Americas (terminology)

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United States of America

Confederate States of America (1861-1865)

Federal Republic of Central America (1823-1840)

West Indies Federation (1958-1962)

Anglo-America

Latin America

The Americas, also known as America, are the lands of the western hemisphere, composed of numerous entities and regions variably defined by geography, politics, and culture.

The Americas are frequently reckoned to comprise two separate continents (North America and South America), especially in English-speaking nations. The Americas may also be reckoned to comprise a single continent (named America), particularly in Latin America and in some European nations.<ref name="MoC">Template:Cite book</ref>

1 Physical geography
- 1.1 Geophysical regions
2 Human geography
3 Sources
4 See also

[edit] Physical geography

[edit] Geophysical regions

North America – the continent and associated islands of the northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere, lying northwest of South America and bounded by the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans
- Middle America: the isthmian tract of land extending from the southern Rocky Mountains to the northern tip of the Andes, marking the territorial transition between North and South America. More widely, may include the Caribbean.
  - Central America – the narrow southern portion of mainland North America connecting with South America, extending from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the Isthmus of Panama; alternatively, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt delimits the region on the north.<ref>Nord-Amèrica, in Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana</ref>
  - Caribbean – the region between southeastern North America and northern South America consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The islands – composed of the Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas – are also known as the West Indies (or collectively known as the Antilles in some languages); often included in the region of Middle America.
South America – the continent and associated islands of the western hemisphere and chiefly in the southern hemisphere, lying between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and southeast of North America

[edit] Human geography

[edit] Geopolitical regions

North America - Canada, Mexico and the United States;<ref>North America The American Heritage Reference Collection</ref><ref>Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, "North America"</ref> also, often just Canada and the United States together.<ref>Burchfield, R. W., ed. 2004. "America." Fowler's Modern English Usage (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 48</ref><ref>McArthur, Tom. 1992."North American." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN 0-19-214183-X) New York: Oxford University Press, p. 707.</ref> May also include the dependencies of Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Central America – the southern region of North America, comprising Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
West Indies – the island territories of the Caribbean
South America – as above, excluding Panama

Overlapping units:

Middle America (United States) – the midwestern United States or the middle-class segment of the U.S. population

[edit] United Nations geoscheme

Northern America – the northern region of North America comprising Canada, the United States, Greenland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and Bermuda.
Latin America and the Caribbean:
- Central America - defined as all the North American countries south of the United States.
- Caribbean
- South America - all the countries south of Panama.

Note: within this scheme, the continent of North America comprises Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[1]

[edit] Political divisions

United States of America – a federal republic in North America founded in 1776 and comprising 50 states and one federal district (the District of Columbia), with several outlying territories of varying affiliation; commonly referred to as America
- Confederate States of America – a confederation in North America from 1861 to 1865, comprising eleven southern states that seceded from the United States of America: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Their secession precipitated the American Civil War; upon its conclusion, the Confederate States were reunited with the United States.
British America – former designation for British possessions in the Americas
British North America – former designation for territories in North America colonised by Great Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly after 1783 and in reference to Canada. At the start of the American Revolution in 1775, the British Empire in North America included twenty colonies north of Mexico. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution and established boundaries between the United States and British North America; East Florida and West Florida were also ceded to Spain in the treaty, and then ceded by Spain to the US in 1819. From 1867 to 1873, all but one of the remaining colonies of British North America confederated (through a series of eponymous acts) into the Dominion of Canada. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.
British West Indies – the islands and territories of the Caribbean under British colonial influence
Federal Republic of Central America – formerly the United Provinces of Central America, a federal republic in Central America from 1823 to 1840 comprising the newly independent Spanish territories: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and (later) Los Altos. In 1838, the federation succumbed to civil war and dissolved.
West Indies Federation – a federation of several Caribbean island colonies and territories of the United Kingdom (see also: British West Indies) from 1958 to 1962. This was followed by the West Indies Associated States, a smaller, looser polity, from 1967 to 1981.

[edit] Linguistic/cultural regions

Anglo-America – the region of the Americas having significant historical, linguistic, and cultural links to England or the British Isles, e.g., where English (a Germanic language) is officially or primarily spoken; often just Canada and the United States
Latin America – the region of the Americas where Romance languages derived from Latin, namely Spanish and Portuguese, are officially or primarily spoken
- Middle America – the portion of Latin America in North America
Ibero-America – the region of the Americas and Europe having significant historical, linguistic, and cultural links to Spain or Portugal (both on the Iberian peninsula)
- Hispanic America - those parts of the Americas inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations
Mesoamerica – a region of the Americas extending from central Mexico southeast to Nicaragua and Costa Rica; a term used especially in archaeology and ethnohistory for the region where an array of civilizations had flourished during the pre-Columbian era, and which shared a number of historical and cultural traditions.
- Mesoamerican Linguistic Area – a sprachbund, or linguistic region, defined as the area inhabited by speakers of a set of indigenous languages which have developed certain similarities as a result of their historic and geographical connections; roughly co-terminate with the archaeological/ethnohistorical Mesoamerica.
Aridoamerica – an archaeological/ethnohistorical regional division, essentially comprising the arid/semi-arid northern portion of present-day Mexico, whose historical peoples are generally characterised by a nomadic existence and minimal reliance on agriculture.
Oasisamerica – an occasionally used archaeological/ethnohistorical term for a (pre-Columbian) cultural region of North America.