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88-557: In 18th century North America , the fur 'barons' of Montreal might only have been compared to the tobacco 'lords' of Virginia for their wealth and grand style of living. The members of the Beaver Club were bon vivants , renowned for the Scottish Highland hospitality they offered to their guests and for the jovial, rollicking behaviour that carried on at their meetings. In his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe ,

176-503: A calumet , followed by a speech or 'harangue' made by the evening's president. Toasts were then made, and there were always five to: The Mother of all Saints; the King ; the fur trade in all its branches; voyageurs , wives and children; and absent members. Then, accompanied by Highland Pipers , on a dais of red velvet a flaming boar 's head was brought into the dining room , a piece of camphor having been placed in its mouth before

264-561: A writing system , built huge pyramids and temples , had a complex calendar , and developed the concept of zero around 400 CE. The first recorded European references to North America are in Norse sagas where it is referred to as Vinland . The earliest verifiable instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by any European culture with the North America mainland has been dated to around 1000 CE. The site , situated at

352-417: A cheque for a sum of money". After dinner, any previous formalities were laid aside as the men started to sing old voyageur songs and exchange tales about their perilous adventures in the old fur trading days. The festivities often ran into the early hours of the morning with the members dancing on the tables, re-enacting various canoeing adventures and breaking numerous bottles, plates, glasses and chairs in

440-460: A free and generous disposition to his guests left him with nothing other than his manor house. In 1808, John Lambert recalled in reference to Montour: This too often happens with the gentlemen of the North-west company who retire from the concern. They emerge suddenly into civilized life after a banishment of many years in dreary forests and among a race of savages; and are apt to be dazzled by

528-664: A period of mountain building called the Laramide orogeny , between 80 and 55 mya. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama that connected the continent to South America arguably occurred approximately 12 to 15 mya, and the Great Lakes (as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago. North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods. The geographic area that would later become

616-590: A powerful earthquake killed seven people in 2009. Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968, the Arenal Volcano , in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in agriculturally productive highland areas. Central America has many mountain ranges ; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas ,

704-534: A transatlantic exchange , including migrations 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 , enslaved Africans , immigrants from Europe, Asia, and descendants of these respective groups. Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such as English , Spanish , and French , and

792-540: A variety of reactions, including curiosity, trading, cooperation, resignation, and resistance. The indigenous population declined substantially following European arrival, primarily due to the introduction of Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox , to which the indigenous peoples lacked immunity, and because of violent conflicts with Europeans. Indigenous culture changed significantly and their affiliation with political and cultural groups also changed. Several linguistic groups died out , and others changed quite quickly. On

880-468: Is a bold, square-chested, gaunt man, sun-burnt, with extraordinary long hair as a defence against mosquitoes. He is equally at home on horseback or in the canoe - indefatigable when needful, careless of heat and cold, and brave as steel, as though he bore a charmed life, in countries where the Queen's writ scarcely runs, where the law only of personal authority takes effect. Often he has not only to contend with

968-665: Is a very large continent that extends from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Tropic of Cancer . Greenland, along with the Canadian Shield , is tundra with average temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C (50 to 68 °F), but central Greenland is composed of a very large ice sheet. This tundra radiates throughout Canada, but its border ends near the Rocky Mountains (but still contains Alaska) and at

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1056-524: Is an ancient craton which forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 and 1.0 billion years ago during the Proterozoic eon. The Canadian Shield is the largest exposure of this craton. From the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic eras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinent Pangaea , with Eurasia to its east. One of

1144-546: Is in present-day Panama at the Darien Gap on the Colombia -Panama border, placing almost all of Panama within North America. Alternatively, some geologists physiographically locate its southern limit at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , Mexico, with Central America extending southeastward to South America from this point. The Caribbean islands, or West Indies, are considered part of North America. The continental coastline

