WHAT IS THE ASTRONOMICAL POSITION OF AMERICA? - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The astronomical position of America corresponds to the geographic coordinates in which the American continent is located. This position is usually measured at the ends of the continent.

Thus, America goes from Punta Barrow 71 ° 23 'to the north, to the Diego Ramírez Islands 56 ° south, and from Recife 35 ° to the east, to Attu Island in Alaska at 173 ° 11' in the west.

America is the second largest continent on the planet by extension, after Asia. It covers an area of ​​approximately 42 million km² and the location of its most extreme points is in Alaska, Chile, Brazil and the Aleutian Islands.

The geographical position of the continent is quite favorable, since it goes from one pole to the other. In this way, within the American continent a wide variety of climates, diverse landscapes and a great natural wealth can be found (Dalles, 2012).

On the other hand, America is surrounded by two oceans, which gives the continent a wonderful potential for coastal development.

Also, it is a vastly populated continent, due to the great variety of climates and resources that it boasts throughout its territory.

Absolute coordinates of the astronomical position of America

The astronomical coordinates of America indicate that this continent is located at 71 ° 23 'north latitude, at Barrow Point (Alaska); at 55 ° 55 'south latitude, at Cape Horn (Chile); at longitude 35 ° in the east, in Recife (Brazil); and at 164 ° 42 'longitude in the west, at Cape Prince of Wales, (Alaska) (Geographical, Pedagogical Folder, 2014).

This indicates that America is located in the western hemisphere of the Earth, being the only continent that is located in both poles. The continent is separated from Africa and Europe by the Atlantic Ocean and from Asia and Oceania by the Pacific Ocean.

Both north and south, the continent is embraced by the Arctic and Antarctic glacial oceans, respectively (Britannica, 2007). Because of its location, America has a wide variety of climates.

In this way, high and low temperatures can be found within the same territory. This makes the land more suitable for the exploitation of many natural resources, and that, in turn, the coast is widely exploited.

The great variety of climates and landscapes that the continent has, thanks to its geographical location, allows the existence of dense and dispersed populations whose development depends on the exploitation of the natural resources available in the area.

The American continent is divided into three large areas, each one with a specific astronomical position. These areas are North America, Central America, and South America. The last two areas share quite a few cultural and language similarities (mostly).

North America

This section of America is known as the Anglo-Saxon territory and in it the cultural heritage left by the English is shared. In this way, the inhabitants of North America are mostly English-speaking and inhabit the territory covered by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The astronomical location of North America indicates that it is located in the boreal hemisphere, its territory reaches the Arctic Circle and covers the surface of Mexico. In this way, it reaches 15 ° latitude to the north and has an area of ​​more than 23 million km².

Due to its location, North America borders the Arctic Glacial Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean and Central America to the south and west. Its territory extends to the Bering Strait, the island of Greenland and Iceland, having a particular proximity to Asia.

However, the astronomical position of North America indicates that it is at a greater distance from Africa (1,600 kilometers) and Oceania (9,600 kilometers). Due to its large area of ​​land, it has a great diversity of both fauna and flora. Also, it is one of the subcontinents richest in water resources (Pedagógica, 2014).

Central America

This subcontinent of America is located between North and South America and consists of the strip of territory that connects the two largest extensions of land on the continent. The total extension of this strip is 522,760 km².

Its coordinates place it as a natural bridge that limits to the north with Mexico, to the south with Colombia and to the east and west with the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, respectively. Its astronomical position indicates that it is located in the western hemisphere and northern or boreal hemisphere (Long, 1841).

This location makes this section of America characterized by having a mostly tropical and coastal climate. Giving rise to the presence of a vast torrid zone and beaches on both sides of the subcontinent.

South America

Both South America and Central America are recognized as Hispanic America and are part of a common cultural group whose heritage and oral tradition comes mostly from Spain, therefore, their main language is Spanish (World, 2017).

The astronomical coordinates of this section of the continent indicate that it is located between 11 ° north latitude on the coasts of Venezuela, and 56 ° 30 'south latitude at Cape Horn in Chile. Thus, South America is located in the southern part of the American continent.

The territory has a total area of ​​approximately 17 million km² and has two extremely important points: the Aconcagua snow-capped mountain (Argentina) which marks the highest point of this section of the continent, the Valdés peninsula which marks the highest point low (Geographical, 2014).

South America borders different oceans. In the north and east it meets the Atlantic Ocean; in the west it borders the Pacific Ocean, and in the south with the Drake Pass, a channel that separates the American territory from Antarctica, where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet.

Due to its geographical location, South America is one of the world's richest territories in natural resources, fauna and flora, being home to 70% of the world's vertebrate species.

References

1. Britannica, TE (September 2, 2007). Encyclopædia Britannica. Obtained from Americas: global.britannica.com.
2. Dalles, LP (April 24, 2012). ABC Color. Obtained from Geographical position of America: abc.com.py.
3. Geografica, C. (2014). Pedagogical Folder. Obtained from South America: Geographic Location: Cienciageografica.carpetapedagogica.com.
4. Geografica, C. (2014). Pedagogical Folder. Obtained from Extreme Points of America:
5. Long, G. (1841). The Geography of America, and the West Indies. London: Society for the diffussion of useful knowledge.
6. Pedagógica, C. (2014). Pedagogical Folder. Obtained from North America: Geographic Location:
7. World, O. (2017). One World - Nations Online. Retrieved from The Continents of the World: nationsonline.org.