北美洲_综合百科

北美洲(North America)

位於西半球的世界第三大洲。全洲绝大部分位於北极圈和北回归线之间，周边几乎完全被水域包围，包括太平洋、白令海峡、北冰洋、大西洋、加勒比海以及墨西哥湾。面积：24,247,039平方公里。人口：424,520,000（1990）。北美洲显然是最早取得其近似於目前面积和形状的大陆板块，其外形就像是一个倒悬的三角形，地质构造围绕被称为加拿大地盾的前寒武纪岩稳固台地形成。东南为阿帕拉契山脉，西部则是年轻高耸的科迪勒拉山脉；这些山脉纵贯整个北美大陆，约占该洲总面积的1/3。落矶山脉构成科迪勒拉山系的东支，最高点为马金利山。密西西比河流域，包括其主要支流密苏里河和俄亥俄河，约占全洲总面积的1/8。全洲气候总的说来以温带气候为主。可耕地约占总面积的1/8左右，森林面积约占总面积的1/3。英语，美国的官方语，为最主要的语言，其次是西班牙语；加拿大部分地区流行法语。大部分欧洲移民的後代集中在美国和加拿大。在墨西哥，白人与印第安人通婚的情况很普遍，其後代梅斯蒂索约占该国人口的3/5。该洲的经济有已开发经济、部分开发经济，也有开发中经济。金属矿产资源充足，镉、铜、铅、钼、银和锌的储量在世界上领先。粮食生产也领先於世界，主要是因为美国与加拿大的农业生产已机械化和科学化。该洲实行民主制的国家有加拿大、墨西哥、哥斯大黎加和美国。北美各国与南美洲国家一样，加入美洲国家组织以追求西半球的统一。当地最早的居民为美洲印第安人，大约在20,000年前从亚洲迁移至此。在前哥伦布时期，最伟大的文明出现於中美洲（参阅Mesoamerican civilization），包括奥尔梅克文化、马雅人、托尔特克人以及阿兹特克人；阿兹特克人後来被西班牙人所征服。北美大陆在很长的历史时期内人口稀少，相当落後。直到17世纪，随着欧洲人以及作为奴隶引入的非洲人到来，情况才发生了根本的变化。在格兰德河以南地区，生活习俗转为拉丁化，以北地区则以盎格鲁文化为主，只有加拿大与美国路易斯安那州的局部地区流行法国文化。盛行於16～19世纪的蓄奴制，为本地区带来了具有明显非洲色彩的少数族裔文化，尤其是在美国以及加勒比海地区（参阅West Indies）。美国庞大的工业经济、丰富的资源及其军事力量，使北美洲在世界事务中具有重要的影响力。

English version：

North America

Continent, Western Hemisphere. The third-largest continent on earth, it lies mostly between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer. It is almost completely surrounded by bodies of water, including the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Strait, the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Area: 9,361,791 sq mi (24,247,039 sq km). Population (1990): 424,520,000. Shaped like an inverted triangle, North America was apparently the first continent to achieve its current approximate size and shape. Its geologic structure is built around a stable platform of Precambrian rock called the Canadian Shield. To the southeast are the Appalachian Mtns., and to the west are the younger and much taller Cordilleras. These mountains extend the length of the continent and occupy about one-third of the total land area. The Rocky Mtns. constitute the eastern Cordillera. The highest point is Mount McKinley. The Mississippi River basin, including its major tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, occupies more than one-eighth of the continent's total area. Generally temperate climatic conditions prevail. Arable land accounts for about one-eighth of the land area and forests for about one-third. English, the official language of the U.S., predominates, followed by Spanish; French is spoken in parts of Canada. Most of the continent's population of European descent is found in the U.S. and Canada. Intermarriage between whites and Indians was common in Mexico, and mestizos constitute about three-fifths of the Mexican population. North America has a mixture of developed, partly developed, and developing economies, adequate reserves of most metallic resources, and the world's largest reserves of cadmium, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver, and zinc. It is the world's leading food producer, largely because of mechanized and scientific farming in the U.S. and Canada. Among the continent's democratically governed states are Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the U.S. The nations of North America have sought hemispheric unity as members of the Organization of American States, which also includes South American countries. The first inhabitants were American Indians, who migrated from Asia about 20,000 years ago. The greatest pre-Columbian civilizations were in Mesoamerica (see Mesoamerican civilization) and included the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec, who were conquered by the Spanish. The continent long remained sparsely settled and undeveloped. Beginning in the 17th century it underwent a profound transformation with the coming of Europeans and the Africans they introduced as slaves. The style of life became Latin American south of the Rio Grande and Anglo-American to the north, with enclaves of French culture in Canada and Louisiana. Slavery, practiced in the 16th-19th century, added a significant minority culture of African origin, especially in the U.S. and the Caribbean (see West Indies). The huge industrial economy of the U.S., its abundant resources, and its military strength give the continent considerable global influence.

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