North America (also North America, Nordamerica or, although it is an
ambiguous name, North America) is the part of the American continent
located north of the Isthmus of Panama: in Italian geographical
literature, of Western Europe (excluding the Islands British) and Latin
America, is considered a subcontinent, forming part of the America
continent, while according to the geographical literature of English,
Chinese and Russian culture it would instead be a continent in its own
right.
Completely contained in the northern hemisphere, it is
bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic
Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, to the
south and west by the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of about 24709000
km² which corresponds to about 4.8% of the earth's surface and about
16.5% of the land surface. Considered as a continent, it is the third
largest in the world by surface area (after Asia and Africa) and the
fourth by population, after the two mentioned and Europe.
The
name North America is also used to refer only to the subcontinent
excluding Central America. If we make this distinction, of a
substantially political and not a geographical nature, North America has
a slightly smaller extension than the one described above and is bounded
to the south by the southern border of Mexico.
Canada - Located in the far north of the continent, Canada is famous for its great wilderness that stretches from the continent's central grasslands to rugged mountains and the frigid sparse islands of the Arctic. Although the British heritage is still breathed in the East, it is multiculturalism that characterizes this country; while the French legacy lives on in Quebec and thousands of immigrants have transformed Toronto and Vancouver into cosmopolitan cities.
Mexico - Born from the mixture of native American traditions and Spanish culture, Mexico today is home to a rich and varied culture, as well as a natural diversity. Mexico City, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, presents a mix of Aztec ruins, colonial buildings and cosmopolitan life. While on the Atlantic coast there are world-famous resorts such as Cancún or Playa del Carmen, in the south of the country there are monumental pre-Columbian ruins such as Chichen Itzá.
USA - With a culturally diverse population and a territory that stretches as far as Polynesia, the Caribbean, and the Arctic, the United States is one of the world's top tourist destinations. While the lights of the skyscrapers dazzle millions of tourists who visit New York or Chicago every day, others take advantage of unique natural landscapes such as the Colorado Canyon or Yellowstone Park. Meanwhile, the coasts of California, Florida and Hawaii receive millions of tourists to enjoy their beaches and entertainment centers.
Greenland - The largest island in the world, Greenland is surrounded by the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. This semi-independent territory, under Danish guardianship, is covered almost entirely by ice, which gives you the opportunity to appreciate some beautiful polar landscapes and native animals such as bears, reindeer and whales, as well as learn about a culture that has persisted for centuries in harsh conditions. climatic and geographical.
Atlantic Territories - Two small dependent territories lie on the Atlantic. Bermuda is a small archipelago under British administration, popular for its beautiful beaches that receive millions of visitors each year. The French territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, by contrast, is an out-of-the-way destination, with few inhabitants dedicated primarily to fishing.
Havana — Cuba's capital city is famous for its cigars, strong
Spanish-Caribbean culture, and legendary nightlife.
Kingston -
Jamaica's capital city and center of Afro-Caribbean culture, is
cosmopolitan, diverse and is the home of Reggae.
Los Angeles —
With Hollywood capital of cinema; mountains and beaches; and lots of
traffic.
Mexico City — the capital of Mexico, the third largest
city in the world, crammed with museums, centuries-old architecture,
modern amenities.
New York City — The Big Apple is the center of
North American commerce and culture, immortalized in both film and
song.
Panama City — The capital of Panama, a friendly city
located on the junction of two continents.
Toronto — Canada's
largest city, a cosmopolitan patchwork of ethnic enclaves and
cultural attractions galore.
Vancouver — a city of steel and
glass apartment buildings and outstanding natural beauty, where you
can go skiing and sit on the beach all in the same day.
Washington — The capital of the United States, with many cultural
and historical attractions.
Banff National Park — Canada's first national park, it is also one
of the largest.
Chichen Itza - the largest of the Mayan cities on
Mexico's Yucatán peninsula.
Corcovado National Park — a very
biologically diverse national park located in Costa Rica
Grand
Canyon — a huge canyon in Arizona, carved over several million
years.
Niagara Falls — Three mighty waterfalls on the US-Canada
border.
Teotihuacan — the "city of the gods", with some of the
largest pyramids in the world.
Tikal - an archaeological site in
Guatemala, one of the largest and most important of the ancient
Mayan cities
Walt Disney World — the flagship of the worldwide
Disney theme park network, near Orlando, Florida
Yellowstone
National Park — The world's first national park, it is also home to
most of its geysers and a staggering concentration of animals.
Regarding its culture, there are two large sectors that can be
differentiated by their geographical location. Thus, the southern part
of the continent preserves some of the characteristics of the extinct
indigenous groups (Mayas and Aztecs) and they have customs that are
somewhat consistent with what the natives believed. Apart from the fact
that the southern zone was a Spanish colony and currently belongs to the
Mexican sector.
While in the northern part of that continent not
only another language (Anglo-Saxon) is spoken, but also the customs tend
to imitate (although with great differences) the European ones (of
Western Europe). And Anglo-Saxon America is considered to be part of the
Western world. In addition, the ancient Indians lived in tribes and
hordes without reaching cultural development.
The sport in North America has a great development both at the
amateur and professional level. National sports are ice hockey and
lacrosse. Other professional sports with great popularity are
basketball, Canadian football, American football, baseball, taekwondo
(national in Mexico), while at the amateur level curling and alpine
skiing are also practiced. It stands out for its achievements in
international tournaments, the attractiveness of its national
tournaments, the technological and scientific development of sports, the
marketing and dissemination of professional sports, and its role in the
creation and management of various disciplines.
The major
national leagues are the National Football League (American football),
Major League Baseball (baseball), the National Basketball Association
(basketball), Major League Soccer (soccer), the National Women's Soccer
League (women's soccer), and the National Hockey League (ice hockey).
