What regions does the Americas include?

Origin of the name

The word America is the abbreviation of America. America is the Chinese transliteration of America.

The name of America is generally said to commemorate a famous Italian navigator named Amerigo Vespucci. 1499. Amerigo accompanied the fleet led by the Portuguese Ojeda from the sea to India. They sailed along the route traveled by Columbus and overcame many difficulties and finally reached the American continent. Amerigo made a detailed survey of the northeastern coast of South America and compiled the latest map. In 1507, his book "Sea Travel Stories" was published, which caused a sensation all over the world. In this book, the process of "discovering" the New World is fascinatingly narrated, and the continent is vividly described and rendered. Amerigo announced the concept of the New World to the world, suddenly breaking through the earth structure system formulated by Pudolemi, the absolute authority of Western geography in the Middle Ages. As a result, several French scholars revised and supplemented Pudolemi's famous work "Cosmology" and named the New World after Amerigo in recognition of his outstanding contribution to human understanding of the world. After the publication of the new "Cosmology", a new continent, Amerigo, was also added to the map based on the material in the book. Later, "Amerigo" was changed to "America" ??according to the word formation of the names of other continents. At first, the name only applied to South America, but on Mercator's map of 1541, North America was also considered part of the Americas.

Introduction

"America" ??is in the Western Hemisphere. It is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, with the Arctic Ocean to the north and Antarctica to the south across the Drake Strait. It consists of two continents, North America and South America, and many nearby islands. The Panama Canal is generally used as the dividing line between North and South America; in political geography, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and South America are collectively referred to as Latin America, while North America only refers to Canada, the United States, Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon Island, Bermuda. It covers an area of ??more than 42 million square kilometers. Population 647 million (1983). Descendants of European immigrants, Indo-European mixed race people, and black and white mixed race people make up the majority, as well as black people, Japanese, Chinese and indigenous Indians, Inuit (Eskimo) people, etc. The continent is divided into three north-south longitudinal belts from east to west: the east is long-eroded mountains and plateaus, the Brazilian Plateau is the largest plateau in the world; the west is young high mountains, belonging to the Cordillera Mountains of America, Han Dynasty Mount Kouma, with an altitude of 7,010 meters, is the highest point in the continent. The mountains approach the coast and the coastal plain is narrow; between the east and west are vast plains. The Central Great Plains of North America and the Amazon Plain are both famous plains in the world. The main rivers include the Amazon River, Mississippi River, etc.; North America also has the world's largest group of freshwater lakes - the Great Lakes. It spans different climate zones: most of North America has a subarctic and temperate continental climate, with vast areas of coniferous forests and savannahs; Central America and northern South America mainly have a tropical climate, with vast tropical rainforests and tropical savannas. Southern South America has a temperate climate. The underground resources are very rich. Coal, iron, petroleum, copper, nickel and other non-ferrous metals all occupy an important position in the world. Since the end of the 15th century, Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and other countries have carried out exploration and colonization. In 1776 the United States declared its independence. At the beginning of the 19th century, Latin American countries also became independent one after another.

The Americas include countries

Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, United States, Bolivia, Brazil, Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, El Salvador, Ecuador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Suriname, Dominica Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Natural resources

Much of North America The area has been surveyed. 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.

The mineral resources of South America have not yet been well explored. Currently, it is known that most of the more than 20 most important mineral raw materials needed in modern industry are available, and the reserves are abundant. Venezuela’s oil reserves and Brazil’s iron ore reserves rank among the top in the world; natural gas is mainly distributed in Venezuela and Argentina; coal is mainly distributed in Colombia and Brazil; bauxite is mainly distributed in Suriname; and the metal reserves of copper mines exceed 100 million tons, ranking first among all countries. Chile ranks first in the world in copper reserves, and Peru ranks fourth in the world; bismuth, antimony, silver, saltpeter, beryllium and sulfur reserves rank among the top in all continents; tin, manganese, mercury, platinum, lithium, uranium, vanadium , zirconium, thorium, diamond and other minerals are also abundant.

Forest: The forest area is about 920 million hectares, accounting for more than 50% of the total area of ??the continent and about 23% of the total forest area of ??the world. It is rich in mahogany, sandalwood, iron tree, kapok tree, and Brazilian wood. , balm wood, rosewood and other valuable forest trees. The grassland area is about 440 million hectares, accounting for about 25% of the total area of ??the continent and more than 14% of the world's total grassland area. Hydropower resources: Hydraulic reserves are estimated to be 467 million kilowatts, accounting for approximately 16.9% of the world's hydropower reserves; developed hydropower resources are 5.6 million kilowatts, accounting for approximately 3.6% of the world's total developed hydropower resources.

Fisheries: The northern coast of Chile and the southeastern coast of Brazil are rich in tuna, the Peruvian coast is rich in fish, and the Chilean coast is rich in sardines, cod and whales. In addition, the coasts of Brazil and Argentina are also rich in fish such as seabass, mullet, anchovies, mackerel, and cod. The coast of Peru and the coast of Brazil are the two largest fishing grounds in South America.

Economic Profile

North America

The economic development in the Americas is very uneven. Except for the United States and Canada, which are economically developed countries, the rest are developing countries. .

Industry: 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.

South America

After World War II, South America's economy developed rapidly and its economic structure underwent significant changes. However, the economic levels and economic strength of various countries are far apart. Brazil and Argentina have established relatively complete national economic systems, and their GDP accounts for about 2/3 of the entire continent. Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, and Peru also have relatively developed economies.

Industry and Mining: Mining and manufacturing are the most important industries. The mining industry is the basic sector of South American countries. Most of the minerals are exported, including oil from Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and other countries; iron from Brazil, Venezuela, and Chile; tin and antimony from Bolivia; copper from Chile and Peru; Guyana and Suriname bauxite; Peru’s lead, zinc, silver, and bismuth; Chile’s saltpeter and molybdenum; Brazil’s niobium production or exports occupy an important position in the world.

Light industry is the mainstay of manufacturing in most countries in South America, with meat processing, sugar, beverage, leather, textile, clothing and other sectors relatively developed. Heavy industries such as steel, automobiles, chemicals, rubber, electrical appliances, and machinery are concentrated in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Colombia and other countries.

Agriculture: Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of South American countries. In the planting industry, cash crops occupy an absolute advantage. South America is the origin of cultivated plants such as cocoa, sunflowers, pineapples, potatoes, cassava, Hevea brasiliensis, tobacco, cinchona trees, corn, tomatoes, yerba mate, chili peppers, and more. Sugar cane, bananas, and coffee each account for 2005% of the world's total production, with Brazil's coffee and banana production ranking first in the world; cocoa and citrus each account for about 25% of the world's total production, with Brazil's cocoa production ranking third in the world. position; sisal production ranks second among all continents, mainly produced in Brazil; Brazil's cassava production ranks first in the world. South America provides the world with most of the coffee, bananas, and cane sugar it needs, as well as a large amount of cotton, cocoa, sisal, etc. Countries such as Argentina in the southeast export a large amount of meat and grain. The total number of cattle and sheep occupies an important position in the world. The coast is rich in anchovies, sardines, eels, seabass, tuna, etc. Peru and Chile are world-famous fishing countries. Most people in most countries in South America are engaged in agricultural production, but food production is still insufficient to be self-sufficient, and most countries need to import food.

American Civilization

Representatives of American civilization include Mayan civilization, Inca civilization and Aztec civilization. In addition, the Olmec civilization, Oaxaca civilization, Teotihuacan civilization and Toltec civilization also occupy an important position in the history of the development of the Americas.