Introduction and details of the North American continent

Overview of the North American continent: the mainland reaches Cape St. Charles in the east (55 degrees 40 minutes west longitude, 52 degrees north latitude 13 minutes), Cape Mariato in the south (8 degrees west longitude 1 0.5 minutes north latitude, 7 degrees north latitude 12 minutes), and Prince of Wales in the west (0 degrees west longitude 168 degrees). The whole continent covers an area of 24.228 million square kilometers, accounting for 65.438+06.2% of the total land area of the world.

The population distribution of the whole continent is very uneven, and most of the population is distributed in the southeast. Four fifths of the population of the United States and two thirds of the population of Canada live here, with the highest population density around Lake Erie in new york and between the United States and Canada. Puerto Rico and Martinique in the West Indies are also densely populated areas. The vast northern areas and the inland areas of the western United States are sparsely populated, and some places are even uninhabited. Residents are mainly descendants of immigrants from European countries such as Britain and France. Followed by blacks, Indians, hybrids, and a few Greenlanders, Puerto Ricans, Titans, Japanese and overseas Chinese. Mainly Christianity and Catholicism. Common English and Spanish.

Natural environment North America continent is wide in the north and narrow in the south, slightly inverted trapezoid. The northern part of the west and the northern and eastern coasts are tortuous, with many islands and bays. The islands are mostly distributed in the north and south, with a total area of about 4 million square kilometers, making it the largest island continent. Greenland is the largest island in the world, with an area of 2 175600 square kilometers. Part of the North American continent can be divided into three distinct north-south longitudinal zones: 1.

Eastern mountains and plateaus. The Labrador Plateau is in the north of the St. Lawrence River Basin, and the Appalachian Mountains are in the south. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north, with an altitude of 300-600 meters in the north and 1 0 0- 1 5 0 0 meters in the south. Mount Mitchell, the main peak, is 2037 meters above sea level. There is a long and narrow coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of the Appalachian Mountains, which gradually descends on the west side and joins the central plain. 2. The Central Plain is located between Labrador Plateau, Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains, starting from Hudson Bay in the north and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, and running through the central part of the mainland. The northern part of the plain is a region with many lakes and rapids, the southern part belongs to the Mississippi River Plain, and the western part of the plain is a world-famous prairie. 3. The mountains and plateaus in the west belong to the northern section of Cordillera Mountains, extending from Alaska to southern Mexico. It mainly includes three parallel mountains: the eastern belt is the Rocky Mountains with an altitude of 2,000-3,000 meters above sea level, which extends 5,000 kilometers from north to south and is an important dividing line of the climate in North America; The western belt starts from the American coastal mountains in the south and flows into the sea in the north, forming a coastal island in western Canada, with an altitude of 1000- 1500m. The central zone includes alaska range in the north, Canadian coastal mountains, Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains in the United States. Mount McKinley in Alaska is 6 193 meters above sea level, which is the highest peak in North America. There are plateaus and basins between the eastern belt and the central belt. Pelvic floor 1300- 1800. The dead valley in the south of the basin is 85 meters below sea level, which is the lowest point of land in the western hemisphere. The great rivers in North America, except the St. Lawrence River, all originate in the Rocky Mountains. The rivers to the east of the Rocky Mountains flow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean respectively, and the rivers to the west flow into Taiping. According to the length of rivers, they are Mississippi River, mackenzie river River, yukon river River, St. Lawrence River, Rio Grande River and Nelson River. North America is a continent with many lakes, and the area of freshwater lakes ranks first among all continents. The Great Lakes in the Central Plateau are the largest talking lakes in the world, and are called "the Mediterranean of North America", among which Lake Superior has the largest area, followed by Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

North America spans tropical, temperate and frigid zones, and its climate is changeable. The north is in the Arctic Circle, and it is ice and snow. The South Caribbean benefits from the equatorial warm current, but there are also tropical hurricanes. The vast area in the middle of the mainland is located in the north temperate zone. Due to the blocking of the western mountains, the humid westerly wind from the Pacific Ocean cannot penetrate into the mainland, so the precipitation in most areas comes from the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast, and the air is humid, and the precipitation gradually decreases from southeast to northwest. The average annual precipitation in most parts of the southeast is above 65,438 0,000 mm, and it is below 500 mm in the northwest of the plain and the west of the Rocky Mountains. The precipitation in the areas facing the west wind along the Pacific coast has increased sharply, and the average annual precipitation in some places is about 2,000 mm or more. Northern Canada and northern Alaska have a cold tundra climate, while southern Canada and Alaska have a temperate coniferous forest climate. The area east of the American Rocky Mountains belongs to temperate broad-leaved forest climate and subtropical forest climate. The western inland plateau is mostly temperate grassland climate. The southern part of the Pacific coast belongs to the subtropical Mediterranean climate. The west Indies and the eastern coastal areas of Central America belong to the tropical rain forest climate.

Natural Resources North America is rich in mineral resources, mainly including oil, natural gas, coal, sulfur, iron, copper, nickel, uranium, lead and zinc. Forest resources are mainly distributed in the western mountainous areas, rich in sequoia, sequoia, giant sequoia, hemlock and so on. High quality wood such as mahogany is produced in the south. The waters near the Caribbean and Newfoundland are world-famous fishing grounds.

