Here’s a good trick question: How many nations are there in North America? Most of us would probably answer three: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Seems obvious, but actually wrong. Try 23. That’s right, twenty-three.
Surprised and/or confused? Well, you’re in good company. For starters, it’s easy to forget that Central America is technically part of the North American continent. That adds six more nations, bringing the total to nine. So, where are those remaining fourteen nations? Mostly in the Caribbean.
That might not seem so obvious at first glance because these nations are islands, after all. But those islands were once connected by a land bridge to both North and South America. And even though much of the Caribbean sits on an eponymously named plate, it is still considered part of the North American continent. That adds thirteen more countries (…think Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and all those island nations in the Greater and Lesser Antilles…) and brings our total to twenty-two (22).
What’s missing? The Bahamas, which are part of the Lucayan Archipelago. which is in the Atlantic Ocean, not the Caribbean Sea.
Of course, the big three nations of North America are Canada, Mexico and the United States. All three nations are blessed with astounding geography and scenic beauty that culminates with the Pacific Ocean on their western edge and the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern edge (…in Mexico’s east, it’s the Gulf of Mexico…)