The National Collegiate Athletic Association college football and
basketball championships are also very popular.
As for individual
sports, the most popular professional championships in the United States
are the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour (golf), the NASCAR Cup and the IndyCar
Series (motorsports), and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (mixed
martial arts).
The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic
Games, four Winter Olympic Games, the 1959 and 1987 Pan American Games,
the 1994 Soccer World Cup, the 1999 and 2003 Women's Soccer World Cup,
and the 2003 Basketball World Cup. 2002.
The Ministry of Public
Education includes the teaching of physical education in the schools
under its responsibility, as do the state bodies in charge of
instruction. In Mexico, organized sport is not a common activity in the
population.
Figure skating on ice and ice hockey are sports
practiced by affluent Mexican youth, and show steady growth. Other
sports that are very popular in Mexico are volleyball, which is
practiced as one of the basic sports at the school level, as well as
American football, practiced in an organized manner in various leagues
that are members of the National Student Football Organization.
Arrive
If you are a citizen of the Schengen Area countries, Japan,
United Kingdom, Chile, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand; You could
travel to North American countries without a visa. On the other hand, if
you do not have visa elimination treaties, it is obvious that you will
go to the embassies to process the visa before your arrival.
By
plane
You can reach major cities in the US and Canada on direct
flights from all other inhabited continents. Latin American carriers fly
directly between Central and South America and from Europe you can fly
direct to many of the Caribbean islands. The cheapest flights and most
destinations will be to the United States. Of the 15 largest airports in
North America, only one is not in the United States, Toronto-Pearson. If
you do not wish to travel across the US to reach your destination,
services are offered to major airports such as Mexico City, Panama City
and Punta Cana from major European and South American hubs. Flying is
the fastest and cheapest way to get to North America.
Boat
It
is possible to travel across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by cargo or
cruise, but these cruises tend to be quite expensive compared to flying
(and infrequent). There are ferries from the northern edge of South
America to Central America and the Caribbean. However, there is still an
old-style ocean liner that connects New York City with Southampton, UK.
So if you have the time and money and want to arrive in style like old
times, it can certainly be done.
On land
Even if the Americas
are physically connected, there are no roads or railways between Panama
and Colombia. It is possible but hopelessly dangerous to walk through
the 100km of jungle at Darien Gap; if you want to take your vehicle with
you, you must take the ferry
By plane
Because population centers are often far apart, most
long-range travel is by air, with an extensive network of major hubs and
smaller regional airports, often supplemented by car rental services to
cover local travel. when you arrive at your destination (see "By Car").
The cheapest fares are between major cities, so you may have to drive a
few hours at each end of the trip to get to and from the airports.
By bus
There is prolific long-range bus service throughout most
of the US and Canada, but travel times are excessively long (often
substantially longer than a direct ride by personal vehicle) and
stations tend to be poorly maintained and even more poorly secured.
Intercity buses generally travel only between major cities, never to
remote locations, and are limited or not available outside of business
hours.
In Mexico, by contrast, bus service is extensive and a
common way of getting around. In Central America, buses are the backbone
of local transportation, as car ownership remains low and domestic
flights and railways have only a niche role, if any. If you want to meet
the locals, hop on a chicken bus and enjoy the bumpy ride.
The
following companies operate buses extensively in North America:
Greyhound Canada, toll free: +1800661-8747 (Canada). Greyhound Canada
connects Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, with international connections
via Buffalo and New York City. International service connecting to
Greyhound USA is also available in Vancouver. It is a subsidiary brand
of First Group Plc in the UK and partnered with Greyhound Lines in the
US.
Greyhound Lines, 1 +1 214 849-8966. Greyhound serves more than
3,800 locations across the US and cross-border service from the US to
Canada and Mexico. Also operates Bolt Bus (Pacific NW, California, and
Northeast US); Valley Transit Co (Southeast Texas) and Cruceros USA
(California and Arizona in the US and Baja California Norte and Sonora
in Mexico) brands in different parts of the US. Most cities have
Greyhound service, but only 1 or 2 trips per day.
Megabus (USA
Coach). In addition to having its own distinctive buses, Megabus absorbs
buses from Coach USA and Coach Canada and rebrands them as "Megabus".
Megabus operates in Canada, primarily in southern Ontario. Megabus is a
popular brand in Great Britain and North America. It operates under
different brands for intercity, commuter, airport transfers, university
transfers and charter services in different locations in the US.
Grupo Estrella Blanca (White Star), 52 +52 55 5729-0807, toll free:
01800-507-5500 (Mexico). It also operates Elite, TNS (Transportes Norte
de Sonora), Chihuahuanese, Pacífico, Oriente, TF (Tranporte Frontera),
Estrella Blanca, Conexión, Rapidos de Cuauhtémoc and Valle de Guadiana
in Mexico and Autobus Americanos as a joint venture with Greyhound Lines
for trips border crossings between the United States and Mexico. As the
largest bus company, they serve much of the northern and northwestern
states of Aguascaliente, Baja California Norte, Coahuila, Chihuahua,
Durango, Distrito Federal (DF), Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco,
Mexico, Michoacán. , Morelos, Nayrit, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí,
Sinaloa, Sonora and Zacatecas, up to the border with the United States.
Sells tickets to travel to the United States from the Greyhound border
(and vice versa).
Path Group. It competes with the above that serves
the states of Aguascaliente, Colima, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango,
Guerrero, Jalisco, Michocoan, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí,
Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas in Mexico and in the United States.
From the border, it provides services to the southeastern and central US
states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. It also
operates the Turimex, (in the US) and Del Norte bus lines.
