South 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 south and west by the Pacific Ocean. The region includes Middle America (comprising the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico) and Northern America.

North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of 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 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, Greenland, Mexico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States, or alternatively, Canada, Greenland, and the United States (Mexico being classified as a part of Latin America), or simply Canada and the United States (Greenland being classified as either Arctic or European – due to its political status as a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the same goes for Saint Pierre and Miquelon in relation to France), and Mexico being 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 the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began.