire western hemisphere on a world map.

Some researchers argue that at that time it was customary to call the discovered lands by their last names (with the exception of royalty), so the theory of the origin of the name on behalf of Amerigo Vespucci is controversial. Alfred Hudd proposed a theory in 1908 that the continent was named after the Welsh merchant Richard America of Bristol, who is believed to have financed the expedition of John Cabot, who discovered Newfoundland in 1497. Another hypothesis says that America was named after a Spanish sailor with the ancient Visigothic name Amairic. There are also versions that the name "America" is rooted in the languages of the Indians.

Geography of North America

Location

North America is washed from the west by the Pacific Ocean with the Bering Sea, Alaska and California bays, from the east by the Atlantic Ocean with the Labrador, Caribbean, St. Lawrence and Mexican seas, from the north by the Arctic Ocean with the Beaufort, Baffin, Greenland and Hudson Bay seas.

From the west it is separated from Eurasia by the Bering Strait. It is separated from South America by the Isthmus of Panama.

North America also includes numerous islands: Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, Vancouver Island, the Alexander Archipelago, etc. The area of North America, together with the islands, is 24.2 million km², without islands 20.4 million km².

Extreme points of North America:

Northern point - Cape Murchison, 71°50′ N. sh. 94°45′ W d. (G) (O)
Southern point - Cape Maryato, 7°12′ N. sh. 80°52′ W d. (G) (O)
Western point - Cape Prince of Wales, 65°35′ N. sh. 168°05′ W d. (G) (O)
Eastern point - Cape St. Charles (English), 52 ° 24′ N. sh. 55°40′ W d. (G) (O)

The length of North America from north to south is 66°, or 7326 km, and the length from west to east is 102°.

Relief

The Laurentian Upland corresponds to the mainland of the Canadian Shield. Features of its relief are associated with long-term denudation and glacial processing. The gently undulating surface of the hill has a height of 1537-6100 meters.

The central plains correspond to part of the N American Platform plate. Altitude 200-500 m. The relief is erosive and slightly undulating, and in the northern part the relief is glacial with moraine ridges and outwash fields. In the southern part of this relief there are forest covers. These elevations include the Ozark Rise (about 760 m high) and the Washita Lowlands (up to 884 m), which is a folded base of the Epihercynian platform.

The Great Plains are the foothills of the Cordillera Plateau. Height 500-1500 m. Appeared in the era of Laramian folding, due to the accumulation of destruction products of the Cordillera and the subsequent uplift of the surface. The geomorphological structure is quite complex, there are bedrock, moraine, fluvioglacial and loess Quaternary rocks.

The coastal lowlands correspond to the epihercynian platform in the south of the mainland. The height is not higher than 200 m. In the rear parts there are many erosional forms, in the coastal zone there are bars, lagoons, sandy beaches, spits, flat low terraces.

The highest point in North America - Mount McKinley - 6194 m, the lowest - Death Valley - 86 m below sea level.

The mountains:

Rocky Mountains
cascade mountains
Coast Ranges
Sierra Nevada
Appalachians
Cordillera

The highest point on the continent is Mount McKinley at 6194 m.

Hydrography

There are quite a lot of rivers and lakes in North America. The longest river system on the globe is located there - the Mississippi with a tributary of the Missouri, and the largest accumulation of fresh water is located in the Great American Lakes region. The territory of the continent is irrigated unevenly due to both climatic and orographic features. A huge water system is formed by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which connects them to the Atlantic Ocean.

The rivers of North America belong to the basins of the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans; some of them have an internal drain. Most flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

Most of the rivers of North America are of great transport and hydropower importance.

In different parts of the mainland there are different types of water systems with different river regimes. They depend on the climate and orographic conditions.

Rivers on the mainland

Mississippi
Missouri
Mackenzie
Colombia
Saskatchewan
Colorado
Rio Grande

Lakes of the Continent

Great Lakes

Upper
Huron
Michigan
Ontario

Significant lakes

Big Bear Lake
Great Slave Lake
Great Salt Lake
Winnipeg
Crater

The history of the discovery of the continent

Approximately 1000 years ago, the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia, the Vikings, reached the mainland.

