North america

NORTH AMERICA DESCRIPTION, LOCATION, CANADIAN SHEILD, THE WESTERN CORDILLERA

3. LOCATION:
North America covers an area of about 24,709,000
square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about
16.5% of theEarth's land area and about 4.8% of its
total surface. North America is the third-largest
continent by area, followingAsiaandAfrica, and
thefourthby population after Asia, Africa,
andEurope. In 2013, its population was estimated at
nearly 579 million people in23 independent states, or
about 7.5% of the world's population.

4. BOUNDARIES:
It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east
and the Pacific Ocean to the west. North America
is dominated by its three largest
countries:Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Central America and the Caribbean are usually
considered part of North America, but they have
their own section here.

5. POLITICAL DIVISIONS:
North America can be divided intofive physical
regions: the mountainous west, the Great Plains,
the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region,
and the Caribbean. Mexico and Central America's
western coast are connected to the mountainous
west, while its lowlands and coastal plains extend
into the eastern region.

6. THE WESTERN CORDILLERAS:
TheNorth American Cordillera, sometimes also
called theWestern Cordillera of North America,
theWestern Cordilleraor thePacific Cordillera,is
theNorth Americanportion of theAmerican
Cordillera, the mountain chain system
(cordillera) along the western coast (Pacific coast)
of theAmericas.

7. PHYSICAL MAP

8. THE CANADIAN SHEILD:
TheCanadian Shieldalso called theLaurentian
Plateau, is a large area of exposedPrecambrian
igneousand high-grademetamorphic
rocks(geologic shield) that forms the ancient
geologic core of theNorth Americancontinent
(the North American Cratonor
Laurentia).Glaciationhas left the area with only a
thin layer ofsoil, through which the composition
of igneous rock resulting from long volcanic
history is frequently visible.

9. THE APALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
TheAppalachian Mountains,often calledthe
Appalachians, are asystem of mountainsin eastern to
northeasternNorth America. The Appalachians first
formed roughly 480 million years ago during
theOrdovician Period. They once reached elevations
similar to those of theAlpsand therocks
Mountainsbefore experiencing natural erosion.The
Appalachian chain is a barrier to east–west travel, as it
forms a series ofalternating ridgelines and
valleysoriented in opposition to
mosthighwaysandrailroadsrunning east–west.