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North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America. North America's only land connection is to South America at the narrow Isthmus of Panama. According to some authorities, North America begins not at the Isthmus of Panama but at the narrows of Tehuantepec, with the intervening region called Central America. Most, however, prefer to see Central America as a subcontinent or region of North America.
On the main continent itself there are three large and relatively populous countries: Canada (some large islands off the shore of North America and belonging to Canada include Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands on the west, Prince Edward IslandThis article is about a Canadian province. For the South African sub- antarctic islands, see Prince Edward Islands Prince Edward Island ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Motto: Parva Sub Ingenti (The small under the protection of the great Capital Charlottetown A, NewfoundlandThis is about the island in Canada. For the Canadian province of Newfoundland see Newfoundland and Labrador. For other meanings of Newfoundland see Newfoundland (disambiguation). Newfoundland is a large island off the north-east coast of North America, an and Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island (French: le du Cap-Breton Irish/Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatuinn Mi'kmaq: U'namakika is a large island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, although physically separated from on the east, and Ellesmere IslandEllesmere Island in the Arctic Ocean, is the world's 10th largest island, with an area of 196,235 km2 (75,767 square miles). Ellesmere Island is part of the Arctic Islands of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. More than one-fifth of the island is protecte, Baffin IslandBaffin Island ( Inuktitut: Qikiqtaaluk ) is one of the Arctic Islands in the north of Canada in the territory of Nunavut. It is the largest island in Canada and is the 5th largest island in the world, with an area of 195,928 sq mi (507,451 km²). Iqaluit,, and Victoria IslandVictoria Island is one of the largest islands of the world. It is located in the Arctic Ocean and is one of the Canadian Arctic Islands. The western part belongs to the Northwest Territories and the eastern part to Nunavut. Melville Sound lies to the nort in the north); MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co (including the Revillagigedo archipelagoThe Revillagigedo Islands (or Revillagigedo Archipelago) are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are part of Mexico and lie 600 km southwest of the Baja California peninsula. The islands are named after Count Revilla Gigedo the son, the 53rd vic and numerous smaller islands closer to the coast); and most of the United States (includes the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, but not the US state of Hawaii which lies in the Pacific Ocean).
At the extreme southern end of the continent, in a relatively small area called Central America, are the countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, site of the Panama Canal.
The United States and Canada are sometimes grouped under the term Anglo-America while the rest of North America (not including Greenland, and some islands off the mainland coast) and South America is grouped under the term Latin America.
It should be noted that the term "North America", when employed in a context other than geography, may mean different things to different people. To many Americans and Canadians the term, in common usage, is often taken to mean "The United States of America and Canada, only", excluding Mexico and the countries of Central America, unless the context makes it clear that they are to be included (for instance, with specific reference to Mexico, when talking about NAFTA). This is due to the fact that culturally and economically, the USA and Canada are more alike to each other than they are to the rest of North America. Mexicans, however, are acutely aware that Mexico is a part of North America and object to this usage. The Central Americans, however, are generally content to be called Central Americans.
At the extreme southeastern end of the continent lies a chain of islands territories called the Antilles, the Caribbean or the West Indies, which include:
Lying in the Atlantic Ocean but considered part of the continent are Bermuda, a British dependency; Greenland, a self-governing dependency of Denmark, the largest island in the world, located in the far north of the continent, to the east of Canada's Nunavut Territory; and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, found off the coast of Canada, the last of France's once vast possessions in America north of the Caribbean.