North America was reached by its 

first human populations during the Last Glacial Period, via

crossing the Bering land bridge approximately 20,000 to 17,000 years ago. The so-called Paleo-
Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago (the beginning of the Archaic or
Meso-Indian period). The classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The first recorded
Europeans to visit North America (other than Greenland) were the Norse around 1000
AD. Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492 sparked a transatlantic exchange which
included migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period.
Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous
peoples, African slaves, immigrants from Europe, Asia, and the descendants of these groups.
Owing to Europe's colonization of the Americas, most North Americans speak European languages
such as English, Spanish or French, and their cultures commonly reflect Western traditions.
However, in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America, there are indigenous
populations continuing their cultural traditions and speaking native languages.