continent wheeler peak 
New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America . It was admitted to the union as the 47th state on January 6 , 1912 . It is usually considered one of the Mountain States . New Mexico is fifth by area , the 36th - most populous , and the sixth - least densely populated of the 50 United States . ___MASK79___ is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere . It can also be considered a northern subcontinent of ___MASK19___ . It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean , and to the southeast by ___MASK97___ and the Caribbean Sea . The North American Cordillera is the North American portion of the American Cordillera which is a mountain chain ( cordillera ) along the western side of ___MASK19___ . The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges , intermontane basins , and plateaus in western ___MASK79___ , including much of the territory west of the Great Plains . It is also sometimes called the Western Cordillera , the Western Cordillera of ___MASK79___ , or the Pacific Cordillera . Wheeler Peak is the highest natural point in the U . S . state of New Mexico . It is located northeast of Taos and south of Red River in the northern part of the state , and just 2 miles ( 3 . 2 km ) southeast of the ski slopes of Taos Ski Valley . It lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains , the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains . The peak ' s elevation is 13 , 161 feet ( 4 , 011 m ) . Formerly named Taos Peak , after the nearby town of Taos , New Mexico , it was renamed Wheeler Peak in 1950 . A plaque at the summit states that the mountain was : Named in honor of Major George Montague Wheeler ( 1842 -- 1905 ) who for ten years led a party of surveyors and naturalists collecting geologic , biologic , planimetric and topographic data in New Mexico and six other southwestern states . Canada ( French : ) is a country in the northern half of ___MASK79___ . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering , making it the world ' s second - largest country by total area and the fourth - largest country by land area . Canada ' s border with the United States is the world ' s longest land border . The majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate , but southerly areas are warm in summer . Canada is sparsely populated , the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains . About four - fifths of the country ' s population of 36 million people is urbanized and live near the southern border . Its capital is Ottawa , its largest city is Toronto ; other major urban areas include Montreal , Vancouver , Calgary , Edmonton , Quebec City , Winnipeg and Hamilton . The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western ___MASK79___ , extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California . It includes both non - volcanic mountains , such as the North Cascades , and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades . The small part of the range in British Columbia is referred to as the Canadian Cascades or , locally , as the Cascade Mountains . The latter term is also sometimes used by Washington residents to refer to the Washington section of the Cascades in addition to North Cascades , the more usual U . S . term , as in North Cascades National Park . The highest peak in the range is Mount Rainier in Washington at . The American Cordillera is a chain of mountain ranges ( cordilleras ) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western " backbone " of ___MASK79___ , ___MASK49___ , ___MASK97___ and Antarctica . It is also the backbone of the volcanic arc that forms the eastern half of the Pacific Ring of Fire . Mexico (, modern Nahuatl ), officially the United Mexican States , is a federal republic in the southern half of ___MASK79___ . It is bordered to the north by the United States ; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean ; to the southeast by Guatemala , Belize , and the Caribbean Sea ; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico . Covering almost two million square kilometers ( over 760 , 000 sq mi ), Mexico is the sixth largest country in ___MASK19___ by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world . With an estimated population of over 120 million , it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish - speaking country in the world while being the second most populous country in Latin America . Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city . Other metropolises include Guadalajara , Monterrey , Puebla , Toluca , Tijuana and León . The Rocky Mountains , commonly known as the Rockies , are a major mountain range in western ___MASK79___ . The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia , in western Canada , to New Mexico , in the southwestern United States . Within the North American Cordillera , the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie further to the west . The Pacific Coast Ranges ( officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States but referred to as the Pacific Coast Ranges ), are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of ___MASK79___ from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico .