Facts for Kids

North America is a large continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. It sits between three big bodies of water: the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. The continent also reaches down into the Caribbean Sea and connects to South America at its southern tip. Because it is so big, North America includes islands and a long strip of land called Middle America, where Mexico, Central America, and many islands belong.

People from many groups live here—modern countries like Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and many islands and territories. Long ago, European explorers brought new languages and ways of living, but many Indigenous peoples still keep their older languages and traditions today.

North America is divided into several main parts that help us understand its geography and cultures. One way to split the continent is into Middle America (Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean) and Northern America (Canada, the United States, and Greenland). People also talk about Anglo-America, where English is common, and Latin America, where Spanish and Portuguese are common.

Within countries there are smaller regions. For example, Canada has areas like Atlantic Canada and the Prairies, and the United States has regions like New England and the Pacific states. Some regions, like the Great Lakes or the Pacific Northwest, cross the border between the U.S. and Canada. Trade and history help shape these regions, too.

Because North America is so large, its weather and living places vary a lot. You can find Arctic biomes with cold tundra in the far north, huge forests called the boreal or taiga, and temperate forests in parts of the east. The Pacific Northwest has wet, green forests, while central areas have grasslands or prairies. The west includes deserts and mountains, and the coast of California has a mild, Mediterranean-style climate.

To the south, Caribbean islands and parts of Central America have tropical rainforests and warm weather. Mountains often have cooler temperatures and special plants and animals. These different climates create many homes for wildlife and ways people live—what kind of animal would you expect to find where it is very cold?

Long before Europeans arrived, many groups of people lived in North America. Archaeologists think people came by different routes from Asia thousands of years ago, then spread across the continent. These people are called Indigenous peoples and they formed many different cultures, from small family bands to large societies with cities.

Some well-known early cultures include the Clovis hunters, the mound-building Mississippian people, and the Pueblo communities in the Four Corners area. In Mexico and Central America, the Maya made a written system and a complex calendar, and later large empires like the Aztecs lived in central Mexico. In the far north, the Inuit developed ways to live in Arctic places. Why do you think living in different places led to so many different cultures?

North America's shape and landforms are very varied. The continent runs from the Arctic down past the Tropic of Cancer, so you find icy islands, tall mountains, big plains, and long coastlines. Geographers group the land into physiographic divisions—areas with similar rocks and shapes.

Examples include the Canadian Shield, a rocky area full of lakes; the Interior Plains and Great Plains, which are wide flat lands good for farming; the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west; and coastal plains along the oceans. The Arctic Archipelago and the Great Lakes are other important parts. These divisions help explain how people live and use the land.

European explorers began arriving in North America in the late 900s and more widely after the 1400s. They met Indigenous peoples, traded, and sometimes clashed. Europeans brought new plants, animals, and diseases that changed life for many Native communities. Over time, Spain, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and others set up colonies.

These colonies grew into nations. Jamestown (1607) and Quebec (1608) were early European towns in North America. The United States declared independence in 1776. During the 1800s and early 1900s, borders changed through purchases and wars, and countries like Canada formed their own governments. These events shaped the maps and countries you see today.