1232-648: Is long and irregular. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed by Hudson Bay . Others include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Gulf of California . Before the Central American isthmus formed, the region had been underwater. The islands of the West Indies delineate a submerged former land bridge , which had connected North and South America via what are now Florida and Venezuela . There are several islands off

1320-561: Is part of North America geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but an oceanic island that was formed on the fissure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 100 million years ago (mya). The nearest landmass to it is Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties to Virginia and other parts of

1408-707: Is the Morrison Formation of the western U.S. Canada is geologically one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting of Precambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of the Palaeozoic era. Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive. Across the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc , copper, gold, lead, molybdenum , and uranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in

1496-527: Is the humid subtropical climate . This area has the wettest cities in the contiguous U.S. , with annual precipitation reaching 67 in (1,700 mm) in Mobile, Alabama . Stretching from the borders of the humid continental and subtropical climates, and going west to the Sierra Nevada , south to the southern tip of Durango , north to the border with tundra climate, the steppe / desert climates are

1584-567: The Bering Strait during the Early-Middle Holocene . Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America, the natives of North America were divided into many different polities, ranging from small bands of a few families to large empires. They lived in several culture areas , which roughly correspond to geographic and biological zones that defined the representative cultures and lifestyles of

1672-600: The British Columbia Coast , Western Canada , and Northern Canada . In the U.S., they include New England , the Mid-Atlantic , South Atlantic states , East North Central states , West North Central states , East South Central states , West South Central states , Mountain states , and Pacific states . The Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest include areas in both Canada and

1760-594: The Caribbean , Central America , Clipperton Island , Greenland , Mexico , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , Turks and Caicos Islands , and the United States . North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of the Earth 's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size after Asia and Africa , and

1848-913: The Caribbean Plate , whereas the Juan de Fuca Plate and Cocos Plate border the North American Plate on its western frontier. The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many subregions): 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 ;

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1936-568: The Cordillera Isabelia , and the Cordillera de Talamanca . Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact, most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans, and other crops. The indigenous peoples of the Americas have many creation myths , based on which they assert that they have been present on

2024-465: The East Coast to eastern North Dakota , and stretching down to Kansas , is the humid continental climate featuring intense seasons, with a large amount of annual precipitation, with places like New York City averaging 50 in (1,300 mm). Starting at the southern border of the humid continental climate and stretching to the Gulf of Mexico (whilst encompassing the eastern half of Texas)

2112-422: The Great Lakes , pickled turnips , "Sweet Peace" applesauce , Atholl Brose , bear meat , buffalo tongue and bag pudding (which might have been Figgy duff ). This country food was served among the unfamiliar atmosphere of mahogany , crystal glass , crested silverware and soft candle glow. John Bigsby was told, that "on certain great occasions the last plate put on the table before each member held

2200-620: The Inuit of the high Arctic arrived in North America much later than other native groups, evidenced by the disappearance of Dorset culture artifacts from the archaeological record and their replacement by the Thule people . During the thousands of years of native habitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. One of the oldest yet discovered is the Clovis culture (c. 9550–9050 BCE) in modern New Mexico . Later groups include

2288-719: The Mississippian culture and related Mound building cultures, found in the Mississippi River valley and the Pueblo culture of what is now the Four Corners . The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the domestication of many common crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes, squash , and maize . As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many other cultural advances were made there. The Mayans developed

2376-716: The Montreal (1800); Captain Alexander Patterson of the Eweretta (1800); Major George Clerk, of the 49th Regiment (1807); Lord Viscount Chabot (1808), Quartermaster General of Canada; Captain Sarmon of the Mary (1808). As trading posts were built it had become less dangerous to travel in the wilderness , and without competitors' territories to invade, the early spirit of adventure had disappeared from newcomers to