In 982, Erik the Red was expelled from the Icelandic colony for a murder he had committed. He heard stories about lands lying at a distance of about 1000 kilometers from Iceland. There he went with a small detachment. After a difficult voyage, he managed to reach this land. Eric called this place Greenland ("green country"). In 986, Eric gathered a group of Vikings who settled on the island he had discovered.

In May 1497, John and Sebastian Cabot set sail from the port of Bristol on the Matthew. At the end of June, they landed on an island named Newfoundland, mistaking it for Asia, and continued sailing along the coast east of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Having sailed along the coast for about a month and found large stocks of fish, they took the opposite course.

In April 1534, sailing from the city of Saint-Malo, the Frenchman Jacques Cartier reached the island of Newfoundland after 20 days and, having rounded the island, entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Ben-Ile Strait. Having made maps of the area, Cartier returned back to France. In 1535, three Cartier ships approached Newfoundland again. He rounded the island of Anticosti from the north and entered the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Having hired Huron guides, the Frenchman led the ships along the river and soon arrived at a place that the Indians called Stadicona (now the city of Quebec is located there).

In early October, the French arrived at the Iroquois settlement of Oshelag. Cartier climbed a mountain that towered above the village, which he called Mont-Royal (Royal Mountain). Rapids were visible from the mountain, which did not allow ships to rise higher up the river. Cartier returned to Stadacon. The French wintered here by building a fort.

In 1541 Cartier's third voyage began. He was supposed to establish colonies in the lands he explored under the general name of New France. But the idea failed. The traveler returned to France, fell into disfavor there and died in oblivion in 1557.

In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec on the site of the village of Stadacona, and in 1611, near the settlement of Hochelaga, Montreal.

In the middle of the 18th century, the discovery of the western coast of the mainland took place during the Great Northern Expedition. In July 1741, the crew of the ship "Saint Peter" under the command of Vitus Bering saw the American coast at about 58 ° N. sh., and the ship "Saint Paul" under the command of Alexei Ilyich Chirikov approached the American coast a little to the south - near 55 ° N. sh.

Geology

The ancient continent of Laurentia formed the core of North America between 1.5 and 1 billion years ago in the Proterozoic eon. Between the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic, North America, like other modern continents, separated from the supercontinent Pangea.

Geology of Canada

Canada is one of the world's oldest geological regions, with more than half of its territory composed of Precambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of the Paleozoic era. The mineral resources of Canada are very diverse and extensive. The Canadian shield, located in the north of the continent, has reserves of ores of iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum and uranium. Significant concentrations of diamonds have also recently been discovered in the Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest suppliers of diamonds. There are many mining towns throughout the Canadian Shield. The largest and most famous of them is Sudbury in Ontario. The Sudbury deposits are an exception to the normal process of mineral formation, as there is strong evidence that the Sudbury Basin formed on the site of an ancient meteorite crater. Nearby is the lesser-known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly, which bears a striking resemblance to the Sudbury Basin, suggesting the presence of a second crater equally rich in metal ores.

Geological provinces of the United States

The union of 48 states of the United States, lying south of Canada, can be divided into approximately five physical-geographical provinces:

Cordillera
Canadian shield
stable platform
coastal plain
Appalachian folding belt.

The geology of Alaska belongs to the Cordillera, while the large islands of the state of Hawaii are formed by Neogene volcanoes located above the hotspot.

Geology of Central America

Central America is quite geologically active with occasional earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 1976, Guatemala was hit by a massive earthquake that killed 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was destroyed by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, in the latter case about 5,000 people died; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; in 2009, an earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica, killing at least 34 people; also in Honduras, a powerful earthquake in 2009 killed 7 people.

Volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in the region. In 1968, the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica erupted, killing 87 people. Fertile soils from the weathering of volcanic lavas allow high population densities to be maintained in the fertile agricultural mountain regions.

Central America has many mountain ranges, the longest being the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabella and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Between the ranges lie fertile valleys, which are suitable for human life, and where the majority of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala currently lives. The climate and soils of the valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans and other crops.

States and territories of North America

State	Area (km²)	Population (2008)	Population density (person/km²)
Antigua and Barbuda				St. John's
Bahamas
Barbados				bridgetown
Belize				Belmopan
Haiti				Port-au-Prince
Guatemala				Guatemala
Honduras				Tegucigalpa
Grenada				St. George's
Dominica
Dominican Republic				Santo Domingo
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Salvador				San Salvador
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines				Kingstown
Saint Kitts and Nevis
USA				Washington
Trinidad and Tobago				Port of Spain
Jamaica				kingston

Dependencies

US Virgin Islands

Fauna of North America

Animal world . The fauna of the larger, extratropical part of the mainland has a significant similarity with the fauna of similar parts of Eurasia, which was a consequence of the existence of land connections between the continents and allows these territories to be combined into one large zoogeographic region of the Holarctic. Along with this, some specific features of the fauna give reason to consider the North American part as an independent Nearctic region and contrast it with the Palearctic region of Eurasia. Characteristic animals of the tundra zone: reindeer (caribou), polar bear, arctic fox, lemming, polar hare, polar owl, polar partridge. Musk ox is found only in the north of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland. The most typical representatives of the taiga are: beaver, American sable, wapiti, brown bear, Canadian lynx, tree porcupine, wolverine, muskrat, ilka marten, red squirrel, large flying squirrel. The number of animals, especially fur-bearing ones, has declined sharply.

The fauna of mixed and broad-leaved forests suffered even more, including a number of original species (for example, the virgin deer, skunk, gray fox, starfish mole, red lynx, gray squirrel, fork-tailed harrier, wild turkey). Hamsters, shrews, woodchucks are more common. In the subtropics, in the southeast of the mainland, along with animals common with the broad-leaved forest subzone, there are representatives of the tropical fauna - alligator, alligator turtles, ibis, flamingos, pelicans, hummingbirds, Carolina parrot. Animals of the steppes and forest-steppes are heavily exterminated: bison (preserved only in reserves), pronghorn antelope, long-eared mazama deer (preserved in the mountains), coyote wolf, prairie fox; rodents are much more numerous: ground squirrels, prairie dogs, steppe polecats, badger, pouched rat, and birds: earthen owl, prairie grouse and others. The mountain-forest landscapes of the Cordillera are characterized by a big-horned sheep, a grizzly bear, a bighorn goat. On the desert-steppe plateaus, reptiles are numerous, including poisonous rattlesnakes and gila-toothed lizards, frinosoma lizards, wall boas and some others. In Central America, the West Indies, and partly in the south of the Mexican Highlands, tropical animals predominate, including South American ones - pangolins, armadillos, monkeys, bats, hummingbirds, parrots, turtles, crocodiles and others.

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USA- the fourth largest state, located on the territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Cordillera and the Rocky Mountains in the west. The United States includes Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, and a number of islands in the western Pacific Ocean. In the north it borders on Canada, in the south - on Mexico, Alaska is separated from Asia by the Bering Strait, has borders with Canada.

The name of the country comes from the mainland America.

Official name: United States of America (USA)

Capital: Washington

The area of the land: 9.36 million sq. km

Total population: 309.2 million people

Administrative division: The state consists of 50 states (48 contiguous states, as well as Alaska and Hawaii) and the federal (capital) District of Columbia.

Form of government: Republic with a federal state structure.

Head of State: President elected for a term of 4 years.

Composition of the population: 84% European, 12% African American, 3% Asian, 0.8% Indian.

Official language: English, but half of the country is fluent in Spanish.

