# México part of N.A.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247 "2014-04-03T13:41:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/21 "2014-04-03T17:46:11Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Because no SMART people ever considered CENTRAL America to even be a continent? Nor did they ever type in all CAPs to make a point. Central America is region. The North and South American continents are actually one and only called by separately due to the hemispheres they reside in. Makes for less confusion. To add some more clarity, Central America is a region within the continent of North America. ETA: Perhaps the OP’s question should have been “Why isn’t Mexico considered part of Central America?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/22 "2014-04-03T17:53:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > What you _believe in_ is irrelevant, unnecessary and most likely wrong. As a concept of **geography** , Mexico is quite firmly part of North America, no matter what you believe. Apparently, [Lonely Planet](http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/central-america/) doesn’t believe so, either. I know, it’s an unusual definition of “Central America,” but lopping Mexico into Central America isn’t exactly unique. A better term would be [Middle America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_America_(region)). In any case, both are subregions of what is generally considered North America. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/23 "2014-04-03T17:55:13Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Well, South America is partly in the northern hemisphere. The entire land mass is, from north to south, “fat bit, skinny bit, fat bit”, so it makes sense to have separate names for the two fat bits. Mexico is clearly part of the northern fat bit. It’s not as fat as the more northern parts, but it certainly gets a fuckload skinnier before it gets fat again. I love it when people start talking in technical terms! So much more precise your answer is. 😉 A fuckload skinnier is Central America. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/24 "2014-04-03T18:04:50Z")
Is this one of those entertainment threads? Thanks OP! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/25 "2014-04-03T18:22:08Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > As far as I’m concerned anybody who says that México is part of North America is just going by convention and not really thinking it through very much. México is part of CENTRAL America - now THAT’s a statement that I can believe in! _Of course_ those who say Mexico is part of North America are “going by convention.” Because “going by convention” is another way of saying that Mexico is part of North America because that’s how the continent is defined. Wikipedia says, “The continent is delimited on the southeast by most geographers at the Darién watershed along the Colombia-Panama border, placing all of Panama within North America. Alternatively, a less common view would end North America at the man-made Panama Canal.” If you want to define North America as including only the USA and Canada or whatever grouping you wish to make, you’re free to do so. However, the rest of the world may not agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/26 "2014-04-03T18:26:28Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > Is this one of those entertainment threads? Thanks OP! Hey man, whatever you _believe_. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/27 "2014-04-03T18:31:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you want to define North America as including only the USA and Canada or whatever grouping you wish to make, you’re free to do so. However, the rest of the world may not agree with you. And don’t be surprised if the smart people make fun of you when you do so. That’s how those smarty pants SMART ASSES are. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/28 "2014-04-03T18:58:17Z")
North American was defined back in 1986 when Canada and Mexico arranged to engage in a trade block designed to integrate centralized planning into the market based USA. Hobbled by commitments to the emerging New World Order George Bush I tacitly agreed to NAFTA and the proposed super highway designed to not only facilitate troop and goods movement north and south but to break the American Midwest into 2 smaller east/west populations all the better to allow eastern/western elites to exert control over the state legislatures through the interstate commerce clause. How does no one not know this? :dubious: If the OP looks at the tectonic plate map here [File:Plates tect2 en.svg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg) they’ll notice that Canada, the US and Mexico are all on the North American plate. Though I’ll note the OP also forgot about Cuba, Jamaica et al. normally being included in NA. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/29 "2014-04-03T19:00:03Z")
He probably doesn’t believe those latter places exist. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/30 "2014-04-03T19:40:08Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > North American was defined back in 1986 when Canada and Mexico arranged to engage in a trade block designed to integrate centralized planning into the market based USA. So Europe is limited to those countries that are part of the European Union, i.e., Switzerland is not in Europe? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/31 "2014-04-03T20:31:18Z")
