America, also called the Western Continent or the New World,
consists of three main divisions: North America, Central
America, and South America. The first of these extends from
(about) 70° to 15° north latitude. Central America forms an
isthmus running from northwest to southeast and narrowing to a
strip of thirty miles in width at Panama; this isthmus extends
from 15° to 8° north latitude, where it connects with the
western coast of South America. South America begins in latitude
12° north, terminating in latitude 55° south. Hence North
America approximately extends over 3,800 English miles from
north to south, South America 4,500, and Central America
constitutes a diagonal running between the two larger masses,
from northwest to southeast and is approximately a thousand
miles in length. As the object of this article is to compile the
data which will help the reader appreciate the Christian
settlement and civilization of America, we omit here the
geography, geology, and other topics usually treated in gener