Overview
North America (北アメリカ, Kita Amerika) is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere.
Classification.
There are three parts of North America.
One is the geographic division of the continental United States into North, Central, and South. This is consistent with the United Nations definition of Northern America, which includes the United States (excluding Hawaii) and its overseas territories, all of Canada, plus Greenland (Denmark), Bermuda (United Kingdom), and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France).
The other is the division of the continental United States into two parts, North and South, bounded by the Panama Canal (Panama Isthmus) and including the surrounding island nations. This part of North America includes almost all of Central America in addition to Anglo-America as mentioned above. The major countries included in North America are Canada, United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago (see Central America for details).
Furthermore, the designation North America is sometimes used as a paraphrase of Anglo-America. In this case, it simply refers to both the United States (including Hawaii and its overseas territories) and Canada.
Climate
The climate differs greatly between the eastern and western parts of the continent. The eastern part is relatively humid, partly due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, while the inland and western parts are relatively dry. Agricultural products are grown in accordance with the climate.
The eastern part is forested, with the Appalachian Mountains stretching from north to south. The central part of the country is a vast prairie, one of the world's largest breadbaskets. To the west are the rugged mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as arid regions such as the Sonoran Desert.
The northern part of the country lies within the Arctic Circle.
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Continent Central America South America Anglo-America United States Canada Mexico Greenland West
