Let's zoom in on North America. It's the world's third largest continent, after Asia and Africa, and perhaps the place you call home — all 9,540,000 square miles (24,700,000 km2) of it. How much of it have you explored? The diversity of spectacular habitats here is truly amazing. These include:
• The Rocky Mountains, spanning more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) across the United States and Canada.
• Denali, or Mount McKinley, which rises 20,320 feet (6,190 m) above sea level.
• The Mississippi River, which runs 2,320 miles (3,733 km) from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
• Wide expanses of polar ice.
• The many unique wetlands and other habitats found in Florida's Everglades.
If you live in North America, you might be surprised by the fantastic variety of wildlife living here. Of course there are the large, distinctive animals such as the bald eagle, black bear, and mountain lion. Then there are thousands of lesser known, but equally fascinating, species such as endangered freshwater mussels, and Florida's jewel-like tree snails, a blind cave salamander — to name a few.