I swear this is what I was taught in school when I was a kid. Now I see that it includes all of the Caribbean islands and has something like 23 countries in total. I can't be the only one who thought it was just the three
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America...
Define "North America" though. If you mean "the contiguous landmass of North America" then nations that are not physically on that continent are indeed not included.
If you mean part of some cultural constellation such as the FIFA "North American Cup," then yes, Jamaica and Cuba should, for example, also be included.
You just have to figure out if you are talking about a cultural union or a fact of geology.
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Define "North America" though. If you mean "the contiguous landmass of North America" then nations that are not physically on that continent are indeed not included.
If you mean part of some cultural constellation such as the FIFA "North American Cup," then yes, Jamaica and Cuba should, for example, also be included.
You just have to figure out if you are talking about a cultural union or a fact of geology.
it’s a geological fact that Jamaica and Cuba are on the same tectonic plate as America. You know, the definition of a continent..
Define "North America" though. If you mean "the contiguous landmass of North America" then nations that are not physically on that continent are indeed not included.
If you mean part of some cultural constellation such as the FIFA "North American Cup," then yes, Jamaica and Cuba should, for example, also be included.
You just have to figure out if you are talking about a cultural union or a fact of geology.
it’s a geological fact that Jamaica and Cuba are on the same tectonic plate as America. You know, the definition of a continent..
I like your thinking. I agree. The only thing is, I think the notion of a continent is a contiguous landmass. But honestly, you are 100% correct that islands are on the same plates. Plus, during periods of higher sea levels, peninsulas can become islands, and so on. After all, we all agree that Hong Kong and Taiwan are part of Asia. So it is obvious that you are right, now that I think about it.
Define "North America" though. If you mean "the contiguous landmass of North America" then nations that are not physically on that continent are indeed not included.
If you mean part of some cultural constellation such as the FIFA "North American Cup," then yes, Jamaica and Cuba should, for example, also be included.
You just have to figure out if you are talking about a cultural union or a fact of geology.
it’s a geological fact that Jamaica and Cuba are on the same tectonic plate as America. You know, the definition of a continent..
Ah, this discussion again. The definition of the continents will vary depending on where you grew up, because different cultures teach it differently. There's no magic universal definition that everyone accepts.
Latin Americans and Iberians, for instance, will tell you that there's only one continent in the New World, called "America," that incorporates all of what others think of as North, South, and/or Central America. Then they get pissy when people use "America" to refer to the United States, because that's not how they were taught.
But the Anglo-American notion of the continents says that there's a North and South America, and that the line separating the two is the southern border of Panama. We were taught that the combined landmass of all of that is "the Americas," rather than "America."
The rest of the world varies in how they think about the New World. In Europe, some countries think of it similar to the Latin American/Spaniard way, while others will happily call the USA "America."
Beyond the definition of continents, there's all other sorts of ways to divide up the New World that can serve to confuse you. As an example, some people consider the US + Canada to be "Northern America."
Ah, this discussion again. The definition of the continents will vary depending on where you grew up, because different cultures teach it differently. There's no magic universal definition that everyone accepts.
Latin Americans and Iberians, for instance, will tell you that there's only one continent in the New World, called "America," that incorporates all of what others think of as North, South, and/or Central America. Then they get pissy when people use "America" to refer to the United States, because that's not how they were taught.
But the Anglo-American notion of the continents says that there's a North and South America, and that the line separating the two is the southern border of Panama. We were taught that the combined landmass of all of that is "the Americas," rather than "America."
The rest of the world varies in how they think about the New World. In Europe, some countries think of it similar to the Latin American/Spaniard way, while others will happily call the USA "America."
Beyond the definition of continents, there's all other sorts of ways to divide up the New World that can serve to confuse you. As an example, some people consider the US + Canada to be "Northern America."
Who defines 'continents'? SCIENCE!! Through convention.
I swear this is what I was taught in school when I was a kid. Now I see that it includes all of the Caribbean islands and has something like 23 countries in total. I can't be the only one who thought it was just the three
Maybe cuz of NAFTA?
Obviously the North American continent has 23 countries but if Central America is a region, what do you call the region consisting of Canada, US, and Mexico?