Facts About North America

1. North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere.

2. North and South America are generally accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann.

3. North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods.

4. North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America.

5. Spanish North America (New Spain) was often referred to as Northern America, and this was the first official name given to Mexico.