North America and Surrounding Islands
- Northernmost point — Kaffeklubben Island, Greenland 83°40′N 29°50′W / 83.66667°N 29.83333°W / 83.66667; -29.83333 (Kaffeklubben Island). Although politically part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is geologically part of the North American plate. If Greenland is excluded from North America, the northernmost point is Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada 83°8′N 74°13′W / 83.13333°N 74.21667°W / 83.13333; -74.21667 (Cape Columbia).
- Southernmost point — Cocos Island, Costa Rica 5°31′8″N 87°4′18″W / 5.51889°N 87.07167°W / 5.51889; -87.07167 (Cocos Island)
- Westernmost point — The westernmost point depends on the definition of "westernmost". If following the International Date Line, it would be Cape Wrangell on Attu Island, Alaska, United States 52°55′28″N 172°28′22″E / 52.92444°N 172.47278°E / 52.92444; 172.47278 (Cape Wrangell). However, if the border between east and west is defined by the 180th meridian, the westernmost point is the West Point of Amatignak Island 51°17′N 179°9′W / 51.28333°N 179.15°W / 51.28333; -179.15 (West Point of Amatignak Island), as Attu Island is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
- Easternmost point — Nordostrundingen, Greenland 81°26′25″N 11°29′22″W / 81.44028°N 11.48944°W / 81.44028; -11.48944 (Nordostrundingen). If Greenland is excluded then the easternmost point is Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Canada 47°31′25″N 52°37′10″W / 47.52361°N 52.61944°W / 47.52361; -52.61944 (Cape Spear). Again, if one uses the technical definition of longitude it is Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska, 51°57′N 179°52′E / 51.95°N 179.86667°E / 51.95; 179.86667 (Pochnoi Point) since the state stretches into the Eastern Hemisphere.
Read more about this topic: Extreme Points Of North America
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“The English were very backward to explore and settle the continent which they had stumbled upon. The French preceded them both in their attempts to colonize the continent of North America ... and in their first permanent settlement ... And the right of possession, naturally enough, was the one which England mainly respected and recognized in the case of Spain, of Portugal, and also of France, from the time of Henry VII.”
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