2464-879: The Place d'Armes . Those present were: Joseph Frobisher (presiding); Alexander Henry the elder (vice-chairman); William McKay (the 'cork'); Alexander McKay ; William McGillivray ; James McGill ; Isaac Todd ; Josiah Bleakley ; John Gregory; George Gillespie; Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne ; Thomas Thain ; General Sir Gordon Drummond ; Sir John Johnson ; Sir Roger Sheaffe ; John MacDonald of Garth ; Archibald Norman McLeod ; Alexander McKenzie (cousin of Sir Alexander Mackenzie ); and John Jacob Astor . The bill for this meeting was: 32 dinners (£12); 29 bottles of Madeira (6/); 19 bottles of Port (5/); 14 bottles of Porter (2/6); 12 quarts of Ale (8/); 7 suppers (8/9); Brandy and Gin (2/6); Cigars , pipes , tobacco (5/); Three wine glasses broken (3/9). Total: £28.15/. All

2552-480: The banquets . The men of the Beaver Club had a great reputation for hospitality and generosity, which led to many of them frittering away their fortunes. One such example was Nicholas Montour , who retired as a partner of the North West Company in 1792 with a fortune of £20,000. He purchased a seigneury , that ought to have furthered his fortune, but not before too long his style of living coupled with

2640-488: The first official name given to Mexico. North America includes several regions and subregions, each of which have their own respective cultural, economic, and geographic regions. Economic regions include several regions formalized in 20th- and 21st-century trade agreements, including NAFTA between Canada , Mexico , and the United States , and CAFTA between Central America , the Dominican Republic , and

2728-463: The fourth-largest continent by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe . As of 2021 , North America's population was estimated as over 592 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5% of the world's population. In human geography , the terms "North America" and "North American" can refer to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Greenland or, alternatively, Canada, Greenland and

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2816-531: The fur trade . By 1809, the seventy-year-old Alexander Henry hinted at a segregation between the young and old members in a letter to John Askin : "There is only us four old friends (himself, James McGill , Isaac Todd and Joseph Frobisher ) alive, all the new North westards are a parcel of Boys and upstarts, who were not born in our time, and supposes they know much more of the Indian trade than any before them". The club continued to meet until 1804, and there

2904-513: The 'wintering (junior) partners' on the ground at Grand Portage (in what is now Minnesota) and Fort William (in what is now Ontario). At Lachine , the Montreal partners boarded their immense canoes manned by voyageurs and hunters in Buckskins with bright silk bands around their heads and neck. The voyageurs were the most experienced canoe-men and wilderness travelers in the world, and

2992-458: The 1490s, building cities, putting the resident indigenous populations to work, raising crops for Spanish settlers and panning gold to enrich the Spaniards. Much of the indigenous population died due to disease and overwork, spurring the Spaniards on to claim new lands and peoples. An expedition under the command of Spanish settler, Hernán Cortés , sailed westward in 1519 to what turned out to be

3080-782: The 1830s were reminiscent of the old Beaver Club. North America North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres . North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea , and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean . The region includes the Bahamas , Bermuda , Canada ,

3168-630: The Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield, there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury , Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater . The nearby, but less-known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to

3256-651: The Caribbean islands. France took the western half of Hispaniola and developed Saint-Domingue as a cane sugar producing colony worked by black slave labor. Britain took Barbados and Jamaica , and the Dutch and Danes took islands previously claimed by Spain. Britain did not begin settling on the North American mainland until a hundred years after the first Spanish settlements, since it sought first to control nearby Ireland . The first permanent English settlement

3344-569: The Club. The vast majority of them were Highland Scots , but they were joined by French Canadians (the five most senior of the original members had been French Canadian), Englishmen , Irishmen and Loyalists , all "thoroughly cosmopolitan by taste and association". The first dinner of their season was held on the first Wednesday in December. Following that fortnightly meetings were held until April between private houses (notably at Beaver Hall,

3432-635: The Cod fish", in reference to the abundance of cod fish on the East Coast . Waldseemüller used the Latin version of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form of "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia", and "Africa". Americus originated from Medieval Latin Emericus (see Saint Emeric of Hungary ), coming from the Old High German name Emmerich . Map makers later extended

