| Summary: |
Canada and the USA comprise a huge and varied land, stretching from the Arctic ice fields in the north to semi-tropical swamps in the south. Encompassing more thatn 8 million square miles, together they form that third largest continent in the world. The early settlers thought they had some to the promised land. They found an incredibly rich country, teeming with wildlife and of breathtaking beauty. Its mountain ranges, prairies, subtropical wetlands, rolling temperate forest, huge lakes and deserts held wonders without parallel elsewhere in the world. Many families of mammals originated in Canad and the USA, and more entered from South America when the panama land bridge joined the two continents 3 million years ago. They are now home to more the 2,000 species of vertebrates,mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish and to tens of thousands of invertebrate species. Inevitably the stars are those creatures and plants most peculiarly North American--bisons, wild turkeys, bald eagles, rattlesnakes and alligators, as well as giant redwoods. The region is also host to one of the world's smallest mammals the pygmy shew and to the largest bears--the Alaskan brown bear and the polar bear. Unusual reptilesinclude the alligator snapping turtle, and the non-venomous king snake. It is this continent, too, that witnesses the flight of the rare and magnificent Califnornia Condor. |
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