The Americas
Central America
Central America is the region located between North and South America, beginning with Mexico in the north to Panama in the south. Central America is the location of Mesoamerican cultures like the Aztec, the Maya, and many others. Because of its equatorial location, Central America is largely tropical, with a huge amount of biodiversity. The presence of fault lines in the area means there is also a large amount of seismic and volcanic activity, the latter of which contributes to the fertility of the region.
North America
The first settlers of North America came as long as 30,000 years ago across a “land bridge,” or an area of land joining two separate continents, that connected Siberia to Alaska–a bridge that has since been covered by water from melted glaciers. Their migration, which continued into as little as 10,000 years ago, spread them across the entire continent. Estimates of their population numbers ran between three and eighteen million. After settlers from Europe arrived, this number dropped as low as 248,000 in 1890 (on an official census).
South America
South America is the continent south of North and Central America. A large part of the continent is equatorial and the climate is more temperate and tropical. The southern region of South America is more arid, and the coastline of Chile is known for volcanic and seismic activity.