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World Geography
Lesson 8 North America
Not only is North America the continent on which SRVS is
located, it is also the world's third largest continent, with more than
450 million people living there. It includes 23 countries with
dozens of small islands in the Caribbean. The major countries
include the United States, Canada, Mexico and the world's
largest island, Greenland. Central America is the name given to a
region within North America. North America is joined to Asia by
ice in winter on the Bering Sea. It is also the only continent that
lies entirely in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.
The United States can be divided into regions according to their
location. You probably already know that there are 50 states and
most states border each other. Notice how far north Alaska is
located. Alaska is not connected to the other states in the U.S., but
is actually west of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Hawaii is the
only other state that does not share a border with the others. It is a
series of islands west of California. The capital of the U.S. is
located in Washington, D.C. We will explore the U.S. in further
detail in the next lesson.
Canada is the second largest country in the world and the largest
country in North America. Canada is made up of ten provinces and
three territories. As you can see in the map below, the capital of
Canada is Ottawa, which is designated with a circled star.
Although Canada is larger than the United States, it has a smaller
population. The United States has ten times as many people as
Canada! Some Native Canadians, called Inuit, have lived in
northern Canada for thousands of years. They once built igloos,
traveled by dogsled, and made clothing from caribou skins.
Today, the Inuit honor their history by teaching others about the
old ways of life.
Mexico is the largest North American country that is south of the
U.S.
Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. Most people speak Spanish
in Mexico.
South of Mexico is Central America. The seven countries of
Central America are located on a narrow piece of land between
Mexico and South America. They are Belize, Guatemala,
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
The Panama Canal is a shortcut for ships. Before the canal was
built, ships had to sail all the way around South America to get
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This waterway was
built by the United States in the early 1900s.
Panama Canal
North America has a very favorable climate for producing
agriculture. Most of the world's corn, meat, cotton, soybeans,
tobacco, and wheat are produced here.
Mineral resources such as coal, iron ore, copper, natural gas,
petroleum, and silver are also in good supply.
North America's advanced technology is another reason that
agriculture is so strong on this continent.
Because North America is so expansive, its climate varies greatly.
It ranges from the areas of permanent ice cap
in Greenland to the tropical rain forests of Central America.
Alaska and Canada have extremely cold temperatures, while the
Southwestern desert region in Arizona and New Mexico is hot and
dry.
You many now do your assignments for North America.