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North America is a continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast. It covers an area of about 24,480,000 km² (9,450,000 sq mi), or about 4.8% of the planet's surface. As of July 2002, its population was estimated at more than 514,000,000. It is the third largest continent in area, after Asia and Africa, and is fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Etymology

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A number of theories exist regarding the naming of North and South America. The most widely recognized is that they are named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a New World, previously undiscovered by Europeans. The second and less generally accepted is that the continents are named after an English merchant named Richard Amerike from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. A third and minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of 'Amairick'.

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15,000 reasons to worry about state's lakes: Zebra mussels first turned up in North America in the summer of 19.. http://bit.ly/3uRlGY
watersisweb (WaterSISWEB) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:34:51 -0000
15,000 reasons to worry about state's lakes: Zebra mussels first turned up in North America in the summer of 19.. http://bit.ly/3uRlGY
Did you know Chihuahua is the oldest breed of dog native to North America.
yrpetstorewmore (YourPetStoreWithMore) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:31:15 -0000
Did you know Chihuahua is the oldest breed of dog native to North America.
Wrapping up in South America; heading north in the morning.
Douggallo (Doug Gallo) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:28:09 -0000
Wrapping up in South America; heading north in the morning.
@Uncucumbered Canada and the United States is North America, anything below is the United States is South America. Thanks 4 the tweet
IQdog (steven de martin) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:26:30 -0000
@Uncucumbered Canada and the United States is North America, anything below is the United States is South America. Thanks 4 the tweet
Entertainment Images Photo from Getty Images by Getty Images North America http://ow.ly/16021L
iNewsStand (iNewsStand 4 iPhone) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:25:20 -0000
Entertainment Images Photo from Getty Images by Getty Images North America http://ow.ly/16021L
@johpan New Zealand and Australian Infrastructure has been always a step behind North America and Asia. It's fine for what we have now.
blossoming (blossoming) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:24:48 -0000
@johpan New Zealand and Australian Infrastructure has been always a step behind North America and Asia. It's fine for what we have now.

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