Home > North America Zip Administrative regions
There are currently 23 countries in North America, see the table below.
nation | capital |
America | Washington, D.C |
Canada | Ottawa |
Mexico | Mexico City |
Guatemala | Guatemala City |
Belize | Belmopan |
Salvador | San Salvador |
Honduras | Tegucigalpa |
Panama | Panama City |
Bahamas | Nassau |
Cuba | Havana |
Jamaica | Kingston |
Haiti | Port-au-Prince |
Dominica | Santo Domingo |
Costa Rica | San jose |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseter |
Antigua and Barbuda | Saint john |
Dominica | Roseau |
Saint Lucia | Castries |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingston |
Barbados | Bridgetown |
Grenada | Saint george |
Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain |
Nicaragua | Managua |
In addition, there are: Greenland, Dutch Aruba, British Anguilla, British Bermuda, U.S. Federal Territory Puerto Rico, French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe, Netherlands Antilles (excluding Aru Pakistan), British Cayman Islands, French Overseas Department Martinique, U.S. Virgin Islands, British Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, etc.
North America (English: North America), called North America for its full name, is located in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere and is the second most developed continent in the world. Among them, the U.S. economy ranks first in the world and has important influence in the global economy and politics. Most of North America is a developed country, with a very high human development index and economic development level. General English, followed by Spanish, French, Dutch, Native American languages, etc.
North America has a total area of 24.228 million square kilometers (including nearby islands), which accounts for about 16.2% of the world's total land area, making it the third largest continent in the world. It faces the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and South America to the south by the Panama Canal. The mainland extends to Cape St. Charles in the east (55°40′ west longitude, 52°13′ north latitude), south to Cape Mariato (81°05′ west longitude, 7°12′ north latitude), and west to Prince of Wales Cape (west longitude) 168°05′, 65°37′ north latitude), north to Cape Muchson on the Busia Peninsula (94°26′ west longitude, 71°59′ north latitude).
The drainage
area of North America accounts for about 88% of the continent's area, of which the Atlantic basin accounts for about 48% of the continent's area, and the Pacific basin accounts for about 20%. Except for the St. Lawrence River, all major rivers originated in the Rocky Mountains. Rivers east of the Rocky Mountains flow into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and rivers to the west flow into the Pacific Ocean. The inflow area (including the no-flow area) accounts for about 12% of the continent's area and is mainly distributed in the western United States and Greenland. The Mississippi River is the largest river in North America and the fourth largest river in the world in terms of length. Followed by Mackenzie River, Yukon River, St. Lawrence River and Rio Grande River. Other more important rivers are: Colorado River, Ohio River, Columbia River, etc.
There are many waterfalls on the rivers of North America. The largest waterfall is Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park in the western United States, with a drop of 739 meters. Niagara Falls has a drop of 54 meters and a width of 1160 meters. North America is a continent with many lakes. The total area of freshwater lakes is about 400,000 square kilometers, ranking first among all continents. The lakes are mainly distributed in the northern half of the continent. The five great lakes in the Central Highlands: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, with a total area of 245,273 square kilometers, are the largest freshwater lakes in the world and are known as the "Mediterranean North America". Among them, Lake Superior has the largest area and the largest freshwater lake in the world.
Climate
North America spans tropical, temperate, and frigid zones, and the climate is complex and diverse. It is dominated by temperate continental climate and sub-frigid coniferous forest climate. The northern part is in the Arctic Circle and is the world of ice and snow. The southern Caribbean Sea is benefited by the warm equatorial current, but it is hit by tropical hurricanes. The vast area in the central part of the mainland is located in the northern temperate zone, which is suitable for crop growth and human survival.
Since all mountains are north-south or nearly north-south, the humid air from the Pacific Ocean only reaches the western coastal areas; the cold air from the Arctic Ocean can drive southward through the central plain; the humid air from the tropical Atlantic can also pass through the central part. The plain goes deep into the north, so the climate in North America is very unstable. Winter is sometimes cold and sometimes thawed. In the subtropical areas along the Gulf of Mexico, severe cold and snow will also occur in winter.
The coldest month (January) in North America where the average temperature is below 0°C accounts for about 3/4 of the continent's area. Some areas are below -32°C, and the central part of Greenland is as low as -50°C, becoming the cold polar region of the Western Hemisphere. In summer, the whole continent generally increases in temperature. The average temperature in the hottest month (July, mostly on the coast) is 0~3℃ in central Greenland, making it the coolest summer in the northern hemisphere; the rest of the vast areas are between 0-32℃ Among them, the areas above 20°C account for more than half of the continent's area, and the areas above 30°C are relatively small. Death Valley in the southwestern United States has an extreme maximum temperature of 56.7°C, making it the hottest region in the continent. The eastern part of North America has more precipitation.
