The most interesting facts about North America

Any country, as, indeed, any continent is going through a difficult period of formation. The same can be said about North America. For the first time in Europe, it was learned about it thanks to the great seafarer Christopher Columbus. Since then, much has changed, now it is a developed continent that is flourishing. Learn from the article the most interesting facts about North America.

Facts about the USA

It is impossible, telling interesting facts about North America, not to mention the largest state on this continent - the United States of America:

• In 1938, the country first established a minimum wage, which was only 25 cents per hour.
• In New York, an incredible number of people come every year. To date, more Irish live here than in Dublin itself, more Italians than Rome's capital of Italy, there are even more Jews here than in Tel Aviv.
• The capital of Vermont - Montpellier is the smallest state capital with a population of about 9 thousand people.
• The capital of the United States is home to the most black population than any other city in the country.

Money, money, money

What else is North America famous for? The most interesting thing about money on the territory of the continent:

• The US Treasury has a denomination of $ 100,000, which depicts a portrait of Woodrow Wilson. However, this par value is used only for state calculations, the common people do not have access to it.
• The first paper bills of North America were printed on maps. Since in 1685 the government of Canada suffered from a shortage of francs, it was decided to print money on the card stock of the playing deck. They were used in the French part of Canada. It was assumed that this would be a temporary solution, but the colonists were so pleased with this money that they remained in circulation for another hundred years.
• Until 1857, coins made of precious metals were considered a means of payment.
• Until 1933, a coin in one dime (10 cents) could only be used for payments of 10 dollars. However, the US Congress decided to make it a means of settlement for transactions of any amount.

Hard times

Like in the territory of any continent, there were wars, hunger and lawlessness. Although this is not the most pleasant period in history, however, the facts about North America in very difficult times are very informative:

• Henry Ford released an anti-Semitic newspaper, against which American Jews spoke. After being sued by Ford, he stopped publishing.
• The first slaves were delivered to North America in 1619 on a Danish ship.
• The last place where slavery was abolished was Cuba (it was banned in that country in 1886).

Opening

• The first inhabitants appeared on the territory of the continent even 2,5-3 thousand years ago, and to date the population of the continent is about 400 million people.
• North America was opened on October 12, 1492, when the crew members of Columbus landed here. By the way, the seafarer, famous for centuries, did not know that he managed to open a new continent.
• However, Columbus was not the first to set foot on the land of North America. First came here by sea Vikings, who founded settlements in Greenland and Iceland.

All about a little bit

• North America is the third largest continent of our planet. Its total area is 24.3 million km ² .
• Telling interesting facts about North America, it is impossible not to mention the local vegetation. It is on this continent that you can meet the most ancient representatives of the plant world in the world - the sequoia. Species growing here can reach 100-150 meters in height and 20 meters in diameter.
• River and lake systems are especially developed here. The longest river in North America is the Mississippi. And Great Lakes is the largest lake system in the whole world.
• The name Yucatan takes its roots from the adverb of the Indian language. When the first Europeans landed here and asked the local population what the name of this land is, they answered "Yucatan". In a literal translation, this means "We do not understand you".
• An unusual representative of the fauna - the musk ox - that lives on the continent, is an animal similar to both a bull and a ram. The length of his body is about 2.5 meters, and the height can reach 1 meter.
• The capital of the state of Texas - the city of Austin - is famous for its bats! Here for each person there are two representatives of these animals. Here in the evening people often gather on the river bank to watch the bats.
• The border between the United States and Canada is not at all guarded by the military. Its length is 8900 km, and partly it passes through apartment houses.
• The oceans of North America are washing the continent from three sides. From the north - the Arctic, from the east - the Atlantic, from the west - the Pacific.

Now you know the most interesting facts about North America, from vegetation to geographical features.