What is the geographical overview of North America?

Also known as North America, referred to as North America.

Continent name definition: The full name of South America is Amelia, where Italian explorers came to explore.

Countries: There are 23 independent countries and more than a dozen regions.

Population: 462 million people.

Ethnicity: Most residents are descendants of European immigrants, with the largest number being Anglo-Saxons.

Language: Common English, Spanish, followed by French, Dutch, Indian, etc.

Religion: Mainly believe in Christianity and Catholicism.

Location: Located in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and is separated from South America by the Panama Canal to the south.

Range: Mainland east to Cape St. Charles (55°40′W, 52°13′N), south to Cape Mariato (81°05′W, 7°12′N) , to Prince of Wales Cape in the west (168°05′W, 65°37′N), and to Murchison Point on the Busia Peninsula in the north (94°26′W, 71°59′N). In addition to the Americas north of the Panama Canal, North America also includes the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea.

Area: 24.228 million square kilometers (including nearby islands), accounting for approximately 16.2% of the world's total land area, and is the third largest continent in the world.

The geographical region is divided into the eastern region (the area east of the Appalachian Mountains in Labrador Plateau) and the central region (between the Appalachian Mountains in Labrador Plateau and the Rocky Mountains). (between), the Western Region (belonging to the northern section of the American Cordillera Mountains, the Rocky Mountains are the framework of this region), Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Islands, Greenland, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies nine regions.

North America includes countries: Bahamas, Belize, United States, Barbados, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominica, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago Tigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis

It has a population of 462 million, accounting for approximately 8% of the world's total population. The population distribution across the continent is very uneven. Most of the population is distributed in the southeastern region. Among them, the population density near New York and around Lake Erie is the highest, with more than 200 people per square kilometer. The vast northern region and the inland western United States The area is sparsely populated, with less than 1 person per square kilometer.

Ethnicity: Most of the residents are descendants of European immigrants, with Anglo-Saxons being the largest; followed by Indians, blacks, and mixed-race people. In addition, there are Inuit, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Japanese and Chinese. The common languages ??are English and Spanish, followed by French, Dutch, Indian, etc.

Religion: Residents mainly believe in Christianity and Catholicism.

Natural environment coastline The mainland coastline is about 60,000 kilometers long. The northern, northern and eastern coasts of the west are more tortuous, with many islands and fjords; the southern half of the coast is relatively straight.

Peninsulas and islands: The total area of ??the peninsula is approximately 2.1 million square kilometers. The total area of ??the islands is about 4 million square kilometers, ranking first among all continents. Greenland is the largest island in the world.

Topography: About 20% of the continent's plains are below 200 meters above sea level, about 22% are plains and hills above 200?00 meters above sea level, and about 58% are plateaus and mountains above 500 meters above sea level. The average altitude of the continent is 700 meters. The basic characteristics of the continent's terrain are north-south mountains running parallel to the coast on the east and west sides, and great plains in the center. The terrain is clearly divided into three zones. Eastern mountains and plateaus: To the north of the St. Lawrence River is the Labrador Plateau, and to the south is the Appalachian Mountains. The terrain is higher in the south and lower in the north, with an altitude of generally 300 to 500 meters. There is a narrow coastal plain along the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of the Appalachian Mountains, which gradually drops to the central plain on the west side. Central Plains: Located between the Labrador Plateau, the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Hudson Bay in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, running through the middle of the continent. The northern half of the plain is filled with lakes and rapids, and the southern half is the Mississippi River plain. The western part of the plain is the world-famous Great Plains. Western Mountains and Plateau: It belongs to the northern section of the Cordillera Mountains, stretching from Alaska to the south of Mexico. It mainly includes three parallel mountains. The eastern belt is the Rocky Mountains with an altitude of more than 2,000 to 000 meters, extending 5,000 kilometers from north to south. It is an important dividing line in the climate of North America; the western zone starts from the coastal mountains of the United States in the south and reaches the sea in the north, forming the coastal islands of western Canada, with an altitude of generally 1000 to 500 meters; the middle zone includes the Alaska Mountains in the north and the Coast Mountains of Canada. , the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ridge in the United States, etc. Mount McKinley in Alaska, with an altitude of 6194 meters, is the highest peak in North America. Between the eastern belt and the middle belt are plateaus and basins. The bottom of the Great Basin is 1,300 to 800 meters above sea level. The Death Valley in the southern part of the basin is 86 meters below sea level, making it the lowest point of land in the Western Hemisphere.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes: The western coast of North America is part of the Pacific Coast Ring of Fire. 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 region with frequent and strong earthquakes in the world.

Water system: The outflow area of ??North America accounts for about 88% of the continent's area, of which the area belonging to the Atlantic basin accounts for about 48% of the continent, and the area belonging to the Pacific basin accounts for about 20% each. With the exception of the St. Lawrence, all major rivers originate in the Rocky Mountains. Rivers east of the Rocky Mountains flow into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans respectively, and rivers west of them flow into the Pacific Ocean. The internal flow area (including the no-flow area) accounts for about 12% of the continental area and is mainly distributed in the Great Basin of the western United States and Greenland. The Mississippi River is the largest river in North America and the fourth largest river in the world by length. Followed by the Mackenzie River, Yukon River, St. Lawrence River and Rio Grande River. There are many waterfalls on rivers in North America. The waterfall with the largest drop is Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park in the western United States, with a drop of 700 meters. Niagara Falls has a height of 51 meters and a width of 1,240 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. Lakes are mainly found in the northern half of the continent. The five Great Lakes in the central plateau area: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, with a total area of ??245,273 square kilometers, are the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world and are known as the "North American Mediterranean". Among them, Lake Superior is the largest and the largest freshwater lake in the world.

