The Americas, or America,[5][6][7] also known as the Western Hemisphere,[8] and the New World,

are the combined continental landmasses ofNorth America and South America.[9][10][11] Along with
their associated islands, they cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (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, Mississippi, and La Plata. Since the Americas extend
14,000 km (8,700 mi) from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the
arctic tundra of Northern Canada, Greenland, andAlaska, 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.[12]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 colonised the Americas.[13] Mass emigration from
Europe, including large numbers of indentured servants, and forced immigration of African
slaves largely replaced the Indigenous Peoples. Beginning with the American Revolution in 1776
and Haitian Revolution in 1791, the European powers began to decolonise the Americas.
Currently, almost all of the population of the Americas resides in independent countries; however,
the legacy of the colonisation 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.
More than 900 million people live in the Americas, 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 So Paulo, Mexico City and New York City.