North America – Plant Growth
Farther to the north is the Arctic tundra, and to the south of it a wide boreal coniferous belt, reminiscent of the corresponding zone in Europe and Siberia. Here, species of spruce, noble spruce and larch dominate, and large areas are covered with cherries and mosses. Along the west coast from Southern Alaska to Northern California are moist, species-rich coniferous forests with some of the world’s tallest trees (including Douglas fir and redwood). Based on AbbreviationFinder.org, Coniferous forest also occurs in the mountainous areas of western North America, where many species of pine are especially prominent.
In the eastern part of the continent, the boundary between tundra and coniferous forest extends further south and is located in Labrador at approximately 53 ° 30 ‘N.br. Around the Great Lakes and in the New England states, natural vegetation is mixed forests of a type reminiscent of the forests of central Scandinavia, however, with several species. Many herbaceous plants in these areas are identical or closely related to European species. In the eastern and central United States there are species-rich deciduous forests; Here are species of oak, ash, walnut, chestnut, hickory, tulip tree and (in the South) magnolia oil.
The areas between deciduous forests in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west are naturally wooded steppe, prairie. In the east, where annual rainfall is 500-900 mm, tall, perennial grasses dominate in the genera Stipa, Andropogon, Sporobolus and others; In the rainy shade of the Rocky Mountains, short grass prairie with lower grass species and even small cacti occurs. The prairie is now mostly cultivated with, among other things, corn and wheat.
In California, where the climate is Mediterranean, vegetation types resemble the Mediterranean, for example, chaparral, which resembles lemur; the area is rich in species and has many endemic species. The arid regions of the southwest United States and NV-Mexico are dominated by cacti, agave, yucca and other succulent plants. In Mexico, there are northern elements, for example many oak and pine species, and tropical vegetation types, from rainforest to desert.
Country | Main export goods | Largest trading partner |
Antigua and Barbuda | textiles, electrical appliances, electronic components, vehicles and transport equipment (2015) | USA, China, Japan, UK |
Bahamas | seafood, aragonite, sea salt, polyester products, rum, citrus fruits | USA, EU countries, Canada, Caricom countries |
Barbados | light industrial goods, sugar and molasses, rum, food and beverages, chemicals, fuel, electronics | CARICOM countries, USA, EU countries, Russia, China |
Belize | oil, citrus fruits, sugar, bananas, seafood | USA, UK, Guatemala, Mexico, Caricom countries |
Costa Rica | electronics, bananas, pineapples | USA, China |
Dominica | paper products, minerals, machinery and electrical appliances, fruits and vegetables | United States, China, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, France, Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Dominican Republic | electronics, textiles, cigars, sugar, nickel, bananas | USA, Venezuela, Haiti, China, Colombia, the Netherlands |
El Salvador | clothes, textiles, coffee, sugar, food, tobacco | USA, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico |
Grenada | nutmeg, bananas, cocoa, fish, | USA, EU, CARICOM countries |
Guatemala | clothes, sugar, bananas, coffee, cooking oil, cardamom | USA, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, China |
Haiti | clothes, shoes, cocoa, mango fruit, essential oils, coffee | United States, Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles, China |
Honduras | textiles, coffee, palm oil, bananas, seafood, gold, zinc | USA, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico |
Jamaica | bauxite, aluminum, sugar, bananas, rum | USA, Canada, EU countries, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago |
Canada | cars and car parts, oil and gas, fish and agricultural products, machinery, metals, consumer goods | USA, China, Japan, Mexico, Great Britain, Germany |
Cuba | nickel, tobacco, sugar, medicinal products, seafood, citrus fruits | Spain, Canada, Netherlands, China, Venezuela |
Mexico | oil, motor vehicles, electronics, agricultural goods | USA, China, Canada, Japan, Colombia, South Korea, Germany |
Nicaragua | coffee, meat, seafood, tobacco, sugar, gold | USA, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico, China |
Panama | bananas, gold, pineapple, scrap, melons, sugar | USA, Costa Rica, China, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico |
Saint Kitts & Nevis | machines, electrical appliances, electronics, food | USA, neighboring countries in the Caribbean, Great Britain |
Saint Lucia | food (mainly bananas), machinery and electrical equipment, paper and paper products | USA, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Barbados (2016) |
St. Vincent & the Grenadines | bananas, flour, root vegetables | The Caribbean countries, USA, UK, China |
Trinidad & Tobago | natural gas, oil, ammonia, methanol, food | USA, Caricom, EU, Russia, South Korea, Canada |
USA | machinery, transport equipment (aircraft, computers), chemical products, food, cereals | China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany |
Central America
According to Countryaah, North America is located within Western Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere. Central America is a continental region bounded to the north by the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and to the south by Colombia. The region is divided into continental Central America, which comprises a strip of land emerging from a position between North America and South America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama); and island, formed by a group of islands located in the Caribbean Sea (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).
