North America

North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere; it is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas.

Ordered from largest in area to smallest, they are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest.

It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

Located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America.

In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands (most notably the Caribbean) are included.

This is an alphabetical list of sovereign states and dependent territories in North America. This list uses the most inclusive definition of North America, which covers the landmass north of the Panama-Colombia border, and the islands of the Caribbean.

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).

In the classification of the archaeological cultures of North America, the Archaic period or "Meso-Indian period" in North America, taken to last from around 8000 to 1000 BC in the sequence of North American pre-Columbian cultural stages, is a period defined by the archaic stage of cultural development.

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

The European climate is largely affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent, even at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe.

North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere; it is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas.

The Americas (also collectively called America; Amérique, Spanish/Portuguese: América) comprise the totality of the continents of North and South America.

In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands (most notably the Caribbean) are included.

Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies.

In the United States of America, usage of the term may refer only to Canada and the US, and sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico (as in the North American Free Trade Agreement), as well as offshore islands.

Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers, as well as the nearby island of Iceland) for more than a millennium.

In the United States of America, usage of the term may refer only to Canada and the US, and sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico (as in the North American Free Trade Agreement), as well as offshore islands.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; Spanish: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; French: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

The Pre-Columbian era ended in 1492, and the transatlantic migrations—the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period.

Transatlantic migration refers to the movement of people across the Atlantic Ocean in order to settle on the continents of North and South America.

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

It covered a huge area that included territories in North America, Central America, Asia and Oceania.

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).

From BCE ( BP), ice-free corridors developed along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America.

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

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

Northern America is the northernmost region of North America.

Regions shared between both nations included the Great Lakes Region.

The Great Lakes region of North America is a bi-national Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.

Megalopolises have formed between both nations in the case of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes Megaregion.

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and (loosely) by the Cascade Mountain Range on the east.

Megalopolises have formed between both nations in the case of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes Megaregion.

The Great Lakes Megalopolis consists of the group of metropolitan areas in North America largely in the Great Lakes region and along the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Although the term does not refer to a unified region, Middle America—not to be confused with the Midwestern United States—groups the regions of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

In southern North America, it usually comprises Mexico, the nations of Central America, and the Caribbean.

Barbados ( or ) is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of North America.

Canada was formed from the unification of northern territories controlled by Britain and France.

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America.

Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kinds of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants.

As a result, by the mid-16th century, the Spanish Crown had gained control of much of western South America, and southern North America, in addition to its earlier Caribbean territories.

Stretching from the borders of the continental humid and subtropical climates, and going west to the Cascades Sierra Nevada, south to the southern tip of durango, north to the border with tundra climate, the steppe/desert climate is the driest climate in the U.S. Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, where subtropical or temperate climates occur just below the tropics, as in central Mexico and Guatemala.

Mexico (México ; Mēxihco), officially the United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos, ), is a country in the southern portion of North America.

With a land area of 1,628 km2 and an estimated population of 400,132 as of January 2015, it is the largest and most populous European Union territory in North America.

The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society.