ADO
(Autobuses del Oriente), 52 +52 55 5133-5133, toll free: 01800-009-9090.
It operates the bus lines ADO, ADO GL, AU (Autobus Unidos), OCC (Omnibus
Cristóbal Colón) and Platino, and the reservation site Boletotal /
Ticketbus.com in Mexico. It is a major bus company that serves the
eastern and southeastern part of the country towards the Guatemalan
border in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, Chiapas,
Tamaulipas, Tabasco and the Yucatán peninsula (Yucatán, Quintana Roo and
Campeche). . It offers a once-a-day trip to/from Belize City via
Chetumal from Cancún and Mérida and a connecting service with Tica Bus,
Trans Galgos and King Quality in Tapachula to continue to/from Central
America. edit
Tica Bus. Tica Bus is the main bus line serving major
cities throughout Central America, except Belize, from Tapachula to
Panama City, Panama.
Between these main bus lines it is possible
to travel by bus across and between the three largest countries in North
America and seven smaller ones in Central America. In addition to the
above, there are many other local driver companies and unions (more in
Mexico and Central America) that operate buses locally, regionally or
even over longer distances. See "By Bus" in the article for a particular
country, state/province, region, or locality for more information. Most
locations from small towns to large cities have bus service within a
town or neighboring towns. The quality of the service varies, but how
late and often it runs roughly corresponds to the size of the city.
By car
Most travel in Canada, the United States, and Mexico is by
personal vehicle. Nearly all highways in Canada and the United States
are well-maintained, with services such as gas, food, and lodging
ranging from adequate to very convenient. If you experience an emergency
that puts your life, safety or property in danger, you can dial 911 from
a compatible cell phone on almost any major highway and be connected to
an operator at any time. Vehicle and health insurance issued in Canada
or the US is generally valid in the other, although the savvy traveler
will confirm this with their insurer. Canada and USA insurance coverage
in Mexico is sometimes limited or not met. Again, the wise traveler will
confirm with their insurer.
Car rental agencies are available at
almost all airports. A valid driver's license and a credit card or cash
deposit are normally required. Rentals are sometimes restricted to
drivers under the age of 25. Many agencies offer short-term insurance
and additional coverage.
In much of western Alaska and in most of
Greenland, no major highways connect towns and cities. If roads exist,
they are generally not to the same standards as roads in the rest of
North America.
by train
Though it once held much of the
continent together, and remains useful for local travel in many
metropolitan areas, commuter rail travel now ranges from relatively
convenient in the Northeast Corridor, to manageable in California,
around Chicago, and parts of the Southeast. from Canada, to be in short
supply elsewhere on the continent If you prefer to travel by train, it's
still possible (depending on where you're going), but it's slower and
sometimes more expensive than air travel for long distances.
Among the most frequently serviced areas is the US Northeast Corridor,
which links Washington, D.C. to Boston with frequent stops in
intermediate cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Haven
and Providence. There is at least one hourly service in this corridor
from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. In Canada, the heavily populated
Windsor-Quebec corridor has several trains daily that compare favorably
in speed with highway travel, although the cost of putting a passenger
on the train often exceeds that of the intercity bus or fuel to travel
by car.
In off-the-beaten-track communities, often the rails have
simply been removed and previous rights-of-way used as bike, snowmobile,
or nature trails. There are no railways left on Prince Edward Island or
on the island of Newfoundland.
Most private intercity rail
carriers have abandoned passenger service as unprofitable, leaving de
facto federally owned entities such as Amtrak (in the US) and VIA Rail
(in Canada) to operate the remaining services. . Short commuter trains
are often operated regionally or municipally in the US, Canada, and
Mexico. See Train travel in Canada and Train travel in the United
States. Compared to Europe and East Asia, the speed is low and the
frequencies are few, but the views and comfort can make up for it. In
fact, on the spectacular routes that some trains traverse in North
America, the journey becomes the destination. High-speed rail is in its
infancy, with only the northeast corridor from Boston to Washington, DC
even qualifying for a generous definition, but several projects are
planned or under construction across the United States.
In Mexico
and Central America, passenger trains are nominal at best (like the
Chihuahua al Pacífico line through the Copper Canyon) and non-existent
at worst (in most places). However, there are some tourist trains, and
several Central American countries, as well as Mexico, have actively
considered the possibility of building a new freight or passenger rail
line. Economic developments and, in the case of Mexico, a sharp drop in
oil prices have at least put these plans on hold for now, so don't hold
your breath.
Boat
in seas
The cruise industry is a huge
industry in some parts of North America, and cruises to places like
Bermuda and the West Indies are readily available, as they are to parts
of Mexico. Cruises are offered as tours, and if your voyage begins or
ends in a port in the United States, you generally must embark or
disembark at the same port or a different country at the other end of
the cruise. (This is due to cabotage laws). The exception is if the line
is US owned and staffed, using US built ships. (Most cruise lines are
multinational operations.) In general, cruise ships stop at a given port
for only a few hours, so this method of travel may be inconvenient for
people who want to stay longer in a port. Some locations, such as
Washington, Alaska, San Francisco, New York City, and Boston, have ferry
service, allowing travel to multiple locations in or near them.
in inland waters
North America contains a large number of large
bodies of fresh water, be it the Great Lakes between Canada and the
United States or the various rivers that run through the continent and
most of them are used extensively to transport goods and people. Small
boating is certainly an option in the US, as it is the country with the
longest waterways in the world. Similarly, Canada offers a wealth of
options for small boat owners or renters. In the less developed corners
of Central America, some places are or were accessible only by boat or
waterway, still one of the most comfortable and fastest ways to get
there. Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, for example, only got an airport in
2014, but given the flight schedules and the view from the boat, most
will still want to get to the water. Deeper jungle or
off-the-beaten-path spots are best accessed by boat, and some ferries
(for example, between El Salvador and Nicaragua or between Honduras and
Belize) will save you a roundabout overland route.
