Editing North America (section)

== <span id="Usage of the term">Definition</span> ==
[[File:North America satellite orthographic.jpg|thumb|A 2005 [[NASA]] satellite image of North America]]

The [[United Nations]] and its [[United Nations Statistics Division|statistics division]] recognize North America as including three subregions: [[Northern America]], [[Central America]], and the [[Caribbean]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ |title=UNSD — Methodology |last=Division |first=United Nations Statistics |website=unstats.un.org |language=en |access-date=1 November 2018 |archive-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830170949/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ |url-status=live |quote=The continent of North America (numerical code 003) comprises Northern America (numerical code 021), Caribbean (numerical code 029), and Central America (numerical code 013).}}</ref> "Northern America" is a term distinct from "North America", excluding the Caribbean and ''Central America'', which also [[United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#Central America|includes Mexico]]. In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

[[France]], [[Greece]], [[Italy]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Spain]], and the countries of [[Latin America]] use a [[Continent#Number|six-continent model]], with the Americas viewed as a single continent and ''North America'' designating a subregion comprising [[Canada]], Mexico, and [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] (politically a part of France), the [[United States]], and often [[Bermuda]], [[Clipperton Island]], and [[Greenland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130015145/http://mx.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562468/Norteam%C3%A9rica.html |archive-date=30 January 2009 |title=Norteamérica |trans-title=North America |language=es |quote=In Ibero-America, ''North America'' is considered a subcontinent containing Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Bermuda and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. |access-date=30 January 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Six or Seven Continents on Earth |url=http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/qt/qzcontinents.htm |access-date=18 December 2016 |language=en |archive-date=26 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126015411/http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/qt/qzcontinents.htm |url-status=dead |quote=In Europe and other parts of the world, many students are taught of six continents, where North and South America are combined to form a single continent of America. Thus, these six continents are Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and Europe.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Continents |url=http://www.worldometers.info/geography/continents/ |access-date=18 December 2016 |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221035719/http://www.worldometers.info/geography/continents/ |url-status=live |quote=six-continent model (used mostly in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Greece, and Latin America) groups together North America+South America into the single continent America.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=AMÉRIQUE |date=24 February 2000 |url=http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/amerique-structure-et-milieu-geographie/ |access-date=18 December 2016 |language=fr |archive-date=5 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205122940/http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/amerique-structure-et-milieu-geographie/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=America |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/america_%28Dizionario-di-Storia%29/ |access-date=18 December 2016 |language=it |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221042321/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/america_%28Dizionario-di-Storia%29/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

North America has historically been known by other names, including Spanish North America, [[New Spain]], [[New France]], [[British North America]] and América [[Septentrional]], the [[Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America|first official name]] given to Mexico.<ref name="AGN">{{cite web |title=Acta Solemne de la Declaración de Independencia de la América Septentrional |trans-title=Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America |url=http://www.agn.gob.mx/independencia/documentos.html |work=Archivos de la Independencia |publisher=Archivo General de la Nación |access-date=8 July 2011 |language=es |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811023151/http://www.agn.gob.mx/independencia/documentos.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Regions===<!--linked from Regions of North America; use Template:anchor if section name changes-->
{{Further|List of regions of Canada|List of regions of the United States}}

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 [[North American Free Trade Agreement|NAFTA]] between [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], and the [[United States]], and [[Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement|CAFTA]] between [[Central America]], the [[Dominican Republic]], and 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 language|English]]-speaking populations. There are also regions, including [[Louisiana]] and [[Quebec]], with large [[Francophone]] populations; in [[Quebec]] and [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], [[French language|French]] is the official language.<ref name="language">{{cite web |url=http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html |title=Status of the French language |author=Office Québécois de la langue francaise |publisher=Government of Quebec |access-date=10 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514153402/http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html |archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref><!--Original French: http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/charte/clflgoff.html -->.

The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English-speaking Caribbean nations.<ref name="BritannicaCA">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Central America |url=http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861670266/Central_America.html |encyclopedia=Encarta Encyclopedia |access-date=30 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103174029/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861670266/Central_America.html |archive-date=3 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Caribbean |url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Caribbean |dictionary=The Free Dictionary |access-date=30 May 2011 |archive-date=6 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106140233/http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Caribbean |url-status=live}}</ref> The north of 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.<ref name="CIAGreenland">{{cite web |title=The World Factbook – North America |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_noa.html |access-date=20 June 2011 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623043844/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_noa.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CountryReports">{{cite web |title=Countries in North America – Country Reports |url=http://www.countryreports.org/maps/northamerica.aspx |publisher=Country Reports |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427050055/http://www.countryreports.org/maps/northamerica.aspx |archive-date=27 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="eNotes">{{cite web |title=North America: World of Earth Science |url=http://www.enotes.com/earth-science/north-america |publisher=eNotes Inc. |access-date=20 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220133458/http://www.enotes.com/earth-science/north-america |archive-date=20 December 2010}}</ref><ref name=Trilateral>{{cite web |title=North American Region |url=http://www.trilateral.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=12 |publisher=The Trilateral Commission |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021204534/http://www.trilateral.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=12 |archive-date=21 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Parsons |first1=Alan |last2=Schaffer |first2=Jonathan |title=Geopolitics of oil and natural gas |publisher=U.S. Department of State |series=Economic Perspectives |date=May 2004}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2014}}</ref> The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Schedule C – Country Codes and Descriptions |url=https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/c/countrycode.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203204307/https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/c/countrycode.html |archive-date=3 December 2023 |access-date=3 December 2023 |publisher=US Census Bureau}}</ref>

The term Northern America refers to the northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S., [[Bermuda]], Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/migration/index.asp?panel=3 |title=Definition of major areas and regions |publisher=United Nations |access-date=3 October 2007 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703142031/https://esa.un.org/migration/index.asp?panel=3 |url-status=live}}</ref><!--Cruft, commenting out 3 February 2014:from World Migrant Stock: The 2005 Revision Population Database, United Nations Population Division. Accessed on line 3 October 2007.--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm |title=Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings |publisher=UN Statistics Division |access-date=3 October 2007 |archive-date=16 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116150809/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm |url-status=live}} ([http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regnf.htm French] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224062835/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regnf.htm |date=24 December 2010 }}).</ref> Although the term does not refer to a unified region,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berglee |first1=Royal |date=17 June 2016 |title=Chapter 5, Middle America |url=http://open.lib.umn.edu/worldgeography/part/chapter-5-middle-america/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401174521/http://open.lib.umn.edu/worldgeography/part/chapter-5-middle-america/ |archive-date=1 April 2018 |access-date=3 April 2018 |publisher=University of Minnesota}}</ref> [[Middle America (Americas)|Middle America]] includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Middle America (region, Mesoamerica) |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381099/Middle-America |access-date=20 June 2011 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |archive-date=19 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919063254/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381099/Middle-America |url-status=live}}</ref>

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]], the [[Canadian Prairies]], the [[British Columbia Coast]], [[Western Canada]], and [[Northern Canada]]. In the U.S., they include [[New England]], the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]], and the [[South Atlantic states|South Atlantic]], [[East North Central states|East North Central]], [[West North Central states|West North Central]], [[East South Central states|East South Central]], [[West South Central states|West South Central]], [[Mountain states|Mountain]], and [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific states]]. The [[Great Lakes region]] and the [[Pacific Northwest]] include areas in both the U.S. and Canada.