ENVSCI

Most of the current experts and international authorities agree on 194 countries in existence, however, different international bodies differ greatly on how many countries there are. The 194 countries does not include Kosovo, or Palestine or Western Sahara or Taiwan or Greenland or many other partly recognized states .

Depending upon the source you acknowledge, there may be 189, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195 or 196 independent countries in existence upon our globe today.

As of May 1, 2008, the United Nations had 193 official members. This number does not include the Palestine or the Vatican/Holy See (who act as non-member observers),

Taiwan (whose credentials have at large been rejected by the UN since 1971), or Kosovo (which is not a UN member, but does participate actively in actions of the UN’s

International Monetary Fund and World Bank).

The United Nations Geoscheme: a system devised by the United Nations Statistics

Division (UNSD) to divide the countries of the world into regional and subregional groups

A continent is one of several very large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria,

up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, they are: Asia,

Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Islands are frequently grouped with a neighboring continent to divide all the world's land into geopolitical regions.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security breaks the world map into eight distinct geographic regions:

Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America.

https://www.dhs.gov/geographic-regions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_geoscheme

Middle Africa

WesternAfrica

Africa •Northern Africa

•Sub-Saharan Africa

• Eastern Africa

• Southern Africa

Americas •Latin America and theCaribbean

Central America• Caribbean

• South America

•Northern America *Northern America, the Caribbean, and Central America together form the

geographic continent of North America.

Asia Eastern Asia

SouthernAsia

Northern Europe

Western Europe

•Central Asia

•South-eastern Asia

•Western Asia

Europe •Eastern Europe (including Northern Asia)

•Southern Europe

Oceania •Australia and New Zealand

•Micronesia Melanesia

Polynesia

• North America • Middle and South America • Europe • Russia and the Post-Soviet States • North Africa and Southwest Asia • Sub-Saharan Africa • South Asia • East Asia • Southeast Asia • Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific • Polar Regions • Space

Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher, Alex Pulsipher, and Ola Johansson, 2017. World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives: 7th Edition, W. H. Freeman, 752 p.

North America By Bosonic dressing - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America

North America https://www.dhs.gov/geographic-regions

Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, United States, and the countries within the regions of the Caribbean and Central America.

The United Nations formally recognizes "North

America" as comprising three areas: Northern

America, Central America, and The Caribbean.

Northern America includes

https://www.internetworldstats.com/list1.htm

•Bermuda

•Canada

•Greenland

•United States

In the limited context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), the

term covers Canada, the United States, and Mexico,

which are the three signatories of that treaty.

a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the only part of New

•Saint Pierre and Miquelon -- France that remains under French control, with an area of 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and a population of 6,008 at the March 2016 census.

Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher, Alex Pulsipher, and Ola Johansson,

2017. World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local

Lives, 7th Edition, W. H. Freeman, 752 p.

Subregions of North America •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

New England and the Atlantic Provinces Quebec The Old Economic Core The American South (The Southeast) The Great Plains Breadbasket The Continental Interior The Pacific Northwest Southern California and the Southwest

Capitals Boston Quebec City Detroit Atlanta Kansas City Denver San Francisco Los Angeles

MiamiThe Nine Nations of North America is a 1981 book by Joel Garreauan (American journalist, scholar, and author), in which the author suggests that North America can be divided into nine nations, which have distinctive economic and cultural features. He also argues that conventional national and state borders are largely artificial and irrelevant, and that his "nations" provide a more accurate way of understanding the true nature of North American society. The work has been called "a classic text on the current regionalization of North America".

Rank Sovereign

state Total in km2 (mi2) Land in km2 (mi2) Water in km2 (mi2)

%

water Notes

– World 510,072,000 148,940,000 361,132,000

(196,940,000) (57,510,000) (139,434,000) 70.8

1 Russia

Largest country in the world (10.995% of the world's land mass); its Asian portion makes it the

largest country in Asia, and its European portion of roughly 3,960,000 km2 (1,530,000

sq mi) makes it the largest country in Europe.

– Antarctica

17,098,246 (6,601,670) 16,377,742 (6,323,482) 720,500 (278,200) 4.21

14,000,000 (5,400,000) 14,000,000 (5,400,000) 0 (0) 0 13,720,000 km2 (5,300,000 sq mi) (98%) of the land area is covered by ice. Though not itself a

country, areas are claimed by a number of countries.

