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More about North America

North America ×

• North America is made up of 23 countries. Many of these are island countries in the Caribbean Sea.
• Total landmass 24.3 million square kilometres or 9.4 million square miles.
• North America covers 4.8% of the earth's surface and 16.3% of the earth's landmass.
• As of 2017 there are about 579 million people living in North America.
• 7.9% of the world's population live in North America.
• North America extends from just above the equator up to the Arctic Circle with a very varied climate.
• North America has the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Caribbean Sea is part of the Atlantic Ocean.
• The indigenous people, the original settlers, came to North America, most likely from Asia, some 12,000 years ago. European explorers may have arrived as early as 1,000AD but the bulk of them, from Spain, France, The Netherlands and Great Britain, arrived after Columbus landed on the continent in 1492AD.
• North America is a mixture of many different peoples. European countries, while indulging in the slave trade, brought many people and cultures to North America.
• The Mayan civilisation was dominant in the southern part of North America for over 3,000 years, beginning in about 2,600BC. The Aztecs, from about 1,200AD, were also a very powerful civilisation.