3520-592: The English geologist, John Bigsby , relates the character of these Montreal fur traders in their early days: A number of young men, chiefly of good Scotch families, able, daring, and somewhat reckless perhaps (a typical example being John MacDonald of Garth ), formed themselves into a company (the North West Company ) in order to traffic in the forbidden land (owned by the Hudson's Bay Company ) in spite of

3608-553: The Indians, and to right himself on the spot with other traders, but he has to fight his own men hand to hand. Kindness, vigour, and sagacity, usually render but one such affair necessary. In 1786, controlled by Simon McTavish and the Frobishers , there were 28 chief partners of the North West Company and their business was conducted by an army of about 2,000 men, not including the native Indians . That year they exported furs to

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3696-579: The Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, the Norse were the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America. In 1492, the exploratory voyages of Christopher Columbus led to

3784-419: The North America's southeastern coast, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León , who had accompanied Columbus's second voyage, visited and named in 1513 La Florida . As the colonial period unfolded, Spain, England, and France appropriated and claimed extensive territories in North America eastern and southern coastlines. Spain established permanent settlements on the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba in

3872-479: The Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater. The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry. The United States can be divided into twelve main geological provinces: Each province has its own geologic history and unique features. The geology of Alaska is typical of that of

3960-535: The U.S. North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere , the Americas, or simply America, which, in many countries, is considered a single continent with North America a subcontinent . North America is the third-largest continent by area after Asia and Africa . North America's only land connection to South America

4048-522: The US (Mexico being classified as part of Latin America ) or simply Canada and the US (Greenland being classified as either Arctic or European (due to its political status as a part of Denmark) and Mexico classified as Latin American). It is unknown with certainty how and when first human populations first reached North America. People were known to live in the Americas at least 20,000 years ago, but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates. The Paleo-Indian period in North America followed

4136-429: The United States has been the source of more varieties of dinosaurs than any other modern country. According to paleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history. Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent. The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America

4224-550: The United States, and Mexico. France , Italy , Portugal , Spain , Romania , Greece , and the countries of Latin America use a six-continent model , with the Americas viewed as a single continent and North America designating a subcontinent comprising Canada , the United States , Mexico, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (politically part of France), and often including Greenland and Bermuda . North America has historically been known by other names, including Spanish North America, New Spain , and América Septentrional,

4312-527: The United States. North America is divided linguistically and culturally into two primary regions, Anglo-America and Latin America . Anglo-America includes most of North America, Belize , and Caribbean islands with English -speaking populations. There are also regions, including Louisiana and Quebec , with large Francophone populations; in Quebec , French is the official language. . The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English speaking Caribbean nations. The north of

4400-400: The afternoon. Members arrived richly adorned in ruffles and a profusion of gold lace with knee-breeches above their gold-clasped garters and silver-buckled shoes . But, most importantly they wore the club's large gold medal with the inscription "Fortitude in Distress", that hung from a light blue ribbon around their necks. The start of the festivities were marked by the passing around of

4488-435: The area had shifted to the Aztec Empire , whose capital city Tenochtitlan was located further north in the Valley of Mexico . The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés . During the so-called Age of Discovery , Europeans explored overseas and staked claims to various parts of North America, much of which was already settled by indigenous peoples. Upon Europeans' arrival in the " New World ", indigenous peoples had

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4576-509: The captains of the ships who transported their furs back to England . They could only attend at meetings held especially for them in the summer months. The dates in brackets show the year of their admission: Captain Featonby of the Eweretta (1789); Captain Gibson of the Integrity (1789); Monsieur le Compte Andriani, of Milan (1791); Captain Edwards of the Indian Trader (1792) ; Colonel Daniel Robertson , of Struan (1793); Major-General Sir John Doyle (1796); Captain Edward Boyd of