Religion: 51.3% - Protestants, 23.9% - Catholics, 12.1% do not belong to any denomination, 1.7% - Mormons, 1.6% - members of another Christian denomination, 1.7% - Jews, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.6% Muslim, 2.5% Other, 4% Atheist.

Internet domain: .us, .mil, .gov

Mains voltage: ~120 V, 60 Hz

Phone country code: +1

Country barcode: 000 - 099, 100 - 139 US (reserved for future use)

Climate

Almost every type of climate can be found in the vast territory of the United States, from arctic and subarctic in Alaska to tropical in the Hawaiian Islands, California and Florida. In the main part of the country, the climate is temperate continental, humid in the east and dry in the west. On a narrow strip of the Pacific coast, temperate maritime (in the north) and Mediterranean (in the south) climate types can be traced.

The general temperature background is quite uniform. In summer, the temperature in most areas ranges from +22°C to +28°C, while the difference between the northern and southern states is relatively small. Winter in most of the country is quite mild - the average January temperature ranges from -2°C in the north to +8°C in the south. However, significant temperature fluctuations are not uncommon due to the free penetration of air masses both from the Arctic region and from tropical latitudes (the United States mountain systems located in the meridional direction act as a kind of “pipe” along which cyclones and anticyclones move from north to south or vice versa , with virtually no obstacles).

In mountainous regions it is always cooler than in the adjacent territories of the plains - in summer by 4-8 degrees, in winter - by 7-12. At the same time, in oceanic regions it is always warmer in winter, and cooler in summer than in the center of the country (the eastern coast of the country, heated by the warm Gulf Stream, has a temperature of 5-7 degrees higher than the central and western regions for almost its entire length).

The distribution of precipitation is also very uneven. In the southeastern states and on the Pacific coast, up to 2000 mm of rain falls per year, in the Hawaiian Islands - up to 4000 mm or more, while in the central regions of California or Nevada - no more than 200 mm. Moreover, the nature of the distribution of precipitation entirely depends on the terrain - the western slopes of the mountains and the Atlantic regions receive noticeably more rain than the eastern ones, while throughout the Great Plains, from the coastal lowlands of the south to the wooded regions of the north, almost the same amount of precipitation falls (about 300-500 mm).

At any time of the year, you can find a region of the United States in which the rest would be comfortable due to its weather conditions. The swimming season in the north and in the center of the Atlantic coast lasts from June to August-September, although the water warms up to quite acceptable values in May and October. On the coast of Florida, you can swim almost all year round (the average water temperature, even in the winter months, rarely drops below + 22 ° C), however, from July to September it is quite hot here (+ 36-39 ° C) and very high humidity (up to 100%), and tropical hurricanes are not uncommon from June to November.

Geography

The United States of America is located in the central part of the North American continent, occupying a vast area between the 25th and 57th parallels of northern latitude. From the east they are washed by the waters of the Atlantic, in the south - by the Gulf of Mexico of the Caribbean Sea, in the west and southwest - by the Pacific Ocean, the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska - by the Arctic Ocean.

The United States borders with Canada in the north (the total length of the border is 8893 km, including 2477 km in Alaska), with Mexico in the south (3141 km), with Russia in the northwest (the sea border along the Bering Strait and the Arctic shelf, the distance between the islands of Maly and Big Diomede, owned by the United States and Russia, respectively, is only 4 km) and Cuba in the southeast (the border is both sea, along the Strait of Florida, and by land, in the area of the American naval base Guantanamo, located directly in Cuba).

The Hawaiian Islands are located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, at a distance of about 4000 km from the mainland. Many island territories, also in one form or another belonging to the United States, are scattered throughout the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The United States also controls a number of island territories with different political status (in each case, it is established by a separate agreement, supported by a decree of the federal authorities). These include the island territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands, Johnston, Midway, Navassa, Palmyra, Wake, Kingman Reef and some other territories.

The total area of the country is about 9.36 million square meters. km (9.82 million sq. km - with islands and trust territories).

