NORTH AMERICA ON LINE GUIDE

North America occupies an area of 23,473,000 sq km, Canada is the largest country with 9,970,000 sq. km, followed by the United States with 9,355,000 sq. km, the surface of this continent represents approximately 15.75 % of the land surface of the planet, and houses 440,000,000 people, 7.76% of the world's population. The continent extending from east to west by 12° west longitude of Nordost Rundingen (the easternmost point in North America) in Greenland to 172° of longitude east of Attu island in Alaska, the northernmost point in North America is the Cape Morris Jesup in Eastern Greenland (83°N, also, on land, also the northernmost point of the World), while to the south the continent extends up to 14° north latitude in southern Mexico. The continent, which has a coastline of 60,000 km, is characterized by an extremely irregular contour of the coast, where there are many islands, especially in the far north and three large bays, the Hudson Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and gulf of Alaska. North America is washed to the south by the Gulf of Mexic; to the west by the Pacific Ocean; to the north by the Arctic Ocean and to the east from the Atlantic Ocean. It is crossed by the Tropic of Cancer, while the southern border between Mexico with Guatemala and Belize marks the beginning of Central America (although from a geographical point of view would be the Tehuantepec isthmus to divide Northern from Central America). Made part of Northern America three countries (USA, Canada, Mexico) and three dependencies (Bermuda (United Kingdom), Greenland (Denmark) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)). 

The highest mountain in North America, is Mount McKinley (6,194 m), located in Alaska, while the lowest point, 86 m below sea level, is the Death Valley (Death Valley), California. The western area of the United States and Canada is crossed from north to south for a length of about 3,200 km from the great mountain chain of the Rocky Mountains, which often reach the 4,000 meters and it touch the maximum height with the Mount Elbert (4,399 meters) in Colorado. The chain of the Sierra Nevada, stretching in California, in north-south direction, with a total length of 600 km, it has peaks over 4,000 meters, reaching the highest point with the Mount Whitney at 4,418 meters. In Mexican territory, the natural continuation of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, is represented by the mountain range of Sierra Madre, in eastern Sierra Madre are some important volcanoes including the Pico de Orizaba (5,610 meters, the highest peak of Mexico ) and Popocatépetl (5,452 meters). 

North America is dominated by two major systems of drainage water, the Great Lakes (Lake Superior (84,131 square kilometers, the second largest lake in the world after the Caspian Sea, but considering only freshwater lakes, the first in the world), Lake Michigan (58,016 square kilometers), Lake Huron (61,797 square kilometers), Lake Erie (25,612 square kilometers) and Lake Ontario (18,941 square kilometers)), which flows in the Atlantic Ocean with the Sant Lawrence River and the Mississippi-Missouri system, the longest river in North America, and fourth in the world after the Nile, the Amazon and the Chang Jiang (5,970 km in length, with an area of 3,328,000 sq. km), which drain the waters of the central regions of the United States of America. Another important river is the Mackenzie long 4,241 km, that flows into Arctic Ocean. North America presents large islands in the far north, especially notable are the Greenland, which has an area of 2,175,600 sq. km and is the largest island in the world, the island of Baffin (476,065 sq km, 5th island in the world) the island of Ellesmere (212,687 sq km) the island Victoria (212,198 sq km). 

Climate: North America stretches between 14°N (just south of the tropic of Cancer) and Artic, it's significantly different climate. In Mexico, the Yucatán peninsula has a warm and humid tropical climate, with abundant rainfall; in the Mexican plateaus the climate is mild and decreased precipitation, the northern Mexican plateau and the eastern coastline of the Gulf of California are among the most of arid regions of North America. The United States have within them considerable differences in climate, moving from tropical and subtropical climate of Florida, with mainly summer rains, continuing northward along the Atlantic coast there is a gradually cold climate caused by the cold Labrador Current, it provokes a maritime climate with rigid winters, warmer summers and abundant rainfall. The Rocky Mountain region has a mountain typical climate, in the territories west of the Rocky Mountains the aridity and summer temperatures are high. Along the Pacific coast, it has a mild and rainy climate in the north, more arid in the south. The climate of the northern regions of interior Canada is mainly continental, with long, cold and very rigid winters, short and low rainfall summers, the areas of Saint Lawrence and the Great Lakes have a climate less harsh. Alaska, Greenland and northern Canada are inside the subartic climate zone, they have a harsh climate, very cold winter and low rainfall. 

Tourism: From the point of view of tourism, according to the statistics of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), North America with 90,700,000 arrivals of tourists in 2006 accounts for 10.7% of world tourism. The most visited countries of North America are the United States of America (51,100,000 tourists in 2006) who are in third place in the world by number of visitors after France and Spain, but also Mexico (eighth place with 21,400,000) it's a major tourist destination. Canada had in 2006 over 18,200,000 visitors. North America, presents for travelers many attractions, we move from Mexican archaeological sites, to the wealth and modernity of the cities in the United States of America and Canada, to the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains, the American national parks, the Mexican colonial cities, the beaches of Yucatan and Baja California, until the unspoiled landscapes of Canada and Alaska. In addition, we can say that, from a total of 878 sites (data updated to 2008) declared by UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 65 (7.40%) are in North America. Among nations, at the first place in North America, is Mexico with 29 sites (Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco (1987), Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán (1987), Historic Centre of Puebla (1987), Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque (1987), Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan (1987), Sian Ka'an (1987), Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines (1988), Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (1988), Historic Centre of Morelia (1991), El Tajin, Pre-Hispanic City (1992), Historic Centre of Zacatecas (1993), Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco (1993), Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (1993), Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (1994), Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro (1996), Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal (1996), Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara (1997), Archeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes (1998), Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan (1998), Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco (1999), Historic Fortified Town of Campeche (1999), Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche (2002), Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro (2003), Luis Barragán House and Studio (2004), Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (2005, 2007), Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila (2006), Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (2007), Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús de Nazareno de Atotonilco (2008), Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (2008)), follow the United States of America with 20 sites (including 1 site in Oceania and 1 site in Central America) (Mesa Verde National Park (1978), Yellowstone National Park (1978), Everglades National Park (1979), Grand Canyon National Park (1979), Independence Hall (1979), Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (1979, 1992, 1994), Redwood National and State Parks (1980), Mammoth Cave National Park (1981), Olympic National Park (1981), Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (1982), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1983), Statue of Liberty (1984), Yosemite National Park (1984), Chaco Culture (1987), Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1987), Pueblo de Taos (1992), Carlsbad Caverns National Park (1995), Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995), Oceania: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987), Central America: La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico (1983)), Canada with 15 sites (L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (1978), Nahanni National Park (1978), Dinosaur Provincial Park (1979), Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (1979, 1992, 1994), Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (1981), SGang Gwaay (1981), Wood Buffalo National Park (1983), Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (1984, 1990), Historic District of Old Québec (1985), Gros Morne National Park (1987), Old Town Lunenburg (1995), Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995), Miguasha National Park (1999), Rideau Canal (2007), The Joggins Fossil Cliffs (2008)), then Greenland (Ilulissat Icefjord (2004)) and Bermuda (Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda (2000)) with 1 site each.