4664-462: The charter. A first-rate Indian trader is no ordinary man. He is a soldier-merchant, and unites the gallantry of the one with the shrewdness of the other. Montreal was then the best place for seeing this class of persons.. They spend fast, play all the freaks, pranks, and street-fooleries, and originate all the current whimsicalities: but this is their brief holiday: when they turn their faces westward, up stream, their manners change. The Indian Trader

4752-432: The continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, which encompasses the whole North American continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to four nations, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition. The term Northern America refers to

4840-452: The continent's coasts; principally, the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas , Turks and Caicos , the Greater and Lesser Antilles , the Aleutian Islands (some of which are in the Eastern Hemisphere proper), the Alexander Archipelago , the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, and Newfoundland. Greenland , a self-governing Danish island, and the world's largest , is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate ) and

4928-410: The continent. The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico, including Baja California, and of California , including the cities of San Diego , Los Angeles , and Santa Cruz , lie on the eastern edge of the Pacific Plate , with the two plates meeting along the San Andreas Fault . The southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on

5016-604: The cordillera, while the major islands of Hawaii consist of Neogene volcanics erupted over a hot spot . Central America is geologically active with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake , killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killing about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009, killing at least 34 people; in Honduras

5104-514: The cultures of the region commonly reflect Western traditions . However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions. The Americas were named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann . Vespucci explored South America between 1497 and 1502, and

5192-430: The dates in brackets of their first adventures into the Canadian wilderness, the original nineteen members were: New members were elected almost every year from 1787, though the dates of their first voyages into the interior were not always recorded. The list below shows new members inducted by year, and if known the year of their first voyage in brackets: Finally, there were eleven honorary members , many of whom were

5280-447: The driest in the U.S. Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, where subtropical or temperate climates occur just below the tropics, as in central Mexico and Guatemala . Tropical climates appear in the island regions and in the subcontinent's bottleneck, found in countries and states bathed by the Caribbean Sea or to the south of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean . Precipitation patterns vary across

5368-408: The end of the Canadian Shield, near the Great Lakes . Climate west of the Cascade Range is described as being temperate weather with average precipitation 20 inches (510 millimeters). Climate in coastal California is described to be Mediterranean , with average temperatures in cities like San Francisco ranging from 57 to 70 °F (14 to 21 °C) over the course of the year. Stretching from

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5456-421: The first American inhabitants sailed from Beringia some 13,000 years ago, with widespread habitation of the Americas during the end of the Last Glacial Period , in what is known as the Late Glacial Maximum , around 12,500 years ago. The oldest petroglyphs in North America date from 15,000 to 10,000 years before present. Genetic research and anthropology indicate additional waves of migration from Asia via

5544-795: The geographic center of either the 50 states, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent." Nonetheless, there is a 4.6-meter (15 ft) field stone obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located 1,650 km (1,030 mi) from the nearest coastline, between Allen and Kyle, South Dakota at 43°22′N 101°58′W  /  43.36°N 101.97°W  / 43.36; -101.97  ( Pole of Inaccessibility North America ) . Canada can be divided into roughly seven physiographic divisions: The lower 48 U.S. states can be divided into roughly eight physiographic divisions: Mexico can be divided into roughly fifteen physiographic divisions: North America

5632-433: The glare of refinement and luxury, whose temptations are too powerful to be resisted. Hence they are frequently led into error and extravagance, which ultimately despoil them of their hard-earned property. At first, the nineteen incorporators of the Beaver Club maintained a rigid exclusiveness over its membership, but later their ranks were opened and the limit of membership was placed at fifty-five with ten honorary places. At

5720-519: The grand entrance. The members and their guests were then permitted to pursue their own pleasures. Seated around a great mahogany table, servants plied the members in regular relays with luxuries from the east and the west, and costly delicacies from across the sea. The menu included country food such as Pemmican (brought from Saskatchewan ), braised venison , bread sauce , "Chevreuil des Guides" (a stew ), venison sausages , wild rice , quail and partridge "du Vieux Trappeur"; fish from