Walking
If
you are in a big city, like New York, walking might be the best way to
get around because of the high amount of traffic many big cities have.
There are many sidewalks and trails to navigate less populated areas.
For dedicated long-distance hikers, the Continental Divide Trail and
Pacific Crest Trail are America's National Scenic Trails that run
thousands of miles between Mexico and Canada through some of the most
mountainous and rugged areas in North America.
While cities like Managua are a traffic nightmare and the buses are
not as fast or comfortable (however, they are cheap), others like Panama
City have built modern metros in the 21st century that are very popular
with tourists and locals. . Almost every self-respecting city of a
certain size in Canada and the US has some form of subway or light rail
to get around at least downtown. Mexico City has the second largest
subway in passengers in the Americas (after New York City). Many cities
were built with automobiles in mind, and outside of the city center, you
might be lucky if a bus arrives once an hour on weekdays, even in places
as big as Dallas. Traveling the United States without a car is
particularly challenging but doable with advance planning and careful
choice of destinations.
Cycling
While there is almost no
traditional "bike culture" in most places (that is, outside of
recreational cycling), there are new "bike share" programs in many
cities across the United States, as well as in the City from Mexico and
Canada. While they primarily cater to locals, travelers can usually sign
on as well (as long as they have a credit card and/or passport). In more
rural regions with a tradition of recreational cycling, you may well be
able to get traditional bike rentals by the day or by the week. Some
cities have an emerging cycling culture and joining in on a 'critical
mass' ride is a great way to meet the locals and get in touch with the
local cycling scene. Cycling is certainly on the rise in many cities on
the continent, but even the most bike-friendly places like Portland,
Oregon are a far cry from Copenhagen or Amsterdam in terms of cycling
culture.
Police and other emergency services are widely
available almost anywhere in the United States and Canada, as well as in
most areas of Mexico, and generally have quick response times. In the
United States, Canada, and Mexico, police and other first responders can
be summoned in an emergency by dialing 9-1-1 on a compatible phone.
Security varies greatly from location to location, so please refer to
the appropriate article on the region of interest. Like anywhere,
remember to practice good common sense safety procedures and you should
be fine.
Most places in North America are occasionally affected
by bad weather. Since the mountain ranges run from north to south,
storms can bring dramatic changes in temperature. Cold weather is a
seasonal concern in parts of the continent; See winter in North America.
Homosexuality in North America is not penalized
anywhere and in territories such as Canada (since 2005) and the United
States (since 2015) homosexual marriage is legal throughout the national
territory, which does not imply a favorable view of it in all places,
since homophobia continues to be important in some sectors of the
different societies of the continent.
In particular, Mexico and
the United States are fighting for the position as the least tolerant
country with the LGBT community in the region, which does not imply that
various places in these countries are considered among the most tolerant
in the American continent, especially in progressive and liberal states.
of the North and other latitudes of the United States, while at the same
time there are those who are considered the most intolerant of North
America, being the conservative and religious states of the South the
greatest representatives of discrimination against homosexuals,
appearing thirteen of they as the last administrative entities in the
region to repeal their sodomy laws by the Supreme Court of the United
States in 2003.
However, the high levels of development and the
cultural change show a marked tendency towards the acceptance of
homosexuality that continues in full development in the three countries
of the subcontinent, being this topic the subject of debate at a social,
political and religious level.
Neither is homosexuality in most
of the dependent territories. is penalized
Health in Mexico is in charge of various institutions
such as the Ministry of Health that serves the private sector, while the
Mexican Institute of Social Security provides health services to
employees in the private sector, while the Institute of Security and
Social Services for State Workers attends to the social and health care
needs of those employed by the State, as well as the Ministry of
National Defense has its own system of attention to its personnel, as
well as Pemex. with its own health system, the population that does not
have affiliation to the above can count on Seguro Popular, for the year
2002 there were more than 3,000 private hospitals. Many of these health
centers are affiliated with the Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS;
the Social Security Institute at the Service of State Workers, ISSSTE;
the Secretary of Health; Red Cross; South Medical; Petroleos Mexicanos,
PEMEX;.
In the United States, health is more of a business than a
right because there are Americans who pay large sums of money to acquire
these services such as treatment or the purchase of medicines. The
problem is that many Americans find themselves excluded and disenrolled
in the health system. It even affects both US residents and foreigners
Unlike its neighbor Canada, which does have free healthcare systems,
however, the right to free healthcare is exclusively for Canadian
residents, who meet the parameters of a stable job, but not for
tourists, nor temporary residents, nor irregular immigrants. It is
obvious that foreigners do not enjoy such a right. Therefore, if you are
still covered by the public health system in Canada, it is highly
recommended to take out health insurance for your stay in the country
(in some specific cases, such as the Working Holiday visa, it is even
mandatory), to be protected from any medical problems that may arise.
Tap water is generally safe to drink in Canada and the United
States.
While hardly present in dogs in the US, rabies is a
concern when bitten in Central America or by a bat in the US. As rabies
is almost always fatal once symptoms show (only there is one case of
symptomatic rabies survived by a human documented in the medical
record), get a rabies shot before you go outside and see a doctor as
soon as possible if bitten .
Tropical diseases such as dengue
fever and malaria are endemic in much of Central America, especially in
rural areas and on the Caribbean side. If you want to go to Panama, you
will need a yellow fever vaccination certificate.
