11 Oct
2012
11 Oct
'12
4:19 p.m.
On 10/11/2012 03:41 PM, Chris Tofu wrote:
C: You're forgetting about central America. I
actually thought that
Mexico was part of it, but I may stand to be corrected. People from
say Guatemala see themselves as central Americans. If you talk about
Brazil or Argentina say, they'll tell you "that's south America".
Well, it depends upon your viewpoint. Consider the IOC, for instance.
From WikiP:
"Prior to 1951, the official handbook stated that each color
corresponded to a particular continent: blue for Europe, yellow for
Asia, black for Africa, green for Australia and Oceania and red for
America (North and South considered as a single continent)"
And many Spanish-speaking countries consider the North and South
sub-continents to be part of the larger single American continent, in
much the same way, for example that India lies on a subcontinent of Asia.
Central America is loosely thought of as the skinny isthmus connecting
the two sub-continents. Again, from WikiP:
"Physiographically, Central America is the tapering isthmus of southern
North America, with unique and varied features extending from the
north-western borders of Belize and Guatemala southeastward to the
Isthmus of Panama where it connects to the Colombian Pacific Lowlands in
northwestern South America. Alternatively, some physiographists locate
its northern border at some point in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico."
Geologically, most of Central America, however it's defined, lies on the
Caribbean Plate, which is another distinguishing characteristic, as it's
bordered on the north and south by the North American plate and the
South American plate respectively.
Again, it all depends upon your viewpoint.
--Chuck