Both Canada and the US are spread over an enormous land area and are in between two oceans that impact both strategic vision and the culture. Commonly there are two types of travel in those countries: domestic travel and overseas travel. The expression “overseas travel” carries many meanings among Americans and Canadians. The North American landscape offers just about every climate found in nature except tropical rainforest. The weather can fluctuate from almost tropical in Florida to desert in Nevada to arctic in Alaska. People migrate frequently within the countries and travel is unrestricted and easy between most areas. The large size of the land and physical distance from any other countries has had a large impact on both the Canadian and US understanding of the rest of the world.
Agriculture has always been a foundation of the American and Canadian lifestyle throughout history. The land is extremely fertile in most areas and arable land mass is gigantic. Although in these two countries only a small portion of the population lives on agricultural pursuits, agriculture, forestry and ranching remain important parts of American and Canadian economy, identity and culture.