5808-623: The home of Joseph Frobisher , whose dining table comfortably sat forty guests) and at various hotels and taverns in Montreal . These included the Mansion House Hotel and the City Tavern , both on Rue Saint-Paul ; Richard Dillon's Montreal Hotel on the Place d'Armes ; Palmer's Hummums and Tesseyman's. Records are scant, but the guests known to have attended included Lord Selkirk , General Sir Gordon Drummond , General Sir Isaac Brock , Washington Irving , General Sir Roger Sheaffe , Sir John Franklin , Thomas Moore , John Jacob Astor and Lord Dalhousie . The last named recorded in his diary: "Upon

5896-419: The indigenous people who lived there, including the bison hunters of the Great Plains and the farmers of Mesoamerica . Native groups also are classified by their language families , which included Athapascan and Uto-Aztecan languages. Indigenous peoples with similar languages did not always share the same material culture , however, and were not necessarily always allies. Anthropologists speculate that

5984-400: The land since its creation, but there is no evidence that humans evolved there. The specifics of the initial settlement of the Americas by ancient Asians are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that hunters entered the Bering Land Bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska from 27,000 to 14,000 years ago. A growing viewpoint is that

6072-444: The mainland in Mexico. With local indigenous allies, the Spanish conquered the Aztec empire in central Mexico in 1521. Spain then established permanent cities in Mexico, Central America, and Spanish South America in the sixteenth century. Once Spaniards conquered the high civilization of the Aztecs and Incas, the Caribbean was a backwater of the Spanish empire. Other European powers began to intrude on areas claimed by Spain, including

6160-705: 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 U.S. Geographical Survey (USGS) states that the geographic center of North America is "6 miles [10 km] west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota " at about 48°10′N 100°10′W  /  48.167°N 100.167°W  / 48.167; -100.167 , about 24 kilometers (15 mi) from Rugby, North Dakota . The USGS further states that "No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as

6248-402: The name America to North America. In 1538, Gerardus Mercator used the term America on his world map of the entire Western Hemisphere . On his subsequent 1569 map , Mercator called North America "America or New India" ( America sive India Nova ). The Spanish Empire called its territories in North and South America "Las Indias", and the name given to the state body that oversaw the region

6336-606: The names below appeared in Rules and Regulations of the Beaver Club, 1819 , when only one of the original members was still alive. The nineteen original members were ranked in seniority by the date on which they had first entered the interior of Canada . As such, the French Canadian fur traders who had remained in the business after the British Conquest of New France held the most senior rank. In that order, with

6424-493: The northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S., Bermuda , Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Although the term does not refer to a unified region, Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. North America's largest countries by land area are Canada and the U.S., both of which have well-defined and recognized subregions. In Canada, these include (from east to west) Atlantic Canada , Central Canada , Canadian Prairies ,

6512-495: The northernmost extent of the island named Newfoundland , has provided unmistakable evidence of Norse settlement. Norse explorer Leif Erikson (c. 970–1020 CE) is thought to have visited the area. Erikson was the first European to make landfall on the continent (excluding Greenland). The Mayan culture was still present in southern Mexico and Guatemala when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, but political dominance in

6600-447: The partners took a high pride in the skill of their hardy henchmen , giving each on their arrival a régale , which meant a gallon of rum . The partners took their seats conspicuously dressed in ruffles and gold braid , with brass -handled pistols and daggers at their belts. In 1894, Brian Hughes recalled his grandfather (James Hughes, admitted a member of the club in 1813) recounting his memories of these partners journeying into

6688-614: The process. There were many stories of the members arranging themselves on the floor in a row as if they were in a great canoe , imitating vigorous paddling (using fire pokers , swords , walking sticks etc., for paddles ) and mounting wine barrels to "shoot the rapids " from the table to the floor. At one such dinner, twenty members (including Sir Alexander Mackenzie and William McGillivray ) were still singing and dancing at 4am, and close to 120 bottles of wine were either drunk, broken or spilled that night. On 17 September 1808, nineteen members met at Richard Dillon's Montreal Hotel on