The Zika virus
has spread throughout much of Central America, but it is advisable to
check official government advisories and individual country guides on
Wikivoyage before you go, as the situation can vary drastically between
countries. Zika is particularly dangerous to the unborn, and therefore
pregnant women may want to postpone travel to affected areas.
It must be taken into account that North America is
hit by hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and earthquakes. Many of them have
occurred at the beginning of the 2010s. Forest fires, which have
occurred in recent years, due to climate change, which cause the
extinction of flora and fauna in the Subcontinent, cannot be ignored.
Including the loss of lives of tourists and travelers.
The United
States is very famous for its surge of hurricanes and tornadoes, which
throughout its history has suffered such calamities and inclemencies.
As the United States was populated by European
pioneers and later by immigrants from around the world, the diversity of
its cuisine is immense. Many cosmopolitan cities (Chicago, New York, San
Francisco and Las Vegas to name a few) have a wide range of dining
options to offer tourists. These cities attract both celebrity chefs
from around the world who serve world-class dishes in Michelin-starred
restaurants, as well as various ethnic groups offering inexpensive
regional cuisines from their homelands. Foreign cuisines have been
adapted in many ways to suit American palates and use local ingredients;
for example, the United States and Canada have several distinctive
variations of pizza.
You'll want to try the foods of the region
you're visiting: seafood in San Francisco, lobster in Maine and Boston,
steak in Texas, creole in New Orleans, barbecue all over the South.
The availability of fresh food is particularly evident in
California, which is also enjoying pivotal importance in the organic and
"slow food" movements. In Florida, you have to visit orange groves to
enjoy freshly squeezed fruit. Georgia is known for fresh peaches.
Southern border states, such as New Mexico, serve a lot of Mexican
foods, and the spiciness and flavors will vary based on which Mexican
state they border.
Canadian food, like that of the United States,
varies from region to region and is heavily influenced by its immigrant
culture. In general, you should think of seafood on the coasts, meat and
potatoes in the center of the country, and pretty much anything you can
think of in big cosmopolitan cities. Poutine, French fries covered in
cheese curds and gravy, might be the nation's favorite fast food snack.
The Caribbean is known for its seafood and specialties like Jerk
Chicken.
While Mexican influence extends to North Central
American cuisine, countries like Nicaragua or Costa Rica have their own
distinct flavor, based mostly on the rice and beans that together make
up gallo pinto (also known as casamiento in other parts from Central
America), a staple that you will eat at least once during any of your
visits, no matter how short.
Hostels are often available in cities, though often in
undesirable locations. If hostels are your usual lodging choice,
consider options like the YMCA or a budget hotel. Independent hotels and
international and regional hotel chains are widespread in both Canada
and the United States. Most hotel chains have free smartphone apps to
make planning easier and keep up with your itinerary while on the road.
In these countries, as well as in the main tourist regions of Mexico and
the Caribbean, high-speed Internet service is generally available,
although sometimes at an additional cost. Hotel chains also offer reward
programs and bonuses for frequent travellers. Bed and breakfasts are
available in many cities and other popular tourist destinations. Camping
spots are widely available, generally along highways or near lakes and
rivers, many requiring a small fee, so read signs and inform yourself.
In the most populated US national parks (Yosemite, Grand Canyon,
Yellowstone) campgrounds and lodges within the parks often require
reservations up to 12 months in advance. You may also struggle with
accommodations in the small hotels just outside the parks during peak
season.
To truly experience life in the United States, a small
bed and breakfast is the best way to go! Bed and breakfasts, which are
usually run by owners who live in the same building, will give you a
better idea of what it's like to "be an American." Many of these owners
are well traveled, well read, and have knowledge of their local area to
guide you to those unique experiences in the United States.
It is widely accepted that the name "America" comes
from the navigator and explorer Amerigo Vespucci , and that it was the
German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller who gave it that name. Vespucci
was the first European to suggest that America was not the East Indies ,
but a new world unknown to Europeans . The names North America and South
America arise from the fact that the continent is made up of two large
land masses, one in the north and the other in the south.
The
second, less widely accepted theory is that this name comes from an
English merchant named Richard Amerike , from Bristol , who is believed
to have financed John Cabot's voyage from England to Newfoundland in
1497. Another theory is that the name comes from a language amerindian .
There is no single criteria to define this term. In Spanish-speaking countries, usage normally defines North America as the subcontinent made up of Canada , the United States (including Alaska ), Mexico , (up to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec ), Greenland , and adjacent islands. On the other hand, in English-speaking countries and others, North America is usually considered as a continent that is made up of the aforementioned in addition to Central America and the Antilles, presenting a natural limit with South America more or less to the present border of Panama/Colombia. On the other hand, the UN geoscheme uses "Northern America" to indicate the cultural subregion made up of the United States and Canada.
Upon the arrival of the Europeans, North America was
populated by indigenous ethnic groups coming from Asian immigrations
through the Bering Strait .
The European colonization of the
North (in chronological order: Spanish , French and English ) basically
consisted of the progressive advance from the eastern coast to the west.
In general lines, the Anglo-Saxon colonization meant the marginalization
and even the extermination of the indigenous populations, to the point
of confining the survivors in reserves located in the most unproductive
and sterile areas of the territory. However, the French and Spanish
colonizations meant the mixture of races and miscegenation.
Anthropologists have various theories about the first
populations to settle in North America . Genetic and archaeological
evidence indicates the first Americans arrived from Asia around the last
great ice age, when ice covered the Bering Strait creating a land bridge
called Beringia .