Flora and fauna

Vegetable world

The vegetation of the country varies depending on the climatic zones. One third of the country's territory is covered with forests. In the south of Alaska - extensive coniferous forests, the rest of the state is covered mainly with tundra with mosses and lichens.

The central part of the country is characterized by mixed forest vegetation: spruce, pine, oak, ash, birch, and sycomoros predominate. Cedar, pine and larch forests are typical of the north of the east coast.

To the south, the vegetation acquires a subtropical character: magnolias and rubber plants appear. The coast of the Gulf of Mexico is covered with mangroves. The western part of the country is a region of deserts and semi-deserts. Here the most characteristic species are yucca, shrubs and semi-shrubs.

There are many varieties of cacti and succulents in the desert. In California, chaparral, citrus fruits, and various palm trees are very common. The Sierra Nevada is the land of giant sequoias.

Animal world

The animal world is also divided into climatic zones. Bear, elk, deer, ground squirrel live in the northern part; on the coast of Alaska - walruses and seals. In the eastern forests there are grizzly bears, deer, foxes, wolves, skunks, badgers, and many birds. On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, you can meet such exotic birds as pelicans, flamingos, kingfishers; alligators live here, many snakes (including poisonous ones).

Ungulates predominate on the Great Plains, herds of bison have survived. Elk, pronghorn, mountain goat, bighorn, bears, wolves live in mountainous areas. In the deserts, reptiles, small mammals, and rodents are typical for this landscape.

Attractions

Walk of Hollywood Stars
Hollywood Walk of Fame
White House in Washington
monument valley
Napa Valley
Hollywood Sign
yellowstone
Hoover Dam
Times Square
chrysler building
mammoth cave
Mojave Desert
Dancing fountains "Bellagio"

Tips are not automatically included in the bill. In restaurants, bars, taxis, casinos, you need to focus on 10-15% tips. In New York, this amount can reach 20%.

Banks, as a rule, are open from 9.00 to 15.00 (Monday - Friday), on one of the days of the week, more often on Friday, until 18.00.

Shops are open from 9.30 to 17.30 (Monday - Friday). Shopping centers and large department stores are open: Monday - Saturday from 9.00 to 21.30, on Sundays from 12.00 to 17.00.

Useful information for tourists

Americans pride themselves on being citizens of the best country in the world, and they don't like stiffness in dress or manners. A European may be surprised by the simplicity of their appearance - they prefer comfortable clothes, address each other simply, informally, even if there is a difference in age and social status between the interlocutors.

Americans are very concerned about their health and the health of others, so special places are reserved for smoking in restaurants and bars. Do not smoke in taxis, airports, train stations, and even on some streets they can be fined for smoking a cigarette.

As for communication in an informal setting, receptions in the United States are a common thing. This is a good opportunity to talk about family and hobbies. As a gift, it is better to bring a bottle of good wine.

In the US, tips are a legal form of additional pay in the service sector. It is distributed in taxis, airports, hotels, restaurants. The porter is paid extra 0.25-0.5 dollars for one place. A bellboy in a hotel gets a little more (0.5-1 dollar per seat). It is customary to tip the head waiter, porter, maid. Tipping the waiter, taxi driver is equal to 10-15% of the amount on the bill.

You should never offer money to a police officer or official. This attempt can be qualified as a criminal offence.

Combining incredible historical events, civilizations and. This place is the land of the ancient Incas, the great Amazon, rare species of animals and tropical forests. The mainland is surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, which also hide many unique and still unexplored. South America - which is ranked 4th in size after Eurasia, and.

Extreme continental points of South America

Northern. It is located on Cape Gallinas, which is located on the Guajira peninsula (12°27"31" north latitude and 71°40"8" west longitude).
South. Located on the Brunswick Peninsula, Cape Froward (53 ° 53 "47" South latitude and 71 ° 40 "8" West longitude).
Western. It is located on Cape Parinas in Peru (4°40"58" north latitude and 81°19"43" west longitude).
Eastern. Located at Cape Seixas, Brazil (7°9"19"N and 34°47"35"W).

