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] North America is a ), or about 4.8% of the planet's surface. As of July 2002, its Population was estimated at more than 514,000,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa , and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe . Etymology A number of theories exist regarding the naming of North and South America. The most widely recognized is that they are named after Amerigo Vespucci , who was the first European to suggest that The Americas were not the East Indies , but a New World , previously undiscovered by Europeans. The second and less generally accepted is that the continents are named after an English merchant named Richard Amerike from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. A third theory that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of 'Amairick'. Geography and extent North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World , the Western Hemisphere , The Americas , or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow Isthmus Of Panama . (For geopolitical reasons, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is often considered a part of North America alone.) According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the Isthmus Of Tehuantepec , with the intervening region called Central America (or Middle America if the Caribbean is included) and resting on the Caribbean Plate . The continental coastline is long and irregular. With the exception of the Gulf Of Mexico , Hudson Bay is by far the largest body of water indenting the continent; others include the Gulf Of Saint Lawrence and the Gulf Of California (Sea Of Cortez) . There are numerous , the Greater and Lesser Antilles , the Alexander Archipelago , and the Aleutian Islands . Greenland , a Danish self-governing island and the World's Largest , is part of North America geographically and on the same Tectonic Plate (the North American Plate ) but is not considered to be part of the continent politically. Physical geography , rock types of North America. ]] The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate . Parts of California and western Mexico form the partial edge of the Pacific Plate , with the two plates meeting along the San Andreas Fault . The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many sub-regions): the Great Plains stretching from the Gulf Of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic ; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains , the Great Basin , California and Alaska ; the raised but relatively flat plateau of the Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains , the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long Plateaus and Cordilleras , falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf. The western mountains are split in the middle, into the main range of the Rockies and the Coast Ranges in California, Oregon , Washington , and British Columbia with the Great Basin – a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts – in between. The highest peak is Denali in Alaska. The United States Geographical Survey states that the geographic center of North America is “6 miles west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota” at approximately 48⁰ 10′ North, 100⁰ 10′ West, approximately 25km from Rugby, North Dakota . The USGS further states that “No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as the geographic center of either the 50 States, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent.” Nonetheless, there is a 4.5 metre (15 foot) field stone Obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center. Image:North america terrain 2003 map.jpg|North America bedrock and terrain. Image:North america basement rocks.png|North American Craton s and basement rocks. Image:North America Tectonic Elements.jpg|Tectonic elements of North America Image:North america craton nps.gif|North American Craton . Human geography Geopolitically , Northern America is sometimes used to refer to Canada and the United States together (plus Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon), while Central America is mainland North America south of the U.S. The term Middle America is sometimes used to refer to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean collectively. From a Linguistic and Sociopolitical perspective, the United States, Canada, and the other English-speaking nations of North and South America (Belize, Guyana, and the Anglophone Caribbean) are sometimes grouped under the term Anglo-America and included in the Anglosphere . The remaining nations of North and South America (i.e., including much of the West Indies) where Romance Language s prevail, namely Spanish and Portguese , are referred to as Latin America ; this usage has entered into common parlance. Usage of the term "North America" often depends on context and may mean different things to different people. The term is often taken to mean ''the United States and Canada only'' by many people of those two countries, excluding Mexico and the other countries of Central America. In this respect, the term includes other countries only if the context makes it clear that they are to be included. For example, the NAFTA trading bloc also includes Mexico. In addition, guides to wild Flora and Fauna published by the National Audubon Society for "North America" frequently include only Species found in Canada and the United States. Similarly, Canadians and Americans may often speak of a collective ''North American culture'' to describe only the continent's Anglophone communities. This may be attributed to the fact that, culturally and economically, the United States and Canada are more alike to each other than they are to the rest of North America. Mexicans, however, are acutely aware that Mexico is a part of North America, particularly as a member of NAFTA and a part of the North American tectonic plate. Central Americans, however, are generally content to be called Central Americans – largely because of their shared history, which includes several attempts at supranational integration in the region and in which Mexico was not substantially involved. Territories and regions > ''Notes:'' Sources
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