America (continent)
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| America (continent) | |
|---|---|
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| Name | America |
| Other names | New World |
| Area km2 | 42300000 |
| Population | 1.02 billion (approx.) |
| Countries | 35 sovereign states, 13 dependent territories |
| Time zones | UTC−10 to UTC+0 |
| Highest point | Aconcagua |
| Lowest point | Death Valley |
America (continent) America is the landmass comprising the North America and South America subcontinents, linked by the Isthmus of Panama. It contains a wide array of nations such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and diverse territories including Greenland and the Caribbean. Its coastline borders the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, and it has played a central role in events like the Age of Discovery, the Atlantic slave trade, the American Revolution and the Latin American wars of independence.
Etymology and Nomenclature
The name "America" derives from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, whose voyages were cited in the Waldseemüller map and the Universalis Cosmographia; the usage spread through publications associated with Martin Waldseemüller and Gerardus Mercator. Competing terms and regional names have included New World in texts about the Columbian Exchange and contested phrases used in treaties like the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza. Debates over continental definitions have referenced continental models used by cartographers such as Alexander von Humboldt and institutions like the Royal Geographical Society.
Geography and Boundaries
America extends from the northern Arctic archipelagos of Canada and Greenland through the Alaska peninsula, across the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains into the Mexican Plateau, over the Amazon Basin and Andes Mountains to the southern tip at Tierra del Fuego. It includes island regions such as the Caribbean Sea archipelagos (e.g., Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica) and remote islands like the Galápagos Islands and Falkland Islands. Political boundaries encompass sovereign states such as Chile and Colombia and dependencies like Bermuda and Puerto Rico, with maritime claims regulated under agreements influenced by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and cases before the International Court of Justice.
Geology and Natural History
The continent's geology is shaped by plate interactions among the North American Plate, South American Plate, Caribbean Plate and the Nazca Plate, producing features like the Andes via subduction near the Peru–Chile Trench and the Cascade Range via the Juan de Fuca Plate. Its geological record includes ancient cratons such as the Canadian Shield and orogenic belts like the Appalachian Mountains. Fossil sites like the La Brea Tar Pits, Hell Creek Formation and Llanos Basin document faunal turnovers including proboscideans, megafauna extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene, and early hominin-related research linked to sites investigated by institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History.
Climate and Biomes
America hosts climates from polar in Nunavut and Greenland to equatorial in the Amazon Rainforest and arid in the Atacama Desert and Sonoran Desert. Major biomes include the taiga of Canada and Alaska, the temperate broadleaf forests of the Appalachians and Atlantic Forest, the grasslands of the Great Plains and the Pampas, and the tropical rainforests of the Amazon Basin and Chocó-Darién. Climatic phenomena like El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation influence weather patterns that affect events monitored by organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología.
Human History and Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous populations include cultural groups such as the Inuit, Maya, Aztec, Inca, Quechua peoples, Mapuche, Arawak, Taino, Cherokee, Sioux and many nations recognized in modern constitutions like those of Bolivia and Canada. Archaeological cultures include the Clovis culture, the Olmec, the Moche and the Mississippian culture, with monumental sites at Teotihuacan, Tikal, Machu Picchu and Cahokia. Scholarly debates about peopling of the Americas involve researchers associated with institutions like University of California, Berkeley and Max Planck Institute and evidence from sites such as Monte Verde and ongoing genetic studies linked to projects like the Human Genome Project.
Colonization, Nation-Building, and Political History
European colonization involved empires including the Spanish Empire, Portuguese Empire, British Empire, French colonial empire and the Dutch Empire, resulting in colonization episodes such as the Conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Conquest of the Inca Empire. Independence movements led to states founded after revolutions like the United States Declaration of Independence, the Mexican War of Independence, and the campaigns of leaders such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín and Benito Juárez. Twentieth-century events include involvement in the World War II theater, the Cold War interventions such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Guatemalan coup d'état (1954), and multilateral organizations like the Organization of American States and trade agreements such as NAFTA and the MERCOSUR.
Demographics, Languages, and Culture
The continent's population includes descendants of European colonists (e.g., from Spain, Portugal, France, United Kingdom), African diaspora communities shaped by the Atlantic slave trade, and diverse Asian diaspora groups from China, India, Philippines and Japan. Major languages include Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and many indigenous languages such as Quechua, Guarani, Nahua and Inuktitut that receive protection in constitutions like those of Paraguay and Peru. Cultural expressions span artistic movements associated with figures like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Gabriel García Márquez, musical traditions from Cuban son to Brazilian samba and festivals such as Carnival (Brazil) and Día de los Muertos.
Economy and Resources
Natural resources include hydrocarbon reserves in regions like the Gulf of Mexico and Venezuela (e.g., Orinoco Belt), mineral deposits in the Andean copper belt and the Canadian Shield nickel fields, and agricultural zones such as the Midwestern United States and the Argentine Pampas. Major economic actors include corporations headquartered in New York City, São Paulo and Mexico City and financial institutions like the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank that engage in development projects. Trade networks have been shaped by infrastructure projects like the Panama Canal and energy corridors, and current economic policies are influenced by blocs such as USMCA and Pacific Alliance.
Category:Continents