North America is the third largest of the seven continents and has a surface area of 24,221,490 km² (9,351,969 square miles). The population is about 579 million people as of 2016 making it the fourth most populous continent. With a peak of 6,168 meters (20,237 feet) above sea level, Mount McKinley is the highest point on the North American continent. It is located in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Badwater Basin of Death Valley is North America’s lowest point at 86 m (282 feet) below sea level. It is south-east of Mount Whitney by 136.2 km (84.6 miles). Only after Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 did the European explorers arrive in greater numbers. There was a power struggle between the many different European colonizers as well as local indigenous peoples that later resulted in the creation of the numerous independent countries. Some major cities are Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Havana, & Montreal.

The countries and territories of North America are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire. British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Clipperton Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Navassa Island, Nicaragua, Nueva Esparta, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saba, San Andrés and Providencia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, & United States Virgin Islands.