North American Basin
North American Basin
a depression in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean between the North Atlantic Ridge, the continental slope of North America, and the rise of the crescent of the West Indies. Prevailing depths are greater than 5,000 m. The Bermuda Rise, the base of the islands of Bermuda, is in the central part of the basin. The floor of the basin is mainly covered by abyssal red clay and terrigenous silts. The deep Puerto Rico Trench, which has a depth of approximately 8,742 m, the greatest depth in the Atlantic Ocean, is located in the south-western part of the North American Basin.
| Table 3. Political divisions of North America | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| States | Area (thousand sq km) | Population1 (thousands) | Capital or administrative center |
| 1 Mid-1972, estimate 2Excluding the Panama Canal Zone 3Under US jurisdiction 4Officially an overseas department Source: Statistical Yearbook 1973. United Nations, New York, 1974. | |||
| Independent states | |||
| Bahamas.................................. | 13.9 | 185 | Nassau |
| Barbados ................................. | 0.43 | 240 | Bridgetown |
| Canada ................................... | 9,976.1 | 21,848 | Ottawa |
| Costa Rica................................. | 50.7 | 1,843 | San José |
| Cuba .................................... | 114.5 | 8,749 | Havana |
| Dominican Republic........................... | 48.7 | 4,305 | Santo Domingo |
| El Salvador ................................ | 21.4 | 3,760 | San Salvador |
| Grenada .................................. | 0.34 | 96 | St. George’s |
| Guatemala................................. | 108.9 | 5,409 | Guatemala |
| Haiti..................................... | 27.8 | 5,073 | Port-au-Prince |
| Honduras ................................. | 112.1 | 2,687 | Tegucigalpa |
| Jamaica .................................. | 11.0 | 1,923 | Kingston |
| Mexico ................................... | 1,972.5 | 52,641 | Mexico City |
| Nicaragua................................. | 130.0 | 1,988 | Managua |
| Panama2.................................. | 75.6 | 1,524 | Panama |
| Trinidad and Tobago .......................... | 5.1 | 1,044 | Port of Spain |
| United States ............................... | 9,363.1 | 208,842 | Washington, D.C. |
| Possessions of capitalist states | |||
| Possessions of Great Britain | |||
| Antigua................................... | 0.4 | 73 | St. John’s |
| Belize.................................... | 23.0 | 128 | Belmopan |
| Bermuda.................................. | 0.05 | 56 | Hamilton |
| Cayman Islands.............................. | 0.26 | 11 | Georgetown |
| Dominica.................................. | 0.8 | 73 | Roseau |
| Montserrat................................. | 0.1 | 12 | Plymouth |
| St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla......................... | 0.4 | 65 | Basseterre |
| St. Lucia .................................. | 0.6 | 115 | Castries |
| St. Vincent................................. | 0.6 | 91 | Kingstown |
| Turks and Caicos Islands........................ | 0.4 | 6 | Grand Turk |
| Virgin Island(part).................. | 0.15 | 10 | Road Town |
| Possessions of United States | |||
| Panama Canal Zone3 .......................... | 1.4 | 45 | Balboa Heights |
| Puerto Rico ................................ | 8.9 | 2,856 | San Juan |
| Virgin Islands (part) ........................... | 0.3 | 67 | Charlotte Amalie |
| Possessions of France | |||
| Guadeloupe4 ............................... | 1.8 | 337 | Basse-Terre |
| Martinique4 ................................ | 1.1 | 344 | Fort-de-France |
| St. Pierre and Miquelon4 ........................ | 0.2 | 6 | St. Pierre |
| Possessions of the Netherlands | |||
| Netherlands Antilles........................... | 1.0 | 230 | Willemstad |
| Possessions of Denmark | |||
| Greenland................................. | 2,175.6 | 52 | Godthaab |