North America

North America is the world’s third largest continent. It has 23 countries, including all of the countries in the Caribbean, Greenland, Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.

Canada Ottawa is the capital city. Canada is the second largest country in the world, and has a population of about 34 million people. Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are the biggest cities. Canada was discovered and settled (started) by French and English explorers.

English and French are the official languages. Canada became an independent country from England in 1867. Hockey and Lacrosse are the national sports.

The United States of America The USA is a country made of 50 smaller states. There are about 350 million people. The capital city is Washington D.C., which is not in any state. The USA became independent from Great Britain (UK) in 1776, after fighting the Revolutionary War. There is no official language, but they speak English.

They have a president and a senate They have a president and a senate. The senate makes the laws and the president makes sure the laws are followed. The land is very different across the country; there are forests, deserts, mountains, plains, and swamps. Pilgrims (朝圣者) first went there looking for religious freedom in the 1600’s. The national bird is the bald eagle and the national anthem (song) is “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Mexico Spanish is the official language. The population is about 111 million people. The capital and largest city is Mexico City. Mexico used to be a colony of Spain. Two great civilizations (文明 ) were in Mexico before the Spanish came: the Mayans and the Aztecs.

Spain came and conquered (fought and won) Mexico in 1521, and Mexico became independent in 1821. Mexico has over 200,000 species of animals. Cinco de Mayo (May 5) is a big holiday held every year to celebrate a Mexican victory in a war. Many tourists go each year to see the ruins (old cities) and go to the beach.