Extreme island points of South America

The northernmost point is on Santa Catalina Island (13°23"18" N and 81°22"25" W), which is part of the Colombian Department of San Andrés and Providencia. The island is connected to Providencia Island via a 330 foot footbridge.
Aguila Islet, Chile (56°32"16" S, 68°43"10" W) is the southernmost point of the continent and is part of the Diego Ramirez group of islands. Aguila is located about 800 km from the nearest Antarctic areas such as Greenwich Island and the South Shetland Islands. It is also located only 950 km from the continental.
Darwin Island (01°40"44" N and 92°00"33" W), the smallest island in the Galapagos archipelago, can be considered the westernmost point of South America. The island covers an area of only 1 sq. km, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean surrounding the island are teeming with wildlife.
Taking into account Easter Island, the westernmost point of the South American continent can be considered the island of Motu Nui, which belongs to Chile. The island serves several species of sea birds. This is a volcanic island with a peak located at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level.
Ilha do Sul (20°29"50" S, 28°50"51" W) is the easternmost island in South America. It is located in the archipelago of Trindade and Martin Vas, which is part of the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. If the South Sandwich Islands are taken into account as part of the territory of South America, then Montague Island (58 ° 30 "43" south latitude and 26 ° 16 "7" west longitude) can be considered as the easternmost point of the continent.

Outer settlements of South America

In the north of the mainland, the most extreme permanent settlement has preserved its originality and ancient traditions. This is the village of Vayu, in which the Indian people of the same name live. Only 100 people live in the village, and the total number of this people is no more than 300,000 people. In the south, the most extreme city is Punta Arenas, which belongs to Chile and is the administrative center of the commune of the same name. A little over 130,000 people live in the city.

Hello dear readers! Today I have prepared a material on the mainland of North America. I would like to walk a little through the main characteristics of this continent, well, let's start.

The continent of North America is located in the northern hemisphere. In the south, it connects with South America, and the border between these two continents is drawn through the Isthmus of Darien, and sometimes through the Isthmus of Panama.

North America includes the West Indies and Central America. The area is 20.36 million km 2 (together with the islands 24.25 million km 2).

North America is washed by the Bering Sea, the Pacific Ocean (more about this ocean you can read here), the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Alaska in the west; the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Caribbean Sea, the Labrador Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean in the east; The Arctic Ocean with the Baffin and Beaufort Seas, the Hudson and Greenland Bays in the north.

Large islands: Aleutian, Greenland, Alexander Archipelago.

The Cordelera mountain system occupies the western part of the mainland; plateau, the Great Plains and medium-high mountains (you can learn more about the mountains) occupy the eastern part of the mainland. To the northeast is the Laurentian Upland. The interior of the mainland is occupied by the Central Plains and the Great Plains. The central part of North America is occupied by the Precambrian North American (Canadian) platform. In the north of the mainland are the mountain rises of Labrador, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Appalachians. The Mexican and Atlantic lowlands are located along the southeast coast.

Deposits of minerals of world importance: combustible gases, oil, potassium salts (in Canada), uranium (Laurentian Upland), coal, nickel, iron ore, gold, cobalt.

The richest oil and gas fields: northern part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, Mexican lowland, asbestos deposits in the Northern Appalachians. Numerous deposits of rare and non-ferrous metals in the Cordillera.

Climate North America Diverse: from arctic in the far north to tropical in Central America and the West Indies, in the interior - continental, in coastal areas - oceanic.

Average temperatures: January - from -36 °С in the north of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to -20 °С in the south of Florida and the Mexican Highlands; July - from 4 °С in the north of the Canadian Arctic archipelago to 32 °С in the southwest of the USA.

The largest river system Mississippi-Missouri 6420 km long. Other rivers: Colorado, Mackenzie, Columbia, St. Lawrence, Yukon.

