Americas

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The Americas, also collectively called America, encompass the totality of the continents of North America and South America. Together they make up most of Earth's western hemisphere and comprise the New World.

Along with their associated islands, they cover 8% of Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a long chain of mountains that run the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River / Great Lakes basin, Mississippi, and La Plata. Since the Americas extend 14000 km from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundra of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, to the tropical rain forests in Central America and South America.

Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago. A second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic around 3500 BCE completed what is generally regarded as the settlement by the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the Norse explorer Leif Ericson. However the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned. The voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European (and subsequently, other Old World) powers, which led to the Columbian exchange. Diseases introduced from Europe and Africa devastated the indigenous peoples, and the European powers colonized the Americas. Mass emigration from Europe, including large numbers of indentured servants, and importation of African slaves largely replaced the indigenous peoples.

Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution in 1776 and Haitian Revolution in 1791. Currently, almost all of the population of the Americas resides in independent countries; however, the legacy of the colonization and settlement by Europeans is that the Americas share many common cultural traits, most notably Christianity and the use of Indo-European languages; primarily Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and to a lesser extent, Dutch.

The population is over 1 billion, with over 65% of them living in one of the three most populous countries (the United States, Brazil, and Mexico). The most populous cities are São Paulo, Mexico City, New York City, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles.