Before contact with Europeans, the indigenous
peoples of North America were divided into multiple political entities,
from small groups of a few families to chiefdoms and kingdoms. They
lived in several cultural areas that roughly corresponded to the
different geobiological zones that they occupied and that give a good
idea of their different uses and customs. For example, from the bison
hunters of the Great Plains , or the farmers of Mesoamerica . These
indigenous groups can also be classified linguistically (for example,
the Atapascan , Algic , and Uto-Aztecan families).are three of the most
widespread in North America), although it is important to keep in mind
that peoples with related languages did not always share the same
material culture, nor were they always allies.
The Archean period
in the Americas saw a changing environment that featured a hot, more
arid climate and the disappearance of megafauna . Most population groups
at that time were still highly mobile hunter-gatherers, but after
individual groups began to emerge, they focused on the resources
available to them locally, so over time there was no pattern of
increasing regional generalization such as, Southwest, Arctic, Poverty,
Dalton, and Traditional Plane.
These regional adaptations would
become the norm with less reliance on hunting and gathering , with a
more varied economy of small game, fish, seasonally harvested wild
vegetables, and plant foods. Many groups continued as big game hunters,
however their hunting traditions became more varied and their methods of
meat acquisition more sophisticated. The placement of artifacts and
materials within an archaic necropolis indicated social differentiation
according to the status of some groups.
The southernmost cultural
groups in North America were responsible for the domestication of many
crops now used throughout the world, such as tomatoes and squash .
Perhaps most importantly, one of the world's most important crops is
corn . As a result of the development of agriculture in the South, many
important cultural advances were made there. For example, the Mayan
civilization developed a writing system, built huge pyramids, had a
complex calendar , and developed the concept of zero 500 years before
anyone else in the Old World . mayan cultureit was still around when
Europeans arrived in Central America, but political domination in the
area had shifted to the Aztec Empire .
Further north in
Mesoamerica, the human groups that developed more complex societies and
cultures are the peoples of the Mississippian culture and the Iroquois
Confederacy in well-documented historical times. In addition, there are
some complex cultures known only archaeologically, such as those of the
Anasazi or the Hohokam .
The arrival of the Europeans in America
brought about a drastic, often traumatic or catastrophic change for them
and their cultures. Entire peoples, even entire language groups,
disappeared, and those that survived generally changed very rapidly.
L'Anse aux Meadows (a corruption of the original
French name L'Anse-aux-Méduses , "The Jellyfish Cove " ) is a place
located on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland , in the
province of Newfoundland and Labrador ( Canada ), where the Norwegian
researcher Helge Ingstad and his wife, the archaeologist Anne Stine ,
found in 1960 some grassy elevations that turned out to be the remains
of a Viking village .
In 2015 a possible second settlement was
found at another point on the island of Newfoundland called Point Rosee
, 500 km further to the southeast than initially known of the Vikings.
The find was detected by American archaeologist Sarah Parcak using
infrared imaging technology from space.
Colonial era
By 1663
the French crown had taken control of the fur trading companies of New
France . This marked the beginning of a new era of more formal
colonialism in North America.
The rivalry between the European
powers created a series of wars in North America that had a great impact
on the development of the colonies. The territory changed hands several
times. Peace was not achieved until French forces in North America were
defeated at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (in Quebec ) and France
ceded most of its claims to it outside the Caribbean . The end of the
French presence in North America was a disaster for the indigenous
countries of eastern North America, who lost their main ally against the
Anglo-American expansion of extermination. During Pontiac's Rebellion
(1763-1766), a Great Lakes Confederacyand the area tribes engaged in an
unsuccessful campaign to defend their rights to land west of the
Appalachian Mountains , which led to their being locked up on
reservations under the royal proclamation of 1763 .
Between 1535
to 1821, the territories colonized by the Spanish Empire in present-day
Mexico were called the Viceroyalty of New Spain .
Independences
The arrival of the Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies had a great
impact on the entire continent. Most important was the creation of the
United States of America . However, the American Revolutionary War was a
major war that touched every corner of the region. The settlement of
United Empire Loyalists led to the creation of Canada as a separate
community.
Meanwhile, Spain 's control over Mexico was weakening.
Independence was declared in 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo , starting at that
time the Mexican War of Independence . In 1813, José María Morelos and
the Anahuac Congress signed the Solemn Act of the Declaration of the
Independence of North America , the first legal document establishing
the separation of New Spain from Spain. Finally Mexico became
independent in 1821 as an Empire and Spain recognized it as an
independent nation in 1823.
From the moment of independence from the United States
, that country expanded rapidly westward, acquiring the vast Louisiana
Territory in 1803. Between 1810 and 1811 an Indian confederation fought
unsuccessfully to keep Americans out of the Great Lakes. Tecumseh's
followers went north into Canada, where they helped the British repel an
American attempt to seize Canada during the War of 1812. After the war,
British and Irish settlement in Canada increased dramatically. The
expansion of the United States was complicated by the division of the
states into "free" and "slave," which led to the Missouri Compromise of
1820.
Likewise, Canada faced a division between French and
English communities that led to the outbreak of the civil war in 1837.
Mexico faced constant political tensions between liberals and
conservatives, had a territorial conflict with Guatemala where Mexico
obtained the acquisition of Chiapas and the soconusco, as well as had
conflicts with the United States over Texas, which declared itself
independent (by US invaders). in 1836 and by the territories of
California.
The secession of the Confederate States and the
resulting civil war shook American society. This led to the abolition of
slavery in the United States , the destruction of most of the South, and
loss of life. Since the conflict, the United States emerged as a
powerful industrialized nation.
Partly in response to the threat
of American power, four of the Canadian colonies agreed to federate in
1867, creating the Dominion of Canada. The new nation was not fully
sovereign, but they did enjoy considerable independence from Great
Britain. With the addition of British Columbia, Canada expanded into the
Pacific in 1871 and established a transcontinental railroad, the
Canadian Pacific , in 1885.
