A huge number of people live in North America. Once their ancestors arrived here as pioneer colonizers, laying the foundations of civilization in these remote lands. Representatives of indigenous peoples still live here, the number of which, however, was greatly reduced during the conquest of these lands. The nature here is as diverse as in Eurasia, and both the south and the north of this continent are beautiful in their own way.
Interesting facts about North America
- The area of the North American continent is approximately equal to the area occupied by the Soviet Union.
- The islands belonging to it make up approximately 20% of its total area.
- There is not a single country in North America that is landlocked.
- This continent got its name in honor of the navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
- Three times as many people live in China than in all of North America (interesting facts about China).
- There are not 2 countries here, as some people think, but as many as 23. However, the lion’s share of the space still falls on the United States and Canada.
- The northernmost point of the North American continent is the island of Greenland, by the way, the largest in the world.
- North America occupies about 4.8% of the total area of the globe, or 16.5% of the land.
- Archaeologists suggest that the ancestors of modern people first appeared in North American expanses, having moved here from Asia about 15 thousand years ago.
- Once upon a time, North America was connected to Eurasia by an isthmus. Then this isthmus, under the influence of tectonic forces, sank under water, forming the Bering Strait.
- In the area of this strait, the North American shores are separated from the Russian ones by a distance of only 4 kilometers.
- North America is washed by three oceans – the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic (interesting facts about the Pacific Ocean).
- The first map of this continent was created in 1539 by the famous geographer Mercator.
- According to various estimates, the age of North America is from 1 to 1.5 billion years.
- The first European who got here was the famous discoverer Christopher Columbus (interesting facts about Columbus).
- On this continent is the Grand Canyon, the largest canyon on Earth.
- It gets hot in here. In Death Valley (USA), a record temperature of +57 degrees was once recorded.
- The largest city in North America is the Mexican capital of Mexico City (interesting facts about Mexico). More than 21 million people live here.
- Destructive tornadoes originate here much more often than on any other continent.
- About half of the world’s corn crop is grown in North America.
- Two of the largest tectonic plates on Earth converge in California, which often causes the strongest earthquakes.
- In terms of area, the North American continent ranks third in the world.
- More than 960 species of mammals live in its open spaces.