Interesting facts about North America

North America is full of interesting facts and countries. Learn facts about North America including geography and little-known facts.

North America Geography Facts
While not the largest continent out there, North America is among the big ones. In fact, it comes in third when you look at the sheer size of it. Explore other fun geography facts about North America.

Home of Largest Island
Did you know that Greenland is the largest island in the whole world? Well, it is. It’s also a large part of the North American continent. Greenland's total area is 836,300 square miles, and it’s bigger than the state of Alaska, which is the biggest state in the U.S. And another fun fact, despite its name, Greenland is actually covered in ice.

North America Has 5 Regions
When broken down into the basic regions, you can find 5 in North America. According to National Geographic, the regions you can find in North America include the Great Plains, Canadian Shield, Eastern region, mountainous west, and the Caribbean. The different climates range from tropical to icy.

Largest City Is Mexico City
It may come as a surprise, but New York City isn’t the largest North American city. Mexico City takes that title. This massive epicenter of North America is 573 square miles and has an estimated population of nearly 22 million. Following closely on the heels of Mexico City are New York City and Los Angeles.

Death Valley Is the Lowest Point
At 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley in California is the lowest point in North America. Death Valley’s ominous name was earned from early lost pioneers. While all but one lived, they assumed this foreboding desert would be their final resting place.

Largest Country in North America
If you thought the United States was the largest country in North America, you are wrong. The largest country in North America is Canada at 3.855 million square miles, but not by much. Additionally, Canada is also the second-largest country in the world, second only to Russia. The United States comes in third.

Longest River in North America
Coming in at a whopping 2,341 miles, the Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Nicknamed Big Muddy, the Missouri River travels from Montana to Missouri.

Highest Mountain in North America
When it comes to the highest mountain in North America, it can be found in Alaska. Formerly named Mt, McKinley, Denali is more than 20,000 ft above sea level.

Largest Freshwater Lake
The largest freshwater lake in North America is Lake Superior. It’s superior to all others in North America, in fact. Lake Superior is one of 5 famous lakes in North America known as the Great Lakes. The others include Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie.

North America Doesn’t Landlock
Another interesting fact about North America is that it doesn’t have any landlocked countries or countries that don’t touch the ocean. All the countries in the entire continent touch an ocean.

North America Facts You Didn’t Know
While North America is full of fun facts about its geography, it also has a few secrets that you might not know. Dive into some interesting and unique facts found in North America.

North America Has All the Biomes
When it comes to biomes, North America covers all the major ones. You can find the five major biomes of aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra covering all of North America.

Canada Likes Lakes
While the United States of America might be home to the largest lake, Canada has their own fair share of lakes. Canada has 62% of the world’s lakes within its borders. Now that is a lot of lakes!

Grows A Lot of Corn
Corn is a hot commodity in the region. Not only can you eat it, but it can also be used for fuel and other things. When it comes to corn production, North America reigns supreme. The U.S. is by far the top producer of corn compared to anyone around the world.

Named for Italian Explorer
It wasn’t the Spanish who named North America; instead, it was an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo was given this honor because he was the first to realize that North America was a separate continent.

The U.S. Has 6 Time Zones
You might only be able to think of 4 time zones in the U.S. like Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern, but Alaska and Hawaii also have their own time zones. That might make setting up a Zoom meeting tough.

National Park the Size of Switzerland
In addition to having a lot of lakes, Canada also has a huge national park. The Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest national park in Canada and about the size of Switzerland. It’s just one of over 40 national parks in Canada. Could you imagine fitting a whole country into one national park?

First Written Constitution
While the United States might be relatively new on the country scene, it’s still done monumental things in its time. That includes being the first country ever to have a written constitution. That’s right. The Constitution of the United States set records.

Interesting Facts About America
While North America has many interesting countries within its borders, the United States, also known as America, is full of some fun facts you might not even realize. Check out a few America facts to round out your exploration of North America.

Most Dangerous Job: President
When it comes to dangerous jobs in the United States, being president is on that list. Of the 46 presidents to take office, 4 were assassinated, 2 died of cerebral hemorrhages, and 2 died of natural causes. While being president is prestigious, it comes with a 3.2 percent death rate.

Cows Can Outnumber Humans
Steers are a way of life in some states. They like them so much; several states have more cows than people. In fact, South Dakota has a 4:1 cow to person ratio.

The Statue of Liberty Is in New Jersey
If you want to see the Statue of Liberty, head on over to New Jersey. Rather than listed as part of New York, the Statue of Liberty is actually a New Jersey state monument.

Home of World’s Longest Boardwalk
The Atlantic City boardwalk has a long and famous history, including being the longest boardwalk in the world. Along this 4-mile boardwalk, you can find gaming, shows, shopping, dining, golf and other fun attractions. The boards of the boardwalk are also replaced every 12 years because of traffic.

Fun Facts About Mexico and Central America
While still part of the North American continent, the countries connecting North America to South America are typically called Central America. These countries start from Mexico and include Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. Enjoy a few spectacular facts about the countries from Mexico to Panama.

Narrowest Part of North America
The Isthmus of Panama is the narrowest part of North America and connects North and South America together. The Isthmus of Panama contains the Republic of Panama and the Panama Canal, a man-made canal to connect the two continents together. The Panama Canal is considered an engineering marvel because it connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Ocean Access
North American countries narrow from Mexico to Panama creating a land bridge to South America. Therefore, Central America has a lot of ocean access. In fact, no area in Central America is further than 125 miles from the ocean.

Vast Cultures and Heritage
Central America has a vast history and is full of world heritage. UNESCO has declared 18 World Heritage Sites found in Central America. These include the Viejo Leon in Nicaragua and the Maya Site of Copán in Honduras. You can also explore the Tikal National Park in Guatemala.

Mexico Birthplace of North American Print
Printing presses were a hot commodity in the early years. And Mexico City was the first place in all the Americas to have a printing press in 1539. The printing press was brought in by Archbishop Juan Zumarraga. The House of the First Printing Press in the Americas is a famous tourist attraction.

Home to Smallest Volcano
The prize for the world's smallest volcano goes to Mexico for Cuexcomate. While it's actually more of a geyser than a volcano, Cuexcomate measures in at only 43 feet tall.