2 Canada 9,984,670 (3,855,100) 9,093,507 (3,511,023) 891,163 (344,080) 8.93

Largest English and French-speaking country and the largest country completely in

the Western Hemisphere by total area (second-largest by land area, after the United

States), with the largest surface area of water. Total area and water area figures include

area covered by freshwater only, and do not include internal waters (non-freshwater) of

about 1,600,000 km2, or territorial waters of 200,000 km2.

3 China 9,596,961 (3,705,407) 9,326,410 (3,600,950) 270,550 (104,460) 2.82

Second-largest country in Asia (though the largest located wholly within the continent), and

second-largest country in the world by land area. Excludes Taiwan, disputed territories with

India, and disputed islands in the South China Sea. Figures for total area and water area also

exclude all coastal and territorial waters.

4 United

States

9,525,067 (3,677,649)

(264,837) –9,833,517 (3,796,742) 9,147,643 (3,531,925)

–685,924 6.97

9,147,593 (3,531,905)– 377,424 (145,724)

3.96– Largest country in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere by land area

(second-largest by total area, after Canada). Secondary figures for total area and water

area denote the inclusion of all coastal and territorial waters into the statistical area.

Largest Portuguese-speaking country, largest country in South America and in the Southern

Hemisphere, and the largest contiguous territory in the Americas.

Third-largest English-speaking country and largest country in Oceania, largest country without

land borders, and the largest country completely in the Southern Hemisphere.

Third-largest country in Asia and largest country in South Asia.

Largest Spanish-speaking country and second-largest country in South America.

Largest landlocked country.[16] Second-largest Russian-speaking country, after Russia.

10

5 Brazil 8,515,767 (3,287,956)

6 Australia 7,692,024 (2,969,907)

7 India 3,287,263 (1,269,219)

8 Argentina 2,780,400 (1,073,500)

9 Kazakhstan 2,724,900 (1,052,100)

Algeria 2,381,741(919,595)

8,460,415 (3,266,584) 55,352 (21,372) 0.65

7,633,565 (2,947,336) 58,459 (22,571) 0.76

2,973,190 (1,147,960) 314,073(121,264) 9.55

2,736,690 (1,056,640) 43,710 (16,880) 1.57

2,699,700 (1,042,400) 25,200 (9,700) 0.92

2,381,741 (919,595) 0 (0) 0 Largest Arabic-speaking and Berber-speaking country, largest Islamic state, and largest

country in Africa and the Mediterranean Basin.

Countries by Area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area

Rank Country or dependent

territory Region Population

% of world

Date Source (official or from

the United Nations)

– World 7,899,897,000100% 4 Oct 2021 UN projection

1 China Asia 1,411,778,724 17.9%1 Nov 2020 2020 census result The census figure refers to mainland China, excluding its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, the former of which returned to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 and the latter on 20 December 1999.

2 India Asia 1,382,679,458 17.5%4 Oct 2021 National population clock The figure includes the population of India-administered Kashmir but not of China- or Pakistan- administered Kashmir.

3 United States Americas 332,474,873 4.21%4 Oct 2021 National population clock Includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia, but excludes the U.S. territories. 4 Indonesia Asia 271,350,000 3.43%31 Dec 2020 National annual estimate

5 Pakistan Asia 225,200,000 2.85%1 Jul 2021 UN projection The figure includes the population of Pakistan-administered Kashmir but not of China- or India- administered Kashmir.

6 Brazil Americas 213,763,863 2.71%4 Oct 2021 National population clock 7 Nigeria Africa 211,401,000 2.68%1 Jul 2021 UN projection 8 Bangladesh Asia 171,466,220 2.17%4 Oct 2021 National population clock

9 Russia Europe 146,171,015 1.85%1 Jan 2021 National annual estimate Including the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Russia's disputed administrative areas on the Crimean Peninsula. The Ukrainian government and most of the world's other states consider the Crimean Peninsula de jure a part of Ukraine's territory.

10 Mexico Americas 126,014,024 1.60%2 Mar 2020 2020 census result[

11 Japan Asia 125,210,000 1.58%1 Sep 2021 Monthly national estimate 12 Ethiopia Africa 117,876,000 1.49%1 Jul 2021 UN projection 13 Philippines Asia 110,911,008 1.40%4 Oct 2021 Official 2020 census result 14 DR Congo Africa 105,044,646 1.33%1 Jul 2021 CIA World Factbook 15 Egypt Africa 102,398,748 1.30%4 Oct 2021 National population clock 16 Vietnam Asia 97,580,000 1.24%1 Jul 2020 National annual estimate 17 Iran Asia 84,831,574 1.07%4 Oct 2021 National population clock 18 Turkey Asia 83,614,362 1.06%31 Dec 2020 National annual estimate 19 Germany Europe 83,129,285 1.05%30 Jun 2021 National quarterly estimate

20 France Europe 67,486,000 0.854%1 Sep 2021 Monthly national estimate

Includes the integral 18 regions of France (including 5 overseas departments and regions). Figure excludes France's 5 overseas collectivities: French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Wallis and Futuna, and the sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia, which are shown separately on this list. The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (an Antarctic territorial claim hosting only government officials and research station staff) and Clipperton Island (an uninhabited state private property of France) are not listed at all due to their extraordinary nature.

Sovereign states and dependencies by population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population

In April, this year the United Nations unveiled data, revealing that India, with more than 142.86 crore population, has surpassed China, whose population stands at 142.57 crores. Since it started collecting data in 1950, this is the first time that India has topped the United Nation's list of most populous countries. Jul 11, 2023

Rank Country or

dependent territory Region Population

% of

world Date

Source (official or from

the United Nations) Notes

3 United States Americas 332,474,873 4.21%4 Oct 2021 National population clock Includes the 50 states and the District of

Columbia, but excludes the U.S. territories.

37 Canada Americas 38,427,521 0.486%4 Oct 2021 National population clock

Rank Country /

Dependency Total in km2 (mi2) Land in km2 (mi2) Water in km2 (mi2) % water Notes

2 Canada 9,984,670 (3,855,100) 9,093,507 (3,511,023) 891,163 (344,080) 8.93

Largest English- and largest French-speaking country; largest country completely in the Western Hemisphere by total area (second-largest by land area, after the United States); with the largest surface area of water. Total area and water area figures include area covered by freshwater only and do not include internal waters (non-freshwater) of about 1,600,000 km2, nor territorial waters of 200,000 km2.[4][5]

3 or 4

China 9,596,961 (3,705,407) 9,326,410 (3,600,950) 270,550 (104,460) 2.82

Largest country entirely in Asia, and second-largest country in the world by land area. Excludes Taiwan, disputed territories with India, and disputed islands in the South China Sea. Figures for total area and water area also exclude all coastal and territorial waters.[Note 4]

United States 9,525,067 (3,677,649) – 9,833,517 (3,796,742)

9,147,593 (3,531,905) – 9,147,643 (3,531,925)

377,424 (145,724) – 685,924 (264,837)

3.96–6.97

By land area, largest English-speaking country and largest country in the Western Hemisphere (second-largest by total area, after Canada). Secondary figures for total area and water area include all coastal and territorial waters.

The following two primary sources (non-mirrored) represent the range (min./max.) of estimates of China's and the United States' total areas. Both sources (1) exclude Taiwan from the area of

China; (2) exclude China's coastal and territorial waters. However, the CIA World Factbook includes the United States coastal and territorial waters, while Encyclopædia Britannica excludes the

United States coastal and territorial waters. The Encyclopædia Britannica lists China as world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with a total area of 9,572,900 km2, and the United

States as fourth-largest at 9,525,067 km2.

The CIA World Factbook lists China as fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada and the United States) with a total area of 9,596,960 km2, and the United States as the third-largest at

9,833,517 km2.

Sovereign states and dependencies by population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population

List of countries and dependencies by area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area

North America’s Physical Geography: Physiographic Regions • Diverse physiographic regions

• Each exhibit natural landscape homogeneity.

• Well defined.

• Some high-relief regions:

• Pacific Mountains.

• Rocky Mountains.

• Appalachian Mountains.

• Some lowland regions:

• Great Plains.

• Interior Lowlands.

• Various Coastal Plains.

North America’s Physical Geography: Physiographic Regions • Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain

• Drained by many short rivers which flow from the interior to the coast.

• Some areas barely above sea level (Florida, Gulf Coast).

• Piedmont • Foothills to the east of the Appalachian highlands.

• Early settlements often were made at the fall line to take advantage of water power & because it was a break-in- bulk point.

• Appalachian Highlands • Low, old mountain range.

• No major impediment to transportation.

• Resource area – coal, iron ore etc.

• Canadian Shield (encircles Hudson Bay) • The oldest rock formations in North America.

• The “anchor” of the North American continent.

• Very thin soil – developed after the last glacial advance.

• Arctic coastal Plain (south coast Hudson Bay) • Cold area – difficult to develop.

• Permafrost.

• Great Plains • Semi-arid area – gets drier from east to west.

• Wheat growing areas of U.S. and Canada.

• Rocky Mountains • North-South orientation affects climate.

• Storehouse of many minerals.

• Lumbering & winter-sport tourism.

• Younger mountains than Appalachians, therefore more of an impediment to transportation.

• Intermontane Basins & Plateaus • Rather dry area.

• North/south oriented – Between the Rockies and Sierra Nevada/Cascade ranges.

• Pacific Mountains and Valleys • First interruption of westerly winds (orographic precipitation) –

north-south orientation.

• Three large, useful valleys:

California’s Central Valley.

Cowlitz-Puget Sound lowland of Washington and Oregon.

Lower Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

• Interior Highlands

• A dissected plateau known as the Ozarks.

• Interior Lowlands

• Much of the best agricultural land. • Parent material for the soil for much of the area is

glacial till.

The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians,

are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The

Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago.

The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado

The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a

major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky

Mountains stretch 3,000 km (1,900 mi) in straight-line

distance from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in

western Canada, to New Mexico in the Southwestern United

States. Located within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies

are distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, and

the Sierra Nevada, which all lie farther to the west.

The Rocky Mountains formed 80 million to 55 million years

ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates

began sliding underneath the North American plate.

• Very diversified, ranging from continental humid

to sub tropical.

• Large tracks of land are suitable for agriculture.

• Relatively simple weather system:

• Varies from west to east.

• Influenced by air masses moving from the

arctic (cold and dry) and from the gulf of

Mexico (hot and wet).

• Humid east experiences weather extremes

due to frigid Arctic and subtropical seasonal

air masses.

• The southeast section of the United States:

• A high precipitation level.

• Result of movements of air masses from the

gulf of Mexico.

• Subject to tropical storms coming from the

South Atlantic.

North America’s Physical Geography: Climate

https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/228159

Air Masses of North America

North America’s Physical Geography: Climate

■ North America is under the

influence of Pacific, Arctic

and Tropical air masses.

■ This distribution of land, sea

and mountains produces a

highly variable weather.

■ From one day to another,

mild, sunny air from the

Rocky Mountains may

replace moist, warm, cloudy

tropical air and then give way

to cold Arctic air.

Seasonal Air Flow over North America

NAVAIR, 1966

January

OctoberJuly

April

North America’s Physical Geography: Climate

■ East/west gradient in precipitation

• Wet air from the Pacific.

• When reaching the coastal chain and the Sierra Nevada is forced to gain

altitude.

• Air cooling process forces precipitation over the West Side of these mountain

chains.

• Once the ridges passed over, the air becomes dryer.

• Rainshadow effect of the western mountains:

• Blocks moisture to the Great Plains.

• Low level of rain falling over the high plateaus and the western part of the

Great Plains.

• As it moves east, air masses gain in humidity through land evaporation and

precipitation levels rise.

Precipitation in North America

Hot & Dry Hot & Wet

Cold

Precipitation

North America’s Physical Geography: Great Lakes and Great Rivers

■ Two great drainage systems between the Rockies and Appalachians:

• Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River into the northern Atlantic.

• Mississippi-Missouri Rivers into a delta on the Gulf of Mexico.

• Both have been modified by human engineering:

• Dams (hydroelectricity and flood control).

• Canals (navigation; St. Lawrence Seaway).

• Irrigation.

A diagram of the location of tornado alley and the related weather systems. Heavily based on File:Tor alley.jpg (public domain, NOAA) but modified to include data from File:Significant tornado alley.gif (public domain, NOAA). 18 September 2009 Dan Craggs

The United States

has the most

tornadoes of any

country, nearly four

times more than

estimated in all of

Europe. This is

mostly due to the

unique geography

of the continent.

Areas worldwide where tornadoes are most likely, indicated by orange shading

The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, nearly four times more than estimated in all of Europe, excluding waterspouts. This is mostly due to the unique geography of the continent. The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes per year, followed by Canada, averaging 62 reported per year. NOAA's has a higher average 100 per year in Canada.

Picture Source: US Geological Survey

Hurricane Alex, a category 3

storm at its strongest,

traveled north along the east

coast of North America in

August 2004 causing

flooding, strong waves, and rip tides along the coast.

Credit: NOAA

A tropical cyclone is a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation. Tropical cyclones rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. They are classified as follows: Tropical Depression: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less. Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34 to 63 knots). Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones. Major Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots) or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Tropical cyclones forming between 5 and 30 degrees North latitude typically move toward the west. Sometimes the winds in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere change and steer the cyclone toward the north and northwest. When tropical cyclones reach latitudes near 30 degrees North, they often move northeast.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard

Map shows the strength of ground shaking that has a 1 in 50

chance of being exceeded in a particular place in the lower 48

states over a period of 50 years. These maps are used in

determining building seismic codes, insurance rates, and other

public decisions.

Earthquake hazard map

San Francisco fire 1906

San Francisco 360° panorama showing damage, 1906

Year Type Fatalities Damage (US$) Article Location Comments

1900 Tropical cyclone 6,000 to 12,000

$28,000,000 (approximate)

1900 Galveston hurricane Texas Fatalities estimated. Remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

1899 Tropical cyclone 3,389 $20,000,000 (1899)

1899 San Ciriaco hurricane

Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disasters_in_the_United_States_by_death_toll

1906 Earthquake and fire (urban conflagration)

3,000+ 1906 San Francisco earthquake

San Francisco, California

Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated; also major casualties in Santa Rosa and San Jose. Deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday,

April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). High intensity

shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south of the San

Francisco Bay Area. Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result, up to 3,000

people died. Over 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed. The events are remembered as one of the

worst and deadliest earthquakes in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from

a natural disaster in California's history and high in the lists of American disasters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake

Benefits of ocean Transportation: •Suitable for a wide range of products • Large volume shipping •Most environmentally friendly within all modes of transport • Economical and cost effective. • Extensive worldwide coverage • Multiple carrier options

Western Hemisphere as the United States' sphere of interest

https://gwtimpex.co.uk/sea-vs-road-vs-air-freight/

The Monroe Doctrine was articulated in President James Monroe's seventh annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823. The European powers, according to Monroe, were obligated to respect the Western Hemisphere as the United States' sphere of interest.

President James Monroe’s 1823 annual message to Congress contained the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. Understandably, the United States has always taken a particular interest in its closest neighbors – the nations of the Western Hemisphere. Equally understandably, expressions of this concern have not always been favorably regarded by other American nations. The Monroe Doctrine is the best known U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. Buried in a routine annual message delivered to Congress by President James Monroe in December 1823, the doctrine warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs. The doctrine was conceived to meet major concerns of the moment, but it soon became a watchword of U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was invoked in 1865 when the U.S. government exerted diplomatic and military pressure in support of the Mexican President Benito Juárez. This support enabled Juárez to lead a successful revolt against the Emperor Maximilian, who had been placed on the throne by the French government. Almost 40 years later, in 1904, European creditors of a number of Latin American countries threatened armed intervention to collect debts. President Theodore Roosevelt promptly proclaimed the right of the United States to exercise an “international police power” to curb such “chronic wrongdoing.” As a result, U. S. Marines were sent into Santo Domingo in 1904, Nicaragua in 1911, and Haiti in 1915, ostensibly to keep the Europeans out. Other Latin American nations viewed these interventions with misgiving, and relations between the “great Colossus of the North” and its southern neighbors remained strained for many years. In 1962, the Monroe Doctrine was invoked symbolically when the Soviet Union began to build missile-launching sites in Cuba. With the support of the Organization of American States, President John F. Kennedy threw a naval and air quarantine around the island. After several tense days, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw the missiles and dismantle the sites. Subsequently, the United States dismantled several of its obsolete air and missile bases in Turkey. (Information excerpted from Milestone Documents [Washington, DC: The National Archives and Records Administration, 1995] pp. 26–29.)