Would you classify Middle America with South America or North America? Why?

Hi ciao!

Thanks again for the fascinating question. 

The first thing we need to do is define what Middle America includes.
The best, simplest definition I was able to find was at:

INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA
URL: http://fga.freac.fsu.edu/academy/msintro.htm
Quote: 
"Middle America includes all mainland and island countries and
territories that
lie between the United States and the continent of South America.
Middle
America includes Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Basin, the
greater
Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. All lands and islands between the
United
States to the north and South America to the south:
- substantial landmass of Mexico
- narrowing strip of land extending from Guatemala to Panama
- Many large and small islands of the Caribbean Sea to the east"

I have seen some definitions that say Mexico may be excluded from
Middle America, and some definitions that say the Caribbean may be
excluded - but I think it is best to go with the inclusive definition
above.

A good, small, labeled map of this region can be found at: 

Places Online - Middle America
URL: http://www.placesonline.org/sitelists/nam/middleamerica/middleamerica.asp


I think that any decision about whether Middle America should be
classified with either North America or South America depends largely
upon which "measuring stick" you are using.

If you are looking at it strictly from a "physical geography"
viewpoint, I would say that Middle America is part of North America.
Mexico, the largest landmass in Middle America by far, shares a 1,989
mile border with the United States

Patrolling Which Borders? 
URL: http://trac.syr.edu/tracins/findings/aboutINS/newFindings.html

and can't really be thought of a physically part of South America. On
the other end, Panama connects to Columbia with a border of less than
250 miles. As well, very little of South America juts out into the
Caribbean Sea, while substantial parts of the United States (in
Florida and Texas) extend into the Gulf of Mexico. (For example,
Florida is very near Cuba - the largest island in the Caribbean.)

Add on top of this that all of Middle America is above the equator,
like North America, while the large majority of South America is below
the equator, and I think that it would be hard to argue that Middle
America belongs with its northern neighbor.

(Another clinching argument for me is that my National Geographic map
of North America includes Middle America, while the map for South
America does not.)

If, however, you are looking at it strictly from a "human geography"
viewpoint, I would say that Middle America is part of South America.
The two regions are commonly combined together as "Latin America" when
talking about culture, politics, language, and a myriad of other
dimensions. Middle America shares much more in common with South
America in these respects than it does with the United States and
Canada (though the "Latin" influence in the United States is growing
every year).

Some examples of how Middle America is seen as part of Latin America
include:

Latin America 
URL: http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/latin.html

Journey Latin America
URL: http://www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk/map/map.htm

Countries in Latin America & the Caribbean
URL: http://lanic.utexas.edu/subject/countries/

So, where does this leave us? If I had to pick one viewpoint over the
other I would choose to include Middle America with South America,
since the more "human" dimensions of their similarities speak louder
than the "scientific" geographical connections to North America.
Others, of course, might see it differently.


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Thanks for all of the detail.  It really helps me.  Great answer!