Of course not, that would be stupid Europe was defined back in 1951 by France and Germany (using Italy’s inclusion to ensure Luxembourg wouldn’t bolt) to ensure further expansion of labour based pan-nationalism, when designing the ECSC. Do they teach you nothing in Australia? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/32 "2014-04-03T20:47:30Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > Continents are not cultural or linguistic constructs. If they were, Finland would sure as hell not be considered European. > > If you don’t consider Mexico to be part of North America, then the parts of the USA that **used to** be Mexican would give you problems. Why would parts of New Mexico be considered North American, but not Mexico? But geographically-speaking Finland is part of continental Europe. There’s no debate about that, as far as I know. With México I don’t think it’s as clear-cut. I think it’s _very_ easy to say that México is part of Central, not North, America even geographically. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/33 "2014-04-03T20:52:17Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Because no SMART people ever considered CENTRAL America to even be a continent? Nor did they ever type in all CAPs to make a point. Central America is region. The North and South American continents are actually one and only called by separately due to the hemispheres they reside in. Makes for less confusion. Neither is North America!! From a land mass standpoint it’s really all just “America” from the northern-most tip of Canada to Cabo de Hornos (“hornos” translates as “ovens,” by the way - not “horns”). Heck, I remember that back in high school one of my instructors told us that many thought of Europe and Asia not as separate continents but as one large one - Eurasia. But politically and culturally Laos is clearly quite removed from, say, Norway. That’s why many make the distinction between the two (meaning: Europe and Asia, not Norway and Laos), I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/34 "2014-04-03T20:53:52Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Well, South America is partly in the northern hemisphere. The entire land mass is, from north to south, “fat bit, skinny bit, fat bit”, so it makes sense to have separate names for the two fat bits. Mexico is clearly part of the northern fat bit. It’s not as fat as the more northern parts, but it certainly gets a fuckload skinnier before it gets fat again. “Clearly,” eh? Okay - which continent is Turkey “clearly” part of: Asia or Europe? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/35 "2014-04-03T20:54:20Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > But geographically-speaking Finland is part of continental Europe. There’s no debate about that, as far as I know. With México I don’t think it’s as clear-cut. I think it’s _very_ easy to say that México is part of Central, not North, America even geographically. Ok, do you understand that Central America is not a continent? Now you might suggest that it should be, which would be a bit different from the way you asked the question. If you look at the Wikipedia cite I provided you’ll see that there is a dividing line in Mexico where the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea are closest to each other, and that would be a natural location for the northern extent of Central America, placing Mexico partly within it. However the border between Mexico and the US is rather arbitrary, so using that geopolitical border as purely geographic one doesn’t make much sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/36 "2014-04-03T20:56:55Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > [A very large part of the good ole USA used to be Mexico](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/United_States_1842-1845-03.png)! And many people in the United states speak Spanish as there primary language. There is no “official” language for the United States nor is there any one culture. We are a melting pot, a mongrel nation. To paraphrase from Stripes, our ancestors got kicked out of the best countries on earth. Look…his nose is cold! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/37 "2014-04-03T20:57:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Apparently, [Lonely Planet](http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/central-america/) doesn’t believe so, either. I know, it’s an unusual definition of “Central America,” but lopping Mexico into Central America isn’t exactly unique. A better term would be [Middle America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_America_(region)). In any case, both are subregions of what is generally considered North America. So you’re saying that “North America,” technically speaking, extends from the northern-most point of Canada down to Panama? Well if THAT’s the definition then yeah - I guess México IS part of North America, then. But linguistically and culturally I still don’t think that makes much sense. For me the U.S. and Canada are “North” America. Every other country on this continent simply isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/38 "2014-04-03T21:02:20Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > “Clearly,” eh? Okay - which continent is Turkey “clearly” part of: Asia or Europe? Really? You do know the Anatolian peninsula part of modern Turkey has been considered part of Asia since antiquity right? Heck people even call it Asia minor. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/39 "2014-04-03T21:02:48Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > So you’re saying that “North America,” technically speaking, extends from the northern-most point of Canada down to Panama? Well if THAT’s the definition then yeah - I guess México IS part of North America, then. But linguistically and culturally I still don’t think that makes much sense. For me the U.S. and Canada are “North” America. Every other country on this continent simply isn’t. As others noted up thread, what’s your thoughts on French speaking Canada then? Linguistically and culturally they aren’t any more different to the US and Canada than Mexico is. What about the Cajun south? Are they part of North America? What about the South West? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247/40 "2014-04-03T21:04:23Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > So you’re saying that “North America,” technically speaking, extends from the northern-most point of Canada down to Panama? Well if THAT’s the definition then yeah - I guess México IS part of North America, then. But linguistically and culturally I still don’t think that makes much sense. For me the U.S. and Canada are “North” America. Every other country on this continent simply isn’t. This Canadian says your wrong. Since I’ve got a bigger country my vote counts for more. Mexico is in. I’ll even allow Bermuda and those flighty French islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-part-of-n-a/685247.md?page=3)