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-The '''Americas''', also collectively called '''America''',<ref>See for example: [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/america america – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]. Retrieved on January 27, 2008; "[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/america dictionary.reference.com america]". Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Accessed: January 27, 2008.</ref><ref>Marjorie Fee and Janice MacAlpine, ''Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage'' (2008) page 36 says "In Canada, ''American'' is used almost exclusively in reference to the United States and its citizens." Others, including ''The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary'', ''The Canadian Oxford Dictionary'', ''The Australian Oxford Dictionary'' and ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'' all specify both the Americas and the United States in their definition of "American".</ref><ref name="oxfordc">"America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (ISBN 0-19-214183-X). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of ''Americus'', the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name ''America'' first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16c, a name of the western hemisphere, often in the plural ''Americas'' and more or less synonymous with ''the New World''. Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English:&nbsp;... However, the term is open to uncertainties:&nbsp;..."</ref> encompass the totality of the continents of [[North America]] and [[South America]].<ref>Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Merriam Webster dictionary|year=2013|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Incorporated|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/america|accessdate=2016-03-23}}</ref><ref>"continent n. 5. a." (1989) ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. [[Oxford University Press]] ; "continent<sup>1</sup> n." (2006) ''The [[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 11th edition revised. (Ed.) Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press; "continent<sup>1</sup> n." (2005) ''The [[New Oxford American Dictionary]]'', 2nd edition. (Ed.) [[Erin McKean]]. Oxford University Press; "continent [2, n] 4 a" (1996) ''[[Webster's Dictionary#WebsThird New International|Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged]]''. [[ProQuest]] Information and Learning ; "continent" (2007) ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref>  Together they make up most of Earth's [[western hemisphere]]<ref name="mwgeodict">{{citation|title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary|year=2001|quote=The part of the Earth comprising North and South America and surrounding waters; longitudes 20°W and 160°E are often considered its boundaries|page=1294|contribution=Western Hemisphere|edition=3rd|place=Springfield, MA|publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1108059/Western-Hemisphere|title=Encyclopedia Britannica|quote=Western Hemisphere, Part of Earth comprising North and South America and the surrounding waters. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries.|accessdate=May 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|date=2011|publisher=Chambers Harrap Publishers, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-550-10237-9|edition=12|location=London|page=1780|quote=This dictionary was written with the British speaker of English in mind. ... The Western Hemisphere is the half of the world that includes North America and South America|editor1-last=O'Neal|editor1-first=Mary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.worldbook.com|title=The World Book Dictionary|date=2003|publisher=World Book, Inc|isbn=0-7166-0299-7|location=Chicago|page=2377|quote=Western Hemisphere, the half of the world that includes North and South America.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The American Heritage College Dictionary|date=2010|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-618-83595-9|edition=Fourth|location=Boston|page=1557|quote=Western Hemisphere The half of the earth comprising North America, Central America, and South America}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=New Oxford American Dictionary|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=Third|location=New York|page=1963|quote=The Half of the earth that contains the Americas|editor1-last=Stevenson|editor1-first=Angus|editor2-last=Lindberg|editor2-first=Christine A.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Webster's New World College Dictionary|date=2014|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-544-16606-6|edition=Fifth|location=Boston|quote=Western Hemisphere that half of the earth which includes North & South America}}</ref><ref>United States Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/index.htm<br>
+The '''Americas''', also collectively called '''America''', encompass the totality of the continents of [[North America]] and [[South America]]. Together they make up most of Earth's [[western hemisphere]] and comprise the ''[[New World]]''.
-</ref> and comprise the ''[[New World]]''.
-Along with their [[Lists of islands of the Americas|associated islands]], they cover 8% of [[Earth]]'s total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the [[American Cordillera]], a long chain of mountains that run the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the [[Amazon river basin|Amazon]], [[St. Lawrence River]] / [[Great Lakes]] basin, [[Mississippi river basin|Mississippi]], and [[La Plata river basin|La Plata]]. Since the Americas extend {{convert|14000|km|mi|-2|abbr=on}} from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic [[tundra]] of [[Northern Canada]], [[Greenland]], and [[Alaska]], to the [[tropical rain forest]]s in [[Central America]] and South America.
+Along with their [[Lists of islands of the Americas|associated islands]], they cover 8% of [[Earth]]'s total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the [[American Cordillera]], a long chain of mountains that run the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins, such as the [[Amazon river basin|Amazon]], [[St. Lawrence River]] / [[Great Lakes]] basin, [[Mississippi river basin|Mississippi]], and [[La Plata river basin|La Plata]]. Since the Americas extend 14000 km from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic [[tundra]] of [[Northern Canada]], [[Greenland]], and [[Alaska]], to the [[tropical rain forest]]s in [[Central America]] and South America.
 Humans first [[Settlement of the Americas|settled the Americas]] from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago. A second migration of [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dene speakers]] followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the [[Inuit]] into the [[neoarctic]] around 3500 BCE completed what is generally regarded as the settlement by the [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]].
-The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the [[Norsemen|Norse]] explorer [[Leif Ericson]].<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/erikson_leif.shtml | title = Leif Erikson (11th century) |publisher = BBC |accessdate=November 20, 2011}}</ref> However the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned. The [[voyages of Christopher Columbus]] from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European (and subsequently, other [[Old World]]) powers, which led to the [[Columbian exchange]]. Diseases introduced from Europe and Africa [[Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas|devastated the indigenous peoples]], and the European powers [[European colonization of the Americas|colonized the Americas]].{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} Mass emigration from Europe, including large numbers of [[indentured servant]]s, and [[Atlantic slave trade|importation of African slaves]] largely replaced the indigenous peoples.
+The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the [[Norsemen|Norse]] explorer [[Leif Ericson]]. However the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned. The [[voyages of Christopher Columbus]] from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European (and subsequently, other [[Old World]]) powers, which led to the [[Columbian exchange]]. Diseases introduced from Europe and Africa [[Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas|devastated the indigenous peoples]], and the European powers [[European colonization of the Americas|colonized the Americas]]. Mass emigration from Europe, including large numbers of [[indentured servant]]s, and [[Atlantic slave trade|importation of African slaves]] largely replaced the indigenous peoples.
 [[Decolonization of the Americas]] began with the [[American Revolution]] in 1776 and [[Haitian Revolution]] in 1791. Currently, almost all of the population of the Americas resides in independent countries; however, the legacy of the colonization and settlement by Europeans is that the Americas share many common cultural traits, most notably [[Christianity]] and the use of [[Indo-European languages]]; primarily [[Spanish language in the Americas|Spanish]], [[English language|English]], [[Portuguese in the Americas|Portuguese]], [[French language|French]] and to a lesser extent, [[Dutch language|Dutch]].

Americas

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