North America stretches all the way from the frozen Arctic to the warm Caribbean Sea. It has some of the biggest countries on Earth, the biggest island, enormous lakes and mountains that run for thousands of kilometres. Here are ten facts about it.
Want to know more about continents? Check out our Top 10 Facts about the Continents.
1. North America is the third biggest continent.
Only Asia and Africa are bigger. It reaches from the Arctic Ocean in the north all the way down to Panama in the south.
2. It has 23 countries.
The biggest are Canada, the USA and Mexico, but there are lots of smaller ones too, in Central America and the islands of the Caribbean.
3. Greenland is the biggest island in the world.
It sits in North America, but it belongs to Denmark, a country in Europe. Most of it is covered by a thick sheet of ice.
4. Canada is the second biggest country on Earth.
Only Russia is bigger. Canada is so wide that it stretches across six time zones — and yet fewer people live there than in the UK.
5. Mexico City is built on top of an ancient city.
The capital of Mexico stands where the Aztecs built their great city, Tenochtitlan, on an island in a lake. Today it is one of the biggest cities on Earth.
6. The Rocky Mountains run for thousands of kilometres.
Known as the Rockies, they stretch down the western side of the continent, all the way from Canada to the south of the USA.
7. It has the biggest freshwater lake in the world.
Lake Superior, on the border between Canada and the USA, covers more area than any other freshwater lake on Earth. It is so big that it has waves like the sea.
8. North America has every kind of climate.
There is Arctic ice in Greenland and northern Canada, hot deserts in the USA and Mexico, and steamy rainforests in Central America.
9. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on Earth.
This desert valley in the USA gets so hot in summer that its rocks can be too hot to touch.
10. A canal cuts the continent in two.
The Panama Canal lets ships sail between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, instead of making the long journey all the way round South America.
📖 Words to know
- Continent
- A very large area of land. North America is the third biggest.
- Isthmus
- A narrow strip of land joining two bigger areas of land. Central America joins North and South America.
- Canal
- A waterway dug by people so that boats can travel through. The Panama Canal links two oceans.
- Freshwater
- Water that isn’t salty, like the water in rivers and most lakes.
⚠️ Watch out!
How much do you know about North America?
Which is the biggest island in the world?
- Greenland
- Madagascar
- Great Britain
- Borneo
Which canal lets ships cross between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
- The Panama Canal
- The Suez Canal
- The Grand Canal
- The Manchester Ship Canal
Which is the biggest country in North America?
- Canada
- The USA
- Mexico
- Greenland
Where in the world?
North America is one of the seven continents. Visit three of its countries: Canada, the USA and Mexico.
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