Americas

=== Geology ===
South America broke off from the west of the supercontinent [[Gondwana]] around 135&nbsp;million years ago, forming its own continent.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Story|first=Brian C.|date=September 28, 1995|title=The role of mantle plumes in continental breakup: case histories from Gondwanaland|journal=Nature|volume=377|issue=6547|pages=301–309|doi=10.1038/377301a0|bibcode=1995Natur.377..301S|s2cid=4242617}}</ref> Around 15&nbsp;million years ago, the collision of the [[Caribbean Plate]] and the [[Pacific Plate]] resulted in the emergence of a series of volcanoes along the border that created a number of islands. The gaps in the archipelago of Central America filled in with material eroded off North America and South America, plus new land created by continued volcanism. By three million years ago, the continents of North America and South America were linked by the [[Isthmus of Panama]], thereby forming the single landmass of the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/andes/bridge.html |title=Land bridge: How did the formation of a sliver of land result in major changes in biodiversity |publisher=Public Broadcasting Corporation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011111949/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/andes/bridge.html |archive-date=October 11, 2007 }}</ref> The [[Great American Interchange]] resulted in many species being spread across the Americas, such as the [[cougar]], [[New World porcupine|porcupine]], [[opossum]]s, [[armadillo]]s and [[hummingbird]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16401 |title=Panama: Isthmus that Changed the World |access-date=July 1, 2008 |publisher=[[NASA]] Earth Observatory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802015424/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16401 |archive-date=August 2, 2007 }}</ref>