Climate: North America spans tropical, temperate and cold zones, with complex and diverse climates. The north is within the Arctic Circle, a world of ice and snow. The southern Caribbean is benefited by the warm equatorial current, but is subject to tropical hurricanes. The vast area in the central part of the continent is located in the northern temperate zone. Since all mountains run north-south or approximately north-south, the moist air from the Pacific Ocean only reaches the western coastal areas; the cold air from the Arctic Ocean can drive southward through the central plains; the moist air blowing from the tropical Atlantic can also pass through the central The plains penetrate deep into the north, so the climate in North America is very unstable. Winters are sometimes cold and sometimes thawing. Severe cold and snow can also occur in the subtropical areas along the Gulf Coast in winter. The areas with average temperatures below 0°C in the coldest month of North America (January) account for about 3/4 of the entire continent; the entire Arctic Archipelago (the collective name for many islands north of the North American continent and west of Greenland) and the vast majority of Greenland Some areas are below -32°C, with temperatures as low as ? in central Greenland? 0℃, becoming the cold polar region of the Western Hemisphere. Temperatures generally increase across the continent in summer. The average temperature in the hottest month (July, mostly August along the coast) is 0.3°C in central Greenland, making it the coolest region in the northern hemisphere in summer; the rest of the vast areas are between 0-32°C. , where the area above 20℃ accounts for more than half of the continent, and the area above 30℃ is smaller. Death Valley in the southwestern United States has an extreme maximum temperature of 56.7°C, making it the hottest area in the continent. Eastern North America receives more precipitation. The annual precipitation in the southeastern parts of Canada and Greenland, the eastern United States, and the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska is about 500 to 300 millimeters; the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska has an annual precipitation of more than 2,000 millimeters, making it the region with the most precipitation in North America; the Florida Peninsula , the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Yukon Plateau have an annual precipitation of 250?00 mm; the Caribbean region has a tropical rainforest climate, with high temperatures and rain all year round. The areas with the least precipitation are the southwestern United States Great Basin, the lower Colorado River, and the Arctic Islands and northern Greenland, with average annual precipitation of less than 100 millimeters. From May to October every year, southeastern North America is often hit by hurricanes, often causing serious disasters. Cold and strong storms and land tornadoes often blow in central and northern North America in winter. After the west wind crosses the Rocky Mountains, it forms the Chinnock Foehn Wind in the eastern foothills.

Natural Resources Much of North America has been explored. The main minerals are oil, natural gas, coal, iron, copper, nickel, uranium, lead, zinc, etc. The forest area of ??North America accounts for about 30% of the continent's area and about 18% of the world's total forest area. Mainly distributed in the western mountains, it is rich in Douglas fir, giant golden cypress, Nootka cypress, sugar maple, pine, redwood, hemlock and other forest trees. The grassland area accounts for 14.5% of the continent's area and approximately 11% of the world's grassland area. The exploitable hydropower reserves in North America are about 248 million kilowatts, accounting for 8.9% of the world's water resources reserves. The developed water resources are 53.6 million kilowatts, accounting for 34.7% of the world's.

The area of ??coastal fisheries in North America accounts for about 20% of the total area of ??coastal fisheries in the world. The marginal sea areas in the west and eastern Canada are the main fisheries, rich in salmon, plaice, cod, mackerel, eels, herring, and sardines. Fish and species such as flounder, flounder, and salamander are also found in the coastal waters of eastern Canada. There are walruses, seals and polar bears along the northern coast.

Economic Profile Industrial The United States and Canada are economically developed countries with strong industrial foundations, huge production capacity, and advanced science and technology. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery are also extremely developed. Except for Mexico, which has some industrial base, other countries in North America are mostly single-economy countries. The mining industry in North America is large-scale and mainly mines coal, crude oil, natural gas, iron, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, sulfur, etc., while tin, manganese, chromium, cobalt, bauxite, diamond, saltpeter, antimony, and tantalum Important strategic raw materials such as , niobium and natural rubber are almost all or mostly imported. The proportion of the output of major industrial products in the world's total output is: pig iron, steel, copper, zinc, etc. all account for about 20%, aluminum accounts for more than 40%, and automobiles account for about 37%.

Agriculture: North American agricultural production has a high degree of specialization, commercialization and mechanization.

The central plain is one of the world's famous agricultural areas. The main crops are corn, wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans, and tobacco. Its soybean, corn, and wheat production occupy an important position in world agriculture. Countries and regions in Central America and the West Indies mainly produce sugar cane, bananas, coffee, cocoa and other tropical crops.

Transportation: The total length of railways in North America is more than 420,000 kilometers. The navigable mileage of inland rivers is about 55,000 kilometers. Highways extend in all directions. The northeastern United States is the most developed transportation region, followed by the central, southeastern, and western coastal regions of the United States; southeastern Canada; and eastern Mexico, which are dominated by road and rail transportation. Cuba's sugar refinery railway lines are relatively developed. Summer river transport and winter sled transport are also important in central Canada. The northern coastal area is dominated by sleigh transportation.