27. The Americas

The Americas

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North America and South America are continents. Together, they comprise the landmass known as the Americas.

Native Americans are the original inhabitants of the Americas. Their ancestors migrated to the two continents from Asia via the Bering Strait thousands of years ago. Native American tribes settled most of the continent. Most of these tribes gained their livelihoods from fishing, hunting, gathering and agriculture. The Aztecs, Incas and Incas of South America built advanced civilizations that lasted until the 16th century, when they collapsed as a result of the arrival of European colonists.

Europeans, Africans and Asians have migrated to the Americas over the course of the last few centuries. This resulted in the formation of the cultural regions of primarily English-speaking Anglo-America in North America and Spanish-speaking Latin America in Central and South America. The modern populations of American nations are also affected by the history of the slave trade in the 17th century. During this time, approximately half a million African slaves were brought by the European colonists to work in the fields and farms of the Americas. The descendants of these slaves comprise the basis for the modern Afro-American population.

Earth's continents and oceans.

You can use the Seterra website to practice the names of American nations, as well as American cities and flags.

The vegetation of the Americas

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The vegetation of the Americas varies between different parts of the two continents. This is the result of two factors:

The Americas encompass a large surface area from the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the north and nearing the continent of Antarctica in the south.
The Americas have regions of varied elevation. These include lowlands, highlands, and mountain ranges. The mountain range of the American Cordilleras (which is comprised of the North American Rockies and the South American Andes) has an especially significant effect on the climatic conditions found on the two continents.

From north to south, the American vegetation zones are:

Tundra (grasses, mosses, lichens).
Coniferous forest.
Temperate grassland and broadleaf forest.
Rainforest.

In addition, mountain ranges are characterized by alpine vegetation (coniferous forest and alpine tundra), whereas chaparral (the American equivalent of Mediterranean vegetation) is found in California in Western North America as well as in Chile in Western South America.

Terminology

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The Americas
Term	Explanation
indigenous people	The people who first inhabited a certain region. E.g. the Native American tribes in North America.
continent	A large, continuous landmass.
chaparral	The American equivalent of Mediterranean vegetation. Characterized by plants with thick, leathery leaves that prevent water from evaporating during the dry summer months.