North America

history:

Many indigenous peoples of North America were sedentary when the Europeans discovered them and practiced agriculture and animal husbandry, including hunters and gatherers. Diseases brought in from Europe and massacres by colonists reduced the indigenous population by about 90%. As a reaction to European settlement, many indigenous peoples then founded new tribes and associations. The best known here are the Apaches, Cherokee, Sioux, Iroquois and Inuit (Eskimos).

After Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, the Spaniards were the first to stay in southern North America. The discovery of North America was made by the Italian Giovanni Caboto in 1497. While some smaller countries had only insignificant holdings on the continent, the continent was divided between the Spanish, the French and the English.

Natural space:

North America is the northern part of the American double continent and after Asia and Africa the third largest continent on earth with an area of ​​24,930,000 km². North America is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. South America and North America were named after Amerigo Vespucci, who explored large parts of the east coast of South America during his sea voyages. Connecting North and South America is the Isthmus of Panama.

North America includes Greenland, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Central America and several island states, almost the entire surface of the continent is on the North American plate. Part of North America lies on the Pacific Plate, the break between the Pacific and North American plates becomes the San Andreas Fault called. Both plates are constantly drifting north. However, because the Pacific Plate is moving faster, both plates are sliding past each other. Because the plates get stuck at different points, earthquakes often occur in this area.

In the western part are the Rocky Mountains, the Western Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre Occidental. The highest elevation in North America is Mount McKinley in the Alaskan chain at 6,194 m. Greenland in the north and the great lakes between Canada and the USA are also worth seeing. On the eastern side are the approximately 400 million year old Appalachian Mountains, which are among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Between these mountains and the Rocky Mountains are the Great Plains, a central lowland. Through these flow the Missouri River and the Mississippi River.

Climate:

North America has a share in almost all of the world's climate zones. The north has a polar climate, the east side is humid and cool in the north, subtropical to marginal tropical in the south, the west coast has a warm temperate climate. Inland, the climate is continental with cold winters and hot summers. At times, heat waves penetrate far north from the Gulf of Mexico, while cold air currents penetrate south from Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Tornadoes and hurricanes are common in North America.

Vegetation and wildlife:

A tundra zone in the far north, where polar bears, reindeer and musk oxen live, is followed by a broad forest belt, which initially consists of conifers, alders and birches. Different species of fur animals live here. This gives way to deciduous forest in the south, where you can find grizzly bears, wolves, elk deer and skunks, among others. Inside, wide grass steppes spread out, which were once rich in steppe animals, rodents and snakes. In the southern coastal plains and the Gulf of Mexico, evergreen forests are mixed with palm trees.

Population:

About 500 million people live in North America. The original population of Indians and Eskimos was largely exterminated by the conquerors.They sometimes mixed with the immigrants and the blacks who were mostly taken to the south and east as slaves. In Canada and the USA there are still about 3.3 million Indians (mostly on reservations) who are still Eskimos and Aleutians. Most of the population of North America consists of descendants of immigrated Europeans, the main languages ​​are English and French. The average population density is very low, on the eastern side of North America there are also densely populated metropolitan areas.

Economy:

The continent's economy is characterized by the strong differences between the rich countries of the USA and Canada and the poor countries of Central America and the Caribbean (Mexico lies somewhere in between).

In Mexico, agriculture is one of the most important branches of the economy, while the USA and Canada have powerful, high-tech industries.