NORTH AMERICA

The story of North America begins with its geography, because the land itself shaped everything that followed. The continent stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north down to the Tropic of Cancer in the south, and from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. That is a vast sweep of territory, and within it lies an extraordinary variety of terrain.

Moving from west to east, the physical features follow a clear sequence. The chain of the Rocky Mountains runs through the west. Beyond them lies the desert of Arizona and Nevada, and still further west rise the Sierra Nevada mountains. To the east of the Rockies spread the Great Plains, then the Great Lakes, then the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers, and finally the Appalachian Mountains. To the south of all this lies Mexico.

The land was rich in resources long before anyone built an industry on it. Forty per cent of Canada is covered with forests. Oil, gas and mineral resources are found in many areas, and this abundance of raw materials explains why the USA and Canada grew so many big industries. Today the region produces wheat, corn and fruit on an extensive scale, and fishing is a major industry in Canada. …