<P> The Coastal Plain and the main belts of the North American Cordillera continue in the south in Mexico (where the Mexican Plateau, bordered by the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental, is considered a continuation of the intermontane system) to connect the Transverse Volcanic Range, a zone of high and active volcanic peaks south of Mexico City . </P> <P> The vast majority of North America is located on the North American Plate, centered on the Laurentia craton . Parts of California and western Mexico form the partial edge of the Pacific Plate; the two plates meet along the San Andreas Fault . The southern portion of the Caribbean and parts of Central America compose the much smaller Caribbean Plate . </P> <P> The western mountains have split in the middle, into the main range of the Rockies and the Coast Ranges in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with the Great Basin (a lower area containing smaller ranges and low - lying deserts) in between . The highest peak is Mount McKinley / Denali in Alaska . The geographic center of North America is approximately "6 miles west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota" at 480 10 ′ north, 1000 10 ′ west, and a 15 - foot (4.5 m) field stone obelisk in Rugby, North Dakota (~ 15 miles or 25 km away) claims to mark the center . </P> <P> Three countries (Canada, the United States, and Mexico) make up most of North America's land mass; they share the continent with 34 other island countries in the Caribbean and south of Mexico . </P>

What is the highest landform in north america