Economic overview North America is one of the industrially developed regions in the world. Agricultural production is highly specialized, commercialized and mechanized. The mining industry is large in scale, mainly mining coal, crude oil, natural gas, iron, copper, lead, zinc and sulfur. However, important strategic raw materials such as tin, manganese, cobalt, aluminum, diamonds, tantalum and niobium are almost all or most dependent on imports. The Central Plains of North America is one of the world famous agricultural areas. Crops are mainly corn, wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans and tobacco, and the output of soybeans, corn and wheat plays an important role in world agriculture. Countries in Central America and the West Indies mainly produce tropical crops, such as sugar cane, bananas, coffee and cocoa.

The geographical area is divided into nine regions: East, Central, West, Alaska, Canadian Arctic Islands, Greenland, Mexico, Central America and West Indies.

Eastern region: adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in the east, with winding coast and numerous harbors. Most ports in North America are concentrated in this area. To the north of the St. Lawrence River basin is the Labrador Plateau, which is 3 0 0 -6 0 0 meters above sea level and is all over glacial lakes. It is called the lake plateau. The Appalachian Mountains are in the south, with a general elevation of1000-15000m. The Appalachian Plateau is in the west of the mountains, and there are narrow hills and coastal plains between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. Many short and swift rivers pass through the junction of soft and hard rocks at the foot of the mountain to form waterfalls, so the route from new york to Columbus is called "Waterfall Route". This area is the earliest industrial and agricultural development area in North America, and it is also an important industrial, commercial and financial center.

Central region: located between Labrador Plateau-Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains, it starts from the upper reaches of Churchill River in the north and reaches the Gulf of Mexico in the south, with a length of about 3,000 kilometers and a width of more than 2,000 kilometers. It is the most concentrated producing area of wheat, corn, soybean and cotton in North America and the most developed area of meat animal husbandry.

Western region: It is composed of tall mountains and plateaus, belonging to the northern section of Cordillera Mountains in America, and the Rocky Mountains are the skeleton of the terrain in this region. There are many volcanoes and hot springs and frequent earthquakes. The climate in mainland China is dry, and animal husbandry is the main industry. Gardening for growing subtropical fruits along the Pacific coast is very developed. Mining plays an important role in this area, and aircraft and shipbuilding are the main manufacturing industries.

Alaska: Located in the northwest of North America. On the mainland, the mountains are divided into north and south, the Yukon Plateau is in the middle, and there are many volcanoes and frequent earthquakes along the Pacific coast. The main minerals are oil, gold, tin, copper and coal. The economy is dominated by mining, fishing and fur industry. Aleutian Islands are a group of volcanic islands in southwest Alaska, where earthquakes are frequent. Domesticate and catch furry animals.

Canadian Arctic Islands: It is the general name of many islands north of the North American continent and west of Greenland. The area is about 1.6 million square kilometers. The population is sparse, and the main residents are Inuit. There are many straits between the islands, among which the Hudson Strait between baffin island and Labrador Peninsula is the main maritime traffic route from Hudson Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the hard rocks in each island are mountains with an altitude above 5 0 0-1 0 0 0 meters, and lakes formed by long-term glaciation, multi-glacial topography and glaciation. The coastal plain is narrow, the coast is tortuous and there are many fjords. The climate is cold, and the average annual precipitation is less than 300mm. Residents make a living by fishing and catching marine animals.

Mexico: Located in the south of North America. It is the origin of cultivated plants such as sisal and inulin.

Central America: It is the name of Central Asia and America. Refers to the central American continent south of Mexico and north of Colombia. It borders the Caribbean Sea in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west, and is a bridge connecting North and South America. Include Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. It covers an area of about 520,000 square kilometers. The population is about 29.84 million. The whole area is dominated by plateaus and mountains. This mountain is close to the Pacific coast and belongs to the middle of Cordillera Mountains in America. The highest point is more than 4000 meters above sea level. There are many volcanoes, with more than 4 0 active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. (See the caption on the map of China and the United States for details). Central America is the origin of sweet potato.

West Indies: Located between the Atlantic Ocean and its Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. /kloc-At the end of 0/5, Columbus came here and mistakenly thought it was an island near India. Because it is located in the western hemisphere west of India, it is called the West Indies, which is still in use today. Including Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, etc. In addition, there are more than a dozen territories in the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands. It covers an area of about 240,000 square kilometers. These islands are divided into three groups: 1. The Bahamas consists of 1 4 large islands, 7 0 0 small islands and reefs and 2,400 atolls. The island is mainly inhabited by blacks. The highest altitude of each island is less than 6 0 meters. It has a tropical rainforest climate. 2. The Greater Antilles, including Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and its affiliated islands. More than half of them are mountainous areas. Earthquakes often occur in Haiti and Puerto Rico. The northern part of each island has a tropical rain forest climate and the southern part has a tropical grassland climate. Three, the Lesser Antilles, including leeward islands, windward islands and many islands in the northern Venezuelan Sea. Most of them are volcanic islands with frequent earthquakes. It has a tropical rainforest climate. .

Greenland (Denmark): Located in the northeast of North America, between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of about 2 1 7 5 6 0 0 square kilometers, it is the largest island in the world. Commonly known as the Greenland subcontinent. 8 0% of the population is Greenlandic. About four fifths of the island is located in the Arctic Circle, and 8 4% of the island is covered with ice and snow. The highest altitude in the central and eastern parts is 3300m, and the altitude in the marginal areas is1000-2000m. The climate is extremely cold. Minerals include cryolite, iron, zinc, lead, zirconium and lignite. In recent years, minerals such as molybdenum, uranium and thorium have been discovered in the south. The famous animals are musk ox, reindeer and polar bear, and the residents mainly fish. There is a small amount of sheep farming, fish processing and mining in the southern region, especially the exploitation of cryolite at the southern end. Gothenburg, the capital.