In Mexico , conflicts such as the War
of Reform weakened the Mexican state, and opened it up to foreign
influence. This led to the French Second Empire invading Mexico and the
establishment of a Second Mexican Empire .
In addition, there was
the conflict with Guatemala in which Mexican fishing boats were attacked
by the Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) in Guatemalan territorial waters, the
balance was three Mexican fishermen dead and fourteen injured. Ten of
the survivors were subjected to military interrogation by Guatemala. The
situation caused a temporary termination of diplomatic and commercial
relations between Mexico and Guatemala, a border bridge was destroyed
and both countries activated a military alert.
North America occupies the northern part of the
territory usually referred to as the New World, the Americas, or simply
America (which is sometimes considered a single continent and the
northern portion, North America, a subcontinent). North America ties
with South America at the Colombia-Panama border under most conventions.
Others locate the border at the Panama Canal. Before Central America was
lifted, the region was submerged, and the islands of the East Indies
(Caribbean) outlined a land bridge connecting North America with South
America via Florida and Venezuela.
The mainland coast is long and
rugged. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water that falls on
the continent, followed by Hudson Bay. Among the main ones are the Gulf
of San Lorenzo and the Gulf of California.
There are numerous islands off the coast of the continent: mainly the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Alexander Archipelago and the Aleutian Islands. Greenland, under the Danish crown, is the largest island in the world. It is located in the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate) and is geographically part of North America.
Most of North America rests on the North American
Plate. Parts of California and western Mexico border the Pacific Plate
where the main plates meet along the San Andreas Fault. Most of the
southern portion of the continent and the Caribbean islands are located
in the Caribbean Plate, while along the southwestern coasts the border
is marked by the Cocos Plate.
conventional regions
The
continent can be divided into four major regions (each of which includes
several sub-regions): the Great Plains extending from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Canadian Arctic; the geologically young mountains of the west,
which include the Rockies, the Great Basin, California and Alaska; the
Canadian Shield Plateau; the diverse northeastern region, which includes
the Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic
seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long cordilleras
and plateaus, falls largely within the western region, although the
eastern coastal plain extends south along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.
North America is characterized by two large mountain ranges that start from the northwest and arrive in the southwest they are: the coastal ranges of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains. The highest mountains on the east coast are the Appalachians. The highest peak is Mount Denali in Alaska. The largest plains are: the Great Plains, Coastal Plains and the Canadian Shield.
The major rivers of North America are the Mississippi,
Missouri and St. Lawrence. The first and second run in the United
States, the third in the United States and Canada. Other major rivers
are the Colorado and the Columbia, both in the United States. There are
five major lakes in North America: Great Bear Lake, Michigan, Superior,
Erie, Ontario, and Huron. Other important lakes are: Lake Athabasca,
Great Slave Lake and Reindeer Lake, all in Canada.
North America
is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to
the west and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
Geographic center
The United States Geographical Survey states that the geographic center
of North America is "10 km W of Balta, in Pierce County, North Dakota"
at approximately 48°10′N 100°10′W.
The most common languages in North America are
English, Spanish, and French. The term Anglo-America is used to refer to
the English-speaking countries of the Americas: namely Canada (where
English and French are official languages) and the United States of
America. Sometimes Belize and some Caribbean islands are included. Latin
America refers to that part of the Americas (generally south of the
United States) where neo-Latin languages are predominant: as far as
North America is concerned, it therefore refers to the other republics
of Central America, Mexico, and the good part of the Caribbean islands
(plus of course most of South America).
The French language has
historically played a significant role in North America and retains a
distinctive presence in some regions. Canada is officially bilingual;
French is the official language of the Canadian province of Quebec and
is official together with English in the province of New Brunswick.
French is also an official language in some islands of the West Indies
(Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barth, Saint Martin) and in
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, as well as in Louisiana, where French is an
official language.
Socially and culturally, North America
presents a well-defined entity. English-speaking Canada and the United
States have a similar culture and traditions having both been former
British colonies. A cultural commonality and market economy developed
between the two nations, dictated by economic power and historical ties.
Analogies can be found in the Spanish linguistic component of North
America. Here too they shared a common past, as former colonies of
Spain. In Mexico and in the Central American countries where the Mayan
civilization developed, the indigenous peoples preserve some traditions.
Québec for its part constitutes a region which has its own culture
linked to the French colonial heritage and is the French-speaking
capital of the country.
Economically, Canada and the United
States are the two richest and most developed nations on the continent,
followed by Mexico, a newly industrialized country. The countries of
Central America and the Caribbean are much less developed. The most
important common markets are the Caribbean Community and Common Market
(CARICOM) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). A free
trade agreement (CAFTA) was signed by the Central American countries
with the intention of improving their financial situation.
Countries and territories
North America is often divided into
sub-regions, although not always unanimously shared. Central America
includes the southern region of the continent, but its northern end
varies between sources. Geographically the region begins with the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (i.e. the Mexican states of Campeche,
Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo and Yucatán). The United Nations includes
Mexico in Central America (on the other hand the European Union includes
both Mexico and Belize), but geopolitically Mexico is not often
considered part of Central America.
The concept of North America
is also used to refer to the northernmost countries and territories:
Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and Saint-Pierre and
Miquelon. They are considered distinctly from the southern regions of
the Americas, which largely includes Latin America.
In the late 1990s, the United States was the world's
leading economic manufacturing nation. In 2000, gross domestic product
was US$9,837,405 million, equivalent to a per capita GDP of US$34,940.
The activities of the primary sector contribute 1.7% to the formation of
the annual gross domestic product, the secondary sector 26.2% and the
tertiary sector, by far the most profitable, 72.1% .