One of the main arguments used to designate Central America as a continent is that it is located on a tectonic plate different from the North American plate: the Caribbean plate. Much of the continent is marked by intense volcanic activity, in addition to a significant amount of earthquakes.
The predominant climate on the continent is tropical; regions located at higher altitudes are rainier. In fact, rainfall rates in Central America are directly influenced by the direction of the winds and the position of the tropical convergence zones.
Central America has a timid economy, based mainly on agriculture, livestock and logging. In 1824, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica joined and founded the “United States of Central America”, however, due to administrative and financial problems, the bloc was disbanded in 1840. Poverty is one of the main problems in Central America: in Nicaragua, for example, 48% of the population is below the poverty line.
Plant Life
South of the tundra in North America, the boreal coniferous forest zone takes over. Black spruce, white spruce, fir branches and larch go farthest to the north, and large areas are covered with marshes and mosses. Along the west coast from southern Alaska to California are moist, rich coniferous forests. American sequoia in Northern California is the world’s tallest tree, while the mammal tree in Sierra Nevada has the largest pulp.
In California, the vegetation type is chaparral, dominated by evergreen shrubs and small trees, including oaks, pines, mills, conifers (Arbutus) and sack bushes (Ceanothus). The area is rich and has many endemic species. The arid regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico are dominated by cactus plants, such as saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), as well as palm lilies and agave. A characteristic species is creosote bush (Larrea tridentata).
The forests in the Klippiga mountains consist of, among other things, yellow numbers, contort numbers, blue-spruce and angelic branches ; at high altitude also grows American aspen (Populus tremuloides). Important herb genera in western North America are Native American brushes (Castilleja), flocks, woolen slippers as well as many wicker plants and pea plants.
The Atlantic region encompasses the area east of the Rocky Mountains. The boreal coniferous forest forms a continuous belt there. The tree line extends farther south in the eastern parts, in Labrador at about 53 ° 30 ‘north latitude. Around the Great Lakes and in New England, mixed forests with conifers such as weymouth pine, white spruce, balsam fir and hemlock dominate. Among the deciduous trees, sugar maple and species of birch, elm, oak and linden dominate. The area is relatively similar to Northern Europe; some species, especially in marshes and mosses, are found on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the eastern and central United States there are rich summer green deciduous forests. In addition to the genus that is also found in Europe (oaks, ashes, walnuts and chestnuts), there are also hickory, tulip trees and catkins and in the southern states magnolias.
The area between the deciduous forests to the east and the Rocky mountains to the west, the prairie, is naturally wooded. In the east (with an annual rainfall of 500–900 mm), tall perennial grasses dominate in the genera spring grass, Andropogon and drip grass (Sporobolus). In the shade of the Rocky Mountains (with an annual rainfall of 300–500 mm), there are short grass prairies with gram grass, buffalo grass and even small cacti. The prairie is now largely cultivated with wheat and maize, among others.
In Mexico, there are northern elements, including many pines and oaks, and tropical vegetation types, ranging from desert to rainforest. Cactus plants predominate in arid areas. In Central America and the Caribbean islands cone trees are found. Rainforests in Central America are probably the world’s richest ecosystems.