North America From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean , on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean , on the south by the Caribbean Sea , and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean . It covers an area of 9,355,000 square miles (24,230,000 square kilometers). In 2001 its population was estimated at 454,225,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa , and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe Both North and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci , who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies , but a previously undiscovered (by Europeans) New World North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World , the Western Hemisphere the Americas , or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow Isthmus of Panama . According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the | |
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