North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as a northern subcontinent of the Americas, or America, in models that use fewer than seven continents. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface.North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands (most notably around the Caribbean) are included. North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge approximately 40,000 to 17,000 years ago. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago (the beginning of the Archaic or Meso-Indian period). The Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended in 1492, with the beginning of the transatlantic migrations\"the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and all of their descendants. Owing to Europe's colonization of the Americas, most North Americans speak European languages such as English, Spanish or French, and their states' cultures commonly reflect Western traditions.
América del Norte o Norteamérica (también llamada América Boreal o Continente Boreal) es un subcontinente del continente americano y considerado por muchos, por la diferencia cultural y geológica (cratones) un continente del supercontinente de América. Yace en el hemisferio norte y casi por completo en el hemisferio occidental. Limita al norte con el océano Ártico; al este con el océano Atlántico; al noreste con Europa septentrional a través de Groenlandia; al sureste con el mar Caribe; al suroeste con el océano Pacífico; y al noroeste con el estrecho de Bering \"que lo separa de Asia del Norte, concretamente de Siberia, Rusia. Está conectado con América del Sur por el estrecho puente territorial que representa América Central, el cual, dependiendo de la región del mundo, se suele considerar igualmente norteamericano, y otras veces un subcontinente por cuenta propia. Bajo la consideración de triada, cubriría un área aproximadamente de 24 323 000 km², lo que representa alrededor de un 4,8 % de la superficie total del planeta y un 16,5 % de las tierras emergidas. En 2014 su población estimada fue de más de 472 millones de habitantes. En 2014 el IDH promedio de todos los países del subcontinente norteamericano fue de 0,895. Se hablan numerosas lenguas originarias y de inmigrantes, pero las oficiales (legalmente o de facto) y ampliamente predominantes son el inglés, español y francés. No obstante, estos valores cambian bajo la concepción de Norteamérica desde Alaska a Panamá, incluyendo El Caribe.