The dollar
was unanimously chosen as the monetary unit of the United States on July
6, 1785. At the end of the American War of Independence, the Continental
Congress adopted the decimal system for currency. The first US-minted
dollars were issued by the federal government in Philadelphia in 1794
following the passage of the Coinage Act of 1792, which established two
measures of value: the silver dollar and the gold dollar (from 1792 to
1873 the Dollar was freely backed by gold and silver, under a system
called Bimetallism). The latter, a very small coin, was only minted from
1849 to 1889. Over time the silver and gold content varied. A 1900
congressional ruling defined the gold dollar as the monetary unit of the
United States and fixed the value of legal tender notes relative to the
gold dollar.
Through a series of legislative changes between 1873
and 1900, the importance of silver was gradually diminished until the
formal adoption of the gold standard. The Gold Standard survived, with
many changes until 1974. Before 1934, due to the so-called Gold
Standard, US paper money was convertible into gold coins; with the law
on the gold reserves of 1934 the convertibility was abolished. From then
on, circulating money, both paper and metallic, has been of the
fiduciary type. The US dollar has officially undergone several
devaluations since 1934; during the 1970s its value fell sharply against
other more stable currencies, while the price of gold rose. Since 1986,
however, various attempts have been made to reduce the huge US trade
deficit by lowering the value of the dollar against other currencies,
attempts which have been particularly successful against the Deutsche
Mark and the yen. The silver dollar remained in circulation until 1965,
when it was abandoned as the value of its silver content was higher than
face value.
Beginning in 1975, American citizens were allowed to
own, buy and sell gold like any commodity, although gold coins could not
circulate as fiat money. The dollar is considered the main international
reserve currency, although there are clear signs of its decline in the
1990s: over 60% of global foreign exchange reserves are held in dollars
and over two-thirds of world trade is invoiced in dollars. The US
federal government began issuing currency, backed by the Spanish dollar,
during the American Civil War. These notes, known as "greenbacks" due to
their color, started the US tradition of printing currency in green.
Unlike other nations, all US banknotes were printed in the same color
for most of the 20th century. Modern US banknotes, regardless of
denomination, measure 6.63 cm in width, 15.6 cm in length and 0.11 mm in
thickness.
On May 13, 2003, the United States Treasury announced
the introduction of a full-color $20 bill (the first since 1905). The
choice is dictated by the need to counter the growing counterfeiting.
The new notes went into circulation on October 9, 2003. Additional $50
and $100 notes will be introduced in 2004 and 2005, each with different
color schemes. Name of the monetary unit of several countries, including
Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, United States. The
term derives from the ancient German daler or taler, the name of a
silver coin minted in 1519 in Saxony. The dollar par excellence is the
US dollar, which derives its name from another silver coin, the peso
duro, or doleras, minted in Spain and used in the Spanish colonies and
in North America also by English colonists.
NAFTA as antecedent
It is an important commercial
bloc between Mexico , the United States and Canada (also known as NAFTA
, for its acronym in English North American Free Trade Agreement: 'North
American free trade agreement'). It is one of the most important trade
blocks in the world and is supported by two trilateral supplements: the
North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, whose objective
is the conservation and protection of the environment in North America,
and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, that encompasses
the commercial aspects of the agreement.
As a result of this
treaty and its expansion, since 2005, the so-called North American
Leaders Summit has been held annually, the last venue was the city of
Guadalajara in 2009, this being the most important meeting in the
region, where highly relevant issues for the area are discussed and
regional integration is promoted.
USMCA
On September 30,
2018, it was announced that the United States, Mexico, and Canada had
reached an agreement to replace NAFTA with the United States- Mexico -
Canada Treaty ( USMCA ). The new free trade agreement entered into force
definitively on July 1, 2020 after the Canadian Parliament approved the
agreement and the three presidents — Trump , López Obrador and Trudeau —
definitively sealed the new agreement with their signatures.
Currently, the most widely spoken languages in North
America are English , Spanish , and French . The term Anglo-America is
sometimes used to refer to the Anglophone countries of the entire
American continent. The term Latin America refers to the area of
America where the Romance languages (derived from Latin )
predominate. Both terms can be used for the North American subcontinent.
The English language , although not official, is the majority
language of the United States . In Canada it is more widely spoken than
French, although both languages are co-official in that country. It is
also the official language in the Bermuda Islands , which are a British
dependency.
The Spanish language , although it is not official, is
the national language of Mexico according to the General Law of
Linguistic Rights of this country and is the second most spoken language
in the United States. Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population
in the world and the United States is the country with the second
largest number of Spanish-speakers.
The French language has
historically played an important role in North America and remains
present in various regions. In Canada it is the official and most widely
spoken language of the province of Quebec , as well as being one of the
two official ones in the province of New Brunswick . Off the coast of
Newfoundland , the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon are French
dependencies, and small bilingual (French and English) communities
remain in the state of Louisiana (in the southern United States ).
The Greenlandic language since June 2009 is the sole official language
of Greenland , an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark , as well
as being the most widely spoken language in that territory. The Danish
language , without being official, is used in administrative matters and
by a European minority.
Although a large number of indigenous
languages have been lost since the European conquest , more than 250
indigenous languages (belonging to more than 40 distinct language
families ) are still spoken , primarily in Mexico and the United States.
In Mexico, some 60 indigenous languages are recognized as co-official
national languages. In the United States and Canada, indigenous
languages have no official recognition, and the vast majority of them
are threatened languages . In Mexico, indigenous languages have
official recognition, and the education department publishes school
materials in some of these languages.
As for the alien languages
of North America, English , French , and Spanish have official
recognition. In addition, in the United States there is a large number
of immigrant communities that continue to use their native languages.