]

North America is a continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast. It covers an area of about 24,480,000 km² (9,450,000 sq mi), or about 4.8% of the planet's surface. As of July 2002, its population was estimated at more than 514,000,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Etymology

---

A number of theories exist regarding the naming of North and South America. The most widely recognized is that they are named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a New World, previously undiscovered by Europeans. The second and less generally accepted is that the continents are named after an English merchant named Richard Amerike from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. A third and minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of 'Amairick'.

More on [ North America ]

North America - Twitter Search

@gtMinh Michigan is in north america
caitlynl97 (Caitlyn Lemson) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:18:59 -0000
@gtMinh Michigan is in north america
Here in Argentina is NOTHING compared to the celebrations of North America, as I would be there.
IsCarlaIbarra (Carla Ibarra) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:15:17 -0000
Here in Argentina is NOTHING compared to the celebrations of North America, as I would be there.
There goes another one! The wave of 2010 is sweeping across North America. We're still clinging to 2009 here on the West Coast...
polarisdotca (Peter Newbury) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:13:44 -0000
There goes another one! The wave of 2010 is sweeping across North America. We're still clinging to 2009 here on the West Coast...
@hiznumba1fan_1 June 30th for North America Eclipse will be in theaters :)
riridimples (Riri La Pierre) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:13:08 -0000
@hiznumba1fan_1 June 30th for North America Eclipse will be in theaters :)
Happy New Years to Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, South America, Russia, China, North Korea, Australia, Germany France and all nations.
JuniorAli (Mohammad Ali) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:08:37 -0000
Happy New Years to Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, South America, Russia, China, North Korea, Australia, Germany France and all nations.
Not only was it a blue moon on NYE this year, but it was an eclipse. Bummer it wasn't visible in North America. No matter: raining in PDX.
lascurettes (John Lascurettes) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:04:27 -0000
Not only was it a blue moon on NYE this year, but it was an eclipse. Bummer it wasn't visible in North America. No matter: raining in PDX.

Subscribe to North_America RSS feed