America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere.
America is the name of a continent located in the western hemisphere of the Earth . Its limits are formed by the Pacific (west), Atlantic (east) and Arctic (north) oceans and the Diego Ramírez Islands (south).
Just over 30% of the planet 's surface corresponds to America, where 12% of humanity lives. The surface of the continent is 43,316,000 square kilometers . Due to its immensity, it is common for America to be divided into South America , Central America and North America .
Divisions of America and geographical areas
At a geographical level, we can highlight that the three aforementioned divisions of America have different value areas such as the following:
-In the case of North America, we come across the Great Basin, the Great Lakes, the Sierra Madre Oriental, Mesoamerica, the Canadian Arctic, the Great Plains, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre del Sur.
-In Central America, on the other hand, the Central Cordillera, the Caribbean Plate and the American Caribbean stand out.
-In South America, for its part, there are the South American Caribbean, the Orinoco Plains, the Andes, the Gran Chaco, the Pampa, Patagonia, the Plata Basin, the South Atlantic Islands, the Amazon Plain or the Southern Cone, among other geographical areas.
The origin of the name
The name America is a tribute to Amerigo Vespucci , a Florentine cosmographer and navigator. Vespucci was one of the first people to suggest that the American land corresponded to a new continent and not to the Asian continent, as Christopher Columbus and other explorers believed. That is why when, in 1492 , Columbus arrived in America , he thought he was arriving in the Indies .
In honor of Vespucci , the geographer and humanist Mathias Ringmann gave the name America to the continent in the planisphere "Universalis Cosmographia" , whose drawing was the work of the cartographer Martín Waldseemüller .
It is important to highlight that America has been a populated territory since several millennia before Christ. The arrival of Columbus and other navigators began the European conquest of the lands where the so-called pre-Columbian peoples lived, such as the Aztecs , Mayans and Incas .
The United States is the most populous country in America.
Some characteristics of America
Currently, the United States is the most populous country in the Americas , followed by Brazil , Mexico , Colombia and Argentina . Other countries with important demographic development on the continent are Peru , Venezuela , Chile , Ecuador and Guatemala .
The most spoken language in America is Spanish. Millions of Americans also speak English , French , Portuguese , Quechua , Aymara , and Guaraní , among other languages.
Other data of interest regarding America are the following:
-Its most important rivers, in terms of length, are the Amazon, which is 6,968 kilometers long and runs through Peru, Colombia and Brazil; the Mississippi-Misouri, which is 6,019 kilometers long and is in the United States; and the Mackenzie. This is located in Canada and has 4,420 kilometers.
-With regard to its highest peaks, there are the Argentine Mount Aconcagua, with 6,961 meters; and Ojos del Salado, which is 6,893 meters high and is located in the territory of Argentina and Chile.
-Among the most interesting and globally recognized areas of this continent are the Amazon rainforest, the Argentine paleontological reserve of Valle de la Luna or the Patagonian Steppe, among others.