The north of the mainland experienced glaciation, it bored on lakes (more about lakes): Big Bear Lake, Big Lakes, Great Slave Lake, Winnipeg. The total area of modern glaciation is more than 2 million km2.

In the east of the mainland, the land cover is represented by a series of latitudinal zones - from arctic deserts (more about deserts) in the north to tropical evergreen forests in the south (in the Cordillera - a variety of altitudinal belts). South of 47°N sh. zones are located mainly in the meridional direction.

Forests cover about 1/3 of the territory of mainland North America. They are represented by typical taiga in the central regions of Canada, mixed and broad-leaved forests in the Great Lakes basin, coniferous forests on the Pacific coast of Alaska, evergreen mixed and coniferous forests in the southern Cordillera and in the southeast of the mainland.

Semi-desert and steppe vegetation prevails in the interior of the mainland. In the inner belt of the Cordillera, deserts are developed in places. The soil and vegetation cover of North America has been heavily modified by man (this is especially true for the United States).

The fauna includes a number of endemic, typically North American species (bison, muskrat, musk ox, grizzly bear, skunk). There are more than 50 national parks in North America.

Countries: Canada, USA (more about the country), Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Greenland is a possession of Denmark, as well as a number of possessions that belong to the USA, Great Britain, France (more about the country) and the Netherlands.

This is the continent of North America. Now, having familiarized yourself with everything closer, you can safely choose a place to relax.😉And in order not to miss new articles, subscribe to updates and the article will immediately come to your mail after the release.😉

South America is the fourth largest continent on the planet. In the east it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in the west by the Pacific, and the northern coast belongs to the Caribbean Sea. Let us consider in more detail the extreme points of South America - the wettest continent on the globe.

Geographic coordinates of the extreme points of the mainland South America

The mainland area is 17.7 million square meters. km, but if we count with all the adjacent islands, then this value is slightly higher - 18.28 million square meters. km.

The relief of the continent is very diverse and contrasting. Plateaus, low and high plains predominate in the east, and the Andes mountain ranges in the west. The highest point is Mount Aconcagua - it rises above sea level at 6959 m.

Rice. 1. Aconcagua

If a straight line is drawn along the mainland from the southernmost point to the northern one, then this distance will be 7350 km. The length from the east coast to the west in the widest part of South America will leave a little more than 5 thousand km.

In degrees, the location of the extreme points of the continent is as follows:

Cape Gallinas

The northernmost outlying point of the mainland is located in Colombia at Cape Gallinas, which belongs to the Guajira Peninsula. This point in the north is very arbitrary, since the coastline is distinguished by smooth outlines.

Cape Gallinas is notable for the fact that not far from it there is an ancient settlement of indigenous people - the Wayu Indians. Despite all modern achievements, they continue to live, like their ancestors, observing ancient traditions and rituals.

Cape Forward

On the territory of Chile, on the small peninsula of Brunswick, the extreme southern point of the mainland is located.

For the first time the name of the cape appeared in 1587 and in translation it means “wayward”, “rebellious”. This is how the famous sea pirate Thomas Cavendish christened the cape, and this directly indicates the fact that it was not easy for medieval ships to pass by the cape.

Rice. 2. Cape Forward

In 1987, Cape Froward received its "insignia" - an impressive cross made of metal alloys.

Cape Parinas

In the west, the outlying point of South America is Cape Parinas, which belongs to Peru. It is a coastal ledge on which the lighthouse is located.

Parinhas is a fairly secluded place: the distance to the nearest settlement is more than 5 km. But it is precisely because of this that one can observe seals in their natural habitat, which have chosen the neighboring bay.

Rice. 3. Cape Parinas

Cape Seixas

There was some confusion about the definition of the extreme point in the east. For a long time, geographers were sure that this is Cape Branco, which belongs to Brazil. A lighthouse was even built here as a memorial sign. However, later, in the course of more accurate measurements, it was recorded that the extreme point is located in the neighborhood - it is Cape Seixas.

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