The annual precipitation in the southeastern part of Canada and Greenland, the eastern part of the United States, the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska is about 500-300 mm; the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska is as high as 2000 mm, which is the most precipitation area in North America; the Florida Peninsula The annual precipitation is 1000-1500 mm, and the annual precipitation in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Yukon Plateau is 250-100 mm. The Caribbean has a tropical rain forest climate with high temperature and rain throughout the year. The areas with the least amount of precipitation are the southwestern part of the Great Basin of the United States, the lower part of the Colorado River, and the northern parts of the Arctic Islands and Greenland, with an average annual rainfall of less than 100 mm. In May each year, southeastern North America is often hit by hurricanes, often causing serious disasters. Winter in central and northern North America often blows cold and strong storms and land tornadoes. After the west wind crossed the Rocky Mountains, the Chinook wind formed at the eastern foot of the mountain.
Coastline The
continental coastline is about 60,000 kilometers long. The northern, northern and eastern coasts of the west are relatively tortuous, with many islands and fjords; the southern half of the coast is relatively straight.
The
total area of the peninsula and island peninsula is approximately 2.1 million square kilometers. The total area of the island is about 4 million square kilometers, ranking first among all continents. Greenland is the world's largest island, 80% covered by glaciers, and is a Danish colony.
Geographic Center
In a 2015 paper published in the academic journal "The Professional Geographer" (The Professional Geographer), Rogerson proposed a new method of defining the center of a spatial entity. This method improves on past techniques, he said, taking the curvature of the earth into account and using definitions (a reasonable mathematical method) to identify the geographic center. Rogerson uses a technique called equidistant azimuth projection by geographers. When a circular three-dimensional part of the earth is projected onto a two-dimensional plane, the technique makes the area on the map equal to the corresponding actual ground area.
At the end of 2016, he used this method to find the center of North America. The result was discovered by accident: According to his calculations, the center of the North American continent was in a place called Center (Center: the English name center), a small town of 570 people in North Dakota.
The
total population of 528,720,000 people (2008), accounting for about 8% of the world's total population. The population distribution across the continent is very uneven. Most of the population is distributed in the coastal areas of the southeast and southwest. Among them, the population density around New York and Lake Erie is the highest, with more than 200 people per square kilometer. The vast northern areas and the inland areas of the western United States are sparsely populated, and some places are even uninhabited, with less than one person per square kilometer.
Terrain
The plains below 200 meters above sea level account for about 20% of the continent, the plains and hills above 200-500 meters above sea level account for about 22%, the plateaus and mountains above 500 meters above sea level account for about 58%, and the average elevation of the entire continent is 700 meters. The basic feature of the continental topography is that the north-south mountains are distributed in parallel with the coast on the east and west sides, and the large plains are distributed in the middle. The terrain is clearly divided into three zones.
Eastern mountains and plateaus: The Labrador Plateau to the north of the St. Lawrence River, and the Appalachian Mountains to the south. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. The elevation is generally 300-500 meters. On the east side of the Appalachian Mountains, there is a narrow coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean, and the west side gradually descends to meet the central plain.
Central Plains: Located between the Labrador Plateau, Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains, it extends from Hudson Bay in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south and runs through the middle of the mainland. There are many lakes and rapids in the northern half of the plain, and the Mississippi River plain in the southern half. The western part of the plain is the world-famous Great Plain.
Western Mountains and Plateaus: It belongs to the northern section of the Cordillera Mountain System, extending from Alaska to the south of Mexico. It mainly includes three parallel mountains. The eastern belt is the Rocky Mountains with an altitude of 2000-3000 meters above sea level, extending 5000 kilometers from north to south. It is an important dividing line in the climate of North America; the western belt starts from the coastal mountains of the United States in the south and enters the sea north to form the coastal islands of western Canada. The altitude is generally 500-1000 meters; the middle belt includes the northern Alaska mountains and the Canadian coastal mountains , The Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range in the United States. Mount McKinley in Alaska is 6193 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in North America.
Between the eastern and middle belts are plateaus and basins. The bottom of the large basin is 800-1300 meters above sea level. The dead valley in the southern part of the basin is 86 meters below sea level, which is the lowest point of land in the western hemisphere. North America has a high average elevation and large undulations. The terrain is divided into three north-south vertical belts: the west is a tall mountain system, the middle is a vast plain, and the east is a low and gentle highland. [3]
Volcanoes and earthquakes The
western coastal area of North America is part of the Pacific Coast Volcanic Belt. There are more than 90 active volcanoes in North America, including 28 in the Aleutian Islands, 20 in Alaska, and more than 40 in Central America. Western North America is also a zone where earthquakes are frequent and strong in the world.