Geography of America

Asia is the largest continent of the world. It covers 30% of the Earth’s land area and 60% of the total population are living in Asia.

North America is the third-largest continent in the world. It extends from the tiny Aleutian Islands in the northwest to the islands of Panama in the south. In the north, the continent stretches halfway around the world.

The following text will focus on the most important geographical highlights of North America and Aisa.

North America

Rocky Mountains

North America can be divided into five physical regions: the mountainous west, the Great Plains, the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region and the Caribbean. Within these regions are all the major types of biomes in the world. Some diverse biomes represented in North America include desert, grassland, tundra and coral reefs.

Western Region

Young mountains rise in the west. The most popular mountains of this region are probably the Rockies, North America’s largest chain. They stretch from the province of British Columbia, Canada, to the U.S. state of New Mexico. The Rocky Mountains are part of a system of the parallel mountain ranges, known as the Cordilleras. A cordillera is a long series of mountain ranges. The Sierra Madre mountain system are also part of the Cordilleras.

The Earth’s youngest mountains are in the cascade Range of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon and California. Some of them began to form only about a million years ago. Those mountains include rain forest.

Desert

Chihuanhuan Desert

The three major desert regions of North America (Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuanhuan) are all in the American southwest and northern Mexico.

North America also has the deposits of oil and natural gas on the continent. Most of these are located offshore, in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans.

Great Plains

The Great Plains lie in the middle of the continent. The grain grown in this region is also called the “Breadbasket of North America” because it feeds a large part of the world. The animals living in the Great Plains are bison, prairie dogs and grasshoppers.

The Canandian Shiel is a raised but realtively flatplateu which extends over eastern, central and northwestern Canada. It is characterized by a rocky landscape pocked by an astounding number of lakes. The tundra is a biome common to the Canadian Shield.

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield is a raised but relatively flatplateau. It extends over eastern, central, and northwestern Canada. The Canadian Shield is characterized by a rocky landscape pocked by an astounding number of lakes.

Eastern Region

This varied region includes the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coastal plain. North America’s older mountain ranges, including the Appalachians, rise near the east coast of the United States and Canada. These areas have been mined for rich deposits of coal and other minerals for hundreds of years.

Wetland areas are a biome of the eastern region and consist of areas of land whose soil is saturated with permanent or seasonal moisture. The Florida Everglades is the largest wetland system in the United States, covering more than 11,137 square kilometers (4,300 square miles) of southern Florida. 

Everglades National Park

The Everglades is a biologically diverse region and contains several bordering ecosystems. Alligators nest in the sawgrass, while wading birds such as egrets, herons, spoonbills, and ibises make their breeding grounds in other wetland tree species, such as cypress and mangrove.

Caribbean Region

The Caribbean Region includes more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. The region’s islands and smaller islets are varied in their topography; some have relatively flat and sandy terrain while others are rugged, mountainous, and volcanic.

The coral reefs and cays of the Caribbean Sea are among the most spectacular biomes in North America. Some coral reefs surround islands, such as the Bahamas, Antigua, and Barbados. Others are found off the Florida Keys, a chain of cays—small islands situated on a coral reef platform—near the southern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. 

Natural Wonders

Yellowstone National Park

North America’s varied landscape features many natural wonders. It has deep canyons, such as Copper Canyon in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Denali, the continent’s highest peak, stands at 6,194 meters (20,320 feet) within Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, has some of the world’s most active geysers. Canada’s Bay of Fundy has the greatest tidal range in the world. The Great Lakes form the planet’s largest area of freshwater. The Mississippi River, at 3,730 kilometers (2,320 miles) long, is one of the longest river systems in the world and drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states.

Bibliography: 
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/asia/?ar_a=1

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/north-america-physical-geography/?ar_a=1