6776-605: 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

6864-500: The region, and as such rainforest , monsoon , and savanna types can be found, with rains and high temperatures throughout the year. Notable North American fauna include the bison , black bear , jaguar , cougar , prairie dog , turkey , pronghorn , raccoon , coyote , and monarch butterfly . Notable plants that were domesticated in North America include tobacco , maize , squash , tomato , sunflower , blueberry , avocado , cotton , chile pepper , and vanilla . Laurentia

6952-400: The regular gatherings an opportunity was offered of introducing into society such traders as might from time to time return from the Indian country. Potential members were selected by ballot on the basis of their standing and character and then invited as a guest to one of the gatherings. Following the dinner, a vote was taken and only if approved of unanimously would they then be invited to join

7040-487: The results of the formation of Pangaea was the Appalachian Mountains , which formed some 480 mya, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 mya, North America became part of Laurasia , before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid- Cretaceous period. The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from

7128-404: The value of £203,378: 116,623 beaver skins and 473,534 other pelts . As profits continued to soar, the chief partners of the North West Company retired from their expeditions into the wilderness to conduct their business with London and Paris from Montreal . Conducting themselves in suitable style, two or three of the chief partners would venture forth from Montreal to the annual meeting with

7216-412: The whole I don't recollect having ever spent a more pleasant or more interesting day than that with the Beaver Club". In gratitude to member James Hughes, with whom he was staying with in Montreal , Dalhousie gave him a silver snuff box with gold trim, bearing the inscription: "The Earl of Dalhousie to James Hughes, Esq., in remembrance of the Beaver Club, May 24, 1824". The dinners commenced at 4:00 in

7304-401: The wilds: They traversed the rivers in great state, like sovereigns making a progress. They were wrapped in rich furs, their huge canoes freighted with every convenience and luxury and manned by Canadian voyageurs as loyal and as obedient as their own ancestral clansmen . They carried with them cooks and bakers , together with delicacies of every kind, and an abundance of choice wine for

7392-471: Was a resurgence of interest between 1807 and 1824, but when Sir George Simpson tried to revive its traditions in 1827 it was doomed to failure – the spirit enjoyed by the earlier traders had gone. However, several members, such as Angus Shaw , Robert Dickson , William McGillivray and John Forsyth became members of the smaller Canada Club in London (founded in 1810, and still extant), where meetings in

7480-549: Was called the Council of the Indies . The United Nations and its statistics division recognize North America as including three regions: Northern America, Central America , and the Caribbean . "Northern America" is a distinct term from "North America", excluding Central America, which itself may or may not include Mexico . In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three nations: Canada,

7568-817: Was in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, followed by additional colonial establishments on the east coast from present-day Georgia in the south to Massachusetts in the north, forming the Thirteen Colonies of British America. The English did not establish settlements north or east of the St. Lawrence Valley in present-day Canada until after the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War . Britain's early settlements in present-day Canada included St. John's, Newfoundland in 1630 and Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749. The first permanent French settlement

7656-722: Was in Quebec City, Quebec in 1608 Delicacy A delicacy is a rare food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture or region. A delicacy may have an unusual flavor or be expensive compared to everyday foods. Delicacies vary across countries, customs, and ages. Some delicacies are confined to a certain culture, such as fugu in Japan and ant larvae ( escamoles ) in Mexico , or may refer to specific local products, such as porcino , venison or anchovy . Culture plays

7744-473: Was the first European to suggest that the Americas represented a landmass not then known to the Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map, and placed the word "America" on the continent of present-day South America. The continent north of present-day Mexico was then referred to as Parias. On a 1553 world map published by Petrus Apianus , North America was called "Baccalearum", meaning "realm of

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