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Sub-Divisions of the Americas
Map	Legend
	North America      South America      May be included in      either NA or SA
	North America      May be included in NA      Central America      Caribbean      South America
	North America      May be included in NA      Middle America      Caribbean;      may be included in MA      May be included in MA      or South America      South America
	Anglo-America      May be included in A-A      Latin America      May be included in LA

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.^[1]

Contents 1 Physical geography 2 Human geography 2.1 Geographical or geopolitical regions 2.2 United Nations geoscheme 2.3 Political divisions 2.4 Linguistic/cultural regions 3 References 4 Additional sources 5 See also

• North America—the continent and associated islands of the northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It lies northwest of South America and is bounded by the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans.
  • Middle America—the territory between the southern Rocky Mountains and the northern tip of the Andes. This isthmus marks the transition between North and South America. It may also include the Caribbean.^[2][3]
    • 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 may delimit the region on the north.^[4][5]
    • 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, in some languages, the Antilles); they are often included in the region of Middle America.
• South America—the continent and associated islands of the western hemisphere. It is chiefly in the southern hemisphere and lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, southeast of North America.

• North America—when used to denote less than the entire North American continent, this term may include Canada, Mexico and the United States,^[6][7][8][9] or just Canada and the United States together.^{[10][11][12][13]} It may also include the dependencies of Bermuda (U.K.), Greenland (Denmark), and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France.)^[14]
• Middle America—Mexico and the nations of Central America; often also includes the West Indies. Occasionally, Colombia and Venezuela are also included in Middle America.^[2][3]
  • Central America—the southern region of the North American continent, comprising Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.^[15] Sometimes, Central America may be defined to only include the five countries which gained independence as the United Provinces of Central America. This definition excludes Belize and Panama.^[16]
  • West Indies—the island territories of the Caribbean.
• South America—contains the nations of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and the French overseas department of French Guiana. Also includes the insular territories of the Falkland Islands (U.K.), the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (U.K.), Fernando de Noronha (Brazil), Trindade and Martim Vaz (Brazil), the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), and the Juan Fernández Islands (Chile).^[17]
• Middle America (United States)—Middle America may also refer to the midwestern United States or the middle-class segment of the U.S. population.^[3]

United Nations geoscheme for the Americas
	Northern America      Central America      Caribbean      South America

Main article: United Nations geoscheme

• Northern America—the northern region of the North American continent, comprising Canada, the United States, Greenland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and Bermuda.
• Latin America and the Caribbean:
  • Central America—the countries south of the United States and north of Colombia.
  • Caribbean.
  • South America—all the countries south of Panama.

Within this scheme, the continent of North America comprises Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean.^[18]

United States of America	Confederate States of America (1861-1865)
Federal Republic of Central America (1823-1840)	West Indies Federation (1958-1962)

• 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 the U.S. or simply 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.
• Northern America (America Septentrional)-the first official name of Mexico^[19].
  • Mexican America (América Mexicana)-a name chosen and drafted in the first Mexican constitution^[20].
• 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.

• 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, French and Portuguese, are officially or primarily spoken.
  • Ibero-America—the region of the Americas having significant historical, linguistic, and cultural links to Spain or Portugal (both on the Iberian peninsula.)
    • Hispanic America (also Spanish America)—those countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.^[21]
• 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.

• The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press (proprietary; limited access).
• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. 2003. (ISBN 0-87779-809-5) New York: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
• Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd ed. (rev.) 2002. (ISBN 0-19-860652-4) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• What's the difference between North, Latin, Central, Middle, South, Spanish and Anglo America? Geography at about.com.

• American (word)
• Americas
• Columbia
• continent, supercontinent, subcontinent, microcontinent, and continental shelf
• region, subregion, and trade block
• geography
  • physical geography
  • political geography and geopolitics
  • human geography and regional science

v • d • e Continents of the world
Afro-Eurasia The Americas Eurasia Oceania Africa Antarctica Asia Australia Europe N. America S. America Geological supercontinents Gondwana · Laurasia · Pangaea · Pannotia · Proto-Gondwana · Proto-Laurasia · Rodinia · Columbia · Kenorland · Ur · Vaalbara Historical continents Arctica · Asiamerica · Atlantica · Avalonia · Baltica · Cimmeria · Congo craton · Euramerica · Kalahari Desert · Kazakhstania · Laurentia · Siberia · South China · Ur Submerged continents Kerguelen Plateau · Zealandia Possible future supercontinents Pangaea Ultima · Amasia Mythical and theorized continents Atlantis · Lemuria · Mu · Terra Australis
See also Regions of the world

v • d • e Regions of the world
Africa Central · Eastern · Northern · Southern · Western Americas Anglo · Caribbean · Central · Latin · Middle · North · Northern · South Asia Central · Eastern · Northern · Southern · Southeastern · Southwestern/Western Europe Central · Northern · Southern · Western · Eastern	Oceania Australasia · Melanesia · Micronesia · Polynesia Polar Arctic · Antarctic Other Asia-Pacific · Caucasus · Far East · Indian subcontinent · Middle East Oceans World · Arctic · Atlantic · Indian · Pacific · Southern
See also Continents of the world