on which continent is the usa located?
North America
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 In his book The Three Americas ( 1935 ) , Widney suggested that the United States , Canada , the United Kingdom , Australia , New Zealand , and South Africa form an Anglo @-@ Saxon federation with freedom of migration and a common citizenship . 

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 The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for three sovereign nations through Compact of Free Association with Micronesia , the Marshall Islands and Palau . These are Pacific island nations , once part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands after World War II , which gained independence in subsequent years . 

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 = = = = Central and South America = = = = 

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 The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly referred to as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a federal republic composed of 50 states , the federal district of Washington , D.C. , five major self @-@ governing territories , and various possessions . The 48 contiguous states and federal district are in central North America between Canada and Mexico , with the state of Alaska in the northwestern part of North America and the state of Hawaii comprising an archipelago in the mid @-@ Pacific . The territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea . At 3 @.@ 8 million square miles ( 9 @.@ 8 million km2 ) and with over 320 million people , the U.S. is the world 's third largest country by total area ( and fourth largest by land area ) and the third most populous . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , the product of large @-@ scale immigration from many other countries . The geography and climate are also extremely diverse , and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife . 

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 The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century , displacing American Indian tribes , acquiring new territories , and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848 . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the end of legal slavery in the country . By the end of that century , the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean , and its economy , driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution , began to soar . The Spanish – American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power . The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower , the first country to develop nuclear weapons , the only country to use them in warfare